Council - Wednesday 15 July 2026, 6:00pm - Cotswold District Council Webcasting

Council
Wednesday, 15th July 2026 at 6:00pm

Speaking:

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1 Apologies

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Councillor Mark Harris
Nickie Mackenzie-Daste, Officer
Councillor Mark Harris

2 Declarations of Interest

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3 Minutes

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Councillor Julia Judd
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
03. To APPROVE the minutes 18 March and 20 May 2026
Status: In progress
03. To APPROVE the minutes 18 March and 20 May 2026
Status: Ended
03. To APPROVE the minutes 18 March 2026
Status: In progress
03. To APPROVE the minutes 18 March 2026
Status: Ended
03 minutes of 20 may - Approve
Status: In progress
03 minutes of 20 may - Approve
Status: Ended
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Patrick Coleman
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Daryl Corps
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Daryl Corps
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Gina Blomefield

7 Member Questions

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Responses to Member questions - Council 15 July 2026

Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Laura Hall-Wilson
Councillor Andrea Pellegram
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Daryl Corps
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Gina Blomefield
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Andrea Pellegram
Councillor Andrea Pellegram
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mike Evemy

8 Committee membership change

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Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Nikki Ind
Councillor Mark Harris
08 - Committee membership change - APPROVE
Status: In progress
Councillor Patrick Coleman
08 - Committee membership change - APPROVE
Status: Ended

9 Making the Cotswold District Dementia Friendly

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Making the Cotswold District Dementia Friendly Report July 2026

Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Paul Evans
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Paul Evans
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Tristan Wilkinson
Councillor Dilys Neill
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Paul Evans
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Nikki Ind
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mark Harris
09. Making the District Dementia Friendly - APPROVE recommendations 1-4
Status: In progress
09. Making the District Dementia Friendly - APPROVE recommendations 1-4
Status: Ended

10 Motion report - Food and Farming

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Motion report food and farming Council July 26 final 07.07.26

Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris

11 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26

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Councillor Gina Blomefield
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Ray Brassington
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Lisa Spivey
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Angus Jenkinson
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Gina Blomefield
Councillor Mark Harris
11 overview and scrutiny - NOTE
Status: In progress
11 overview and scrutiny - NOTE
Status: Ended
Councillor Laura Hall-Wilson
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Dilys Neill
Councillor Mark Harris

12 Notice of Motion

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Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Naomi Bloomer
Councillor Claire Bloomer
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor David Fowles
Councillor Clare Turner
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Lisa Spivey
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Andrea Pellegram
Councillor Angus Jenkinson
Councillor Mark Harris
Councillor Mike Evemy
Councillor Mark Harris
12. Motion - Improving Maternity Services - APPROVE
Status: In progress
12. Motion - Improving Maternity Services - APPROVE
Status: Ended
Webcast Finished

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1 Apologies

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:00:03

Thank you very much. It's six o 'clock. We're live. Good evening and welcome to this meeting

of Cotswold District Council's full council. My name is Councillor Mark Harris and I'm

the chair of council. I'd like to welcome all members, public in attendance and those

watching online. You're very welcome. For those watching at home, we'll be using an

electronic voting and we'll broadcast the outcome of each vote. Should anything go wrong

with the electronic voting which cannot be resolved will revert to voting by a

clear show of hands. First item on the agenda is apologies. Nikki do we have...

Nickie Mackenzie-Daste, Officer - 0:00:40

Hello there yes we have apologies from councillor Juliet Layton and councillor

2 Declarations of Interest

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:00:47

Tony Slater. Thank you very much duly noted. Second item is declarations of

interest. Do we have any declarations of interest this evening? No? Good. Third item

3 Minutes

minutes. We're going to go through, they've got two meetings that we need to go

through. The meeting of the 18th and the meeting of the 18th of March, sorry,

and 20th of May, the annual meeting. Has anybody got any comments, observations,

corrections? Julia, Councillor Judd. Thank you, Chair. I just wondered if I could ask

Councillor Julia Judd - 0:01:19

the leader. Just on item, well it's number 89 on page 13 of the March minutes.

Mary Cobbit came in and a few everybody remembers she spoke incredibly eloquently

and passionately about the issues surrounding the state pension and making

pensioners now because of the way it's worked is that they're getting taxed

more because of their state pension going up, which makes them so poor that they can

only just afford to pay their rent. And the leaders on the minutes, it says a letter providing

a full response to Ms. Covitt's questions confirming these actions would be issued by

the leader. I wondered if that letter could be distributed to all members because it is

an incredibly important issue and I feel that it should be progressed either by

writing to the MPs or even Parliament themselves or the Secretary of State.

It feels a little bit more like a member's question rather than checking the

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:02:27

efficacy of the minutes but I think the leader is probably...

I wasn't sure how to address the problem but it was a reminder, you know, I just think it was important to

it up. I wasn't quite sure when you liked it. Duly noted, I think Mike's nodding that he's noted

that and that'll be followed through. Has anybody got anything on the minutes

that suggests they're in any way inaccurate or or anything's missing

substantively? No. In which case because we've got two sets and then we're happy

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:02:58

with that I'm going to take them together. So can we go to the vote for

that? Oh I'm so sorry, Councillor Ream. Chair, yes I was here for one meeting but not the

so I need to abstain from one. In which case we'll do them separately if that's

alright. Can we do that Julia? We'll just reprogram the programming thing.

You need a note. Sorry chair. I'm happy to do. Proposer and seconder. I'm sorry about that.

I'll propose both sets of minutes. And Tom's seconding both.

We're really zippy tonight.

I wonder why.

So we'll just reset that.

OK, here we go.

Okay. Good, everybody. Well, that first one is carried.

Your turn to the next one.

Well, it's it's if you haven't

We've got 23 for none against for abstention that's 27 in total

Okay, so that's carried that's carried me thanks for thank you for that everybody

Right

Item announcements from the chair. That's me and then we'll go to the leader and chief executive here anything so

In order to maximise the use of time available, I'd like to remind members to

be disciplined with their comments, avoid repetition and be succinct with any

remarks made particularly this evening because some of you have got a little

way to go and I think you want to probably get there in time for when

whatever it is you want to get to starts. Listen, the length of this

The length of this meeting is capped at four hours.

You'll be glad to hear.

And

after three hours have elapsed if we get to that point we'll take a vote on whether to continue for the final hour

or go to pens. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to Councillor Naomi Blumer who was elected as a new member for St.

Michael's in Sire and Cester at the by -election on 2nd July. So welcome.

I'd also like to welcome our work experience Democratic Servicers here, Flavia. So give

them a wave. So welcome. I've got a couple of announcements to make. The first is, and

Councillors Christopher Hall Pike of Shipton Moyne who born in 1938 died in

2026. Christopher will be remembered with gratitude for his dedicated service to

Shipton Moyne Parish Council in the wider village community. He was a

distinguished anthropologist. His pioneering work in New Guinea and

Ethiopia made a lasting contribution to the understanding of traditional

societies and he brought the same wisdom, thoughtfulness and commitment to his

local community where he'll be greatly missed. Our sincere condolences to his

family and friends. We're also sad to hear that last month

Councillor Sue Herdman, if you're not sure who Councillor Sue Herdman is, if you

look behind you on the board over there on the left you'll see that she was

chair of this council between 1995 and 98. Was also a councillor here for 24

years and for those 24 years she served on the planning committee as well. Anybody

and Sire ancestor who knows what has been here for any length of time will know Sue

Herdman and the Herdman family. I have my own storey, I will allow people to say a couple

of words, but before we go to that I have my own storey and I'd just like to show that

she's my sort of person. And this is from the Wilks and Gloss Standard on the 11th of

August 2005. And the headline is Police Evict Arch Protesters From Meeting. And it goes,

during protesters were evicted by the police from a riotous council meeting. A police officer

had to step in after Syrinsester town council's lost control at a meeting to discuss the potential

sale of the historic Norman Arch on Tuesday. Boring and shouting disrupted proceedings

as councillors struggled to answer questions submitted by the Norman Arch group. Several

of the 50 strong crowd who had crammed into a meeting room designed to seat 25 people

were escorted from the room by PC Chris Freeman. The normally sedated and gentlemanly town

Council meeting was marred by public rowdiness and personal comments.

Speaking after the meeting, the town clerk Andrew Crook said, I am disappointed

that the meeting was disrupted by people who should have known better,

particularly the former chairman of Cotswold District Council, Sue Herdman,

and the former president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mark Harris. So that was on

front page of the standards. Sue and I made the front page but I think Paul

would like to say a couple of words. Yes I mean my connexion to Sue was that so

Sue was the

collection of villages that stretches between Bournton through Perrots Brook

where I am through Woodmancote where Sue was, North Cerny, Wrencombe, Corberley. I'm

trying not to miss anything out, Colesborne.

I think those are the ones in that ward originally.

So she served that for 24 years,

and she stepped down as an independent in May.

We won that ward after four recounts,

but Sue had stepped down.

And I remember thinking, there's no way on earth

I could ever match being in that council for so long.

Well, actually I haven't been in this council

for as long as Sue was, but she was an incredible woman.

She was very well respected.

She knew exactly what she wanted

and she knew exactly what she didn't want.

And that's why people in the Chern Valley

really appreciated her.

And I'm really shocked actually that she's passed away.

I only saw her, I think a couple of months ago.

She was in really good form.

And it's sobering, isn't it,

when you've seen someone so active and then they're gone.

So rest in peace.

Thank you, Paul.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:10:19

She was proudly independent her whole time on the council.

And she was also a member, helped raise funds,

lots of funds for CHIP,

which is the Sire and Cestor Housing for Young People.

And I think David, you'd like to say a word

as somebody who worked for that.

Yes.

Councillor David Fowles - 0:10:34

I don't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing

to admit that I actually served with Sue Herndon,

But she wasn't, I stress, chairman at that time because that was nearly 30 years ago

and it's 15 chairman ago.

And if you look at that board, several of those chairman have since died.

I think she invented the word girl power before the Spice Girls and she was extremely powerful

lady.

I'd also like to put on record that she was actually a fully paid up member of the Conservative

Party, but never ever wanted that to get involved in local politics whatsoever and a staunch

independent as Paul has said. I actually have seen her two or three times since she moved

from scrub ditch into Sire Ancestor and I went round to see her. And like Paul, I was

truly shocked because she looked on fine form. To think that she's 90 was just phenomenal.

I also served with her on brewery arts where I was the chairman for a while and she was

there, gave valuable, valuable advice. And just to say that I remember that meeting of

nag because I was there as well. Thank you. Thank you David. Councillor Coleman.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:11:39

Councillor Patrick Coleman - 0:11:44

Thank you very much chair. Just very few words. I was genuinely pleased and honoured

to find that Sue in her later years had moved into Albion Street in Sire and

Cestor and indeed one of their close family relatives is a fellow church

warden with mine at St Peter's so she had many good storeys to tell of just how

the challenges, how great the challenges were that Sue faced, and how she faced them in

the finest form of the tradition of country women in this country.

I'm not saying we agreed on politics.

I doubt we agreed on everything precisely to do with the church.

But she was a real pleasure to be with and to talk to, and her devotion and her generosity,

I hope, will be subjects when the funeral is held, which apparently has to be in North

Cerny, which can just about hold 300.

She's not coming into town by the sound of it.

Thank you, Councillor Coleman. Are we anybody else?

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:12:38

Well, I think it's right that we stand up and we offer a minute's silence too in memory of Sue and our Councillor.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:12:44

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:13:53

How's that?

Thank you, colleagues.

All right, have we got, yes, I know that we do.

So I should also add that very briefly,

I attended the Friends of the RAU about two weeks ago

as well, which is an event, there's some really exciting

stuff going on there which I'm sure you're all familiar with

but yeah, exciting times for the RAU.

Councillor Evermeade, leader.

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:14:25

Thank you, Chair. I'd like to start by echoing your comments and congratulating and welcoming

Councillor Naomi Bloomer to the Council. It's great to have you here, Naomi. I'd also like

to add my congratulations to Councillor Andrea Pellegram, who is now the County Councillor

for Syrinsester Park Division, elected on the same day. And I'm already taking up her

work on the County Council and in similar vein commiserations to Councillor Fowles

obviously who was unsuccessful in that election but I know he is pleased that

he he didn't come third he came second in the election.

I just get a couple of other things just to let members know we are expecting an

announcement tomorrow from the government on the future of local

government in Gloucestershire so I don't know what's in it so but we are

expecting that to be announced in Parliament tomorrow. On the back of which

there will be on Friday briefings for all staff so there'll be an all staff

briefing across Gloucestershire and there'll be an all member briefing across

Gloucestershire so you will get an invite unfortunately it might be Friday

afternoon to come along and it'll be one briefing for every principal authority

Councillor in Gloucestershire just to hear directly from our leaders in the

county in response to that and obviously after the announcement is made we will

be issuing communications about that. The key message I can sort of

tell you now is essentially you know nothing's changing tomorrow. It's really

really important that we get that message across and obviously our staff

are the ones who's potentially you know maybe more anxious than us or there

might be some people are anxious so we will get that decision we're expecting

it tomorrow and then obviously we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk about

it subsequently I'm sure I just wanted to conclude by referring to the shock

and I'm sure I felt and I'm sure many members across the chamber if not all

members in this room and many people outside felt about the death of Anne

Widdecombe last week and the manner of our death. The safety and security of

those in public life is vital for our democracy and anything which threatens

that is a threat to not just us as individuals in public office and our

as our services, but also fundamentally to our democratic society.

You will all have received an email, so just if you haven't read it yet from the Chief

Constable that was sent earlier in the week, so please have a read of that if you haven't

already.

And I've asked the officers and they put on our tables information about Operation

Ford.

So Operation Forward is the police operation to support those in local

government, those of us who are councillors, in the face of any threats

to our safety or security. So you've got a flowchart there which talks about how

if you are feeling threatened or if there's any threat to your security, what

you need to do. And there's also a page which gives a bit more information about

what Operation Forward is and I know many of you attended the briefing we had

just a couple of months ago about that.

Obviously, this is a very sad occurrence,

and we will obviously see more may happen,

and we may get more happening,

but I just wanted to alert members to that.

Not to make them anxious, but just to make them aware

that there is Operation Forward there.

If you feel at all unsafe or insecure,

there is support there from the police to support you.

Thank you, Chair.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:18:20

Thank you. Do you have any announcements from the chief of staff? No, thank you.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:18:25

Okay, we're going to move on to our Unsung Heroes Awards now for July 2026.

And what I'll do is I'll read out the nominees, if that's all right.

And then if you remain seated, then we'll get you all up and we'll give you a certificate and a badge to mark the award and get a photo.

And well, I'm going to kick off.

We've got our first unsung hero is a young unsung hero,

and his name is Reece Stevens.

Is that you, Reece?

Look at you.

Hello, Reece.

You're very welcome.

Reece, we're delighted to recognise Reece.

He's aged just 11 for his truly outstanding fundraising efforts

in support of Parkinson's UK, following

his grandfather's diagnosis with Parkinson's.

Reece showed remarkable determination and community

spirit by setting the self the challenge of running

a mile a day, running a mile every day throughout January.

He completed his runs in all weathers, including darkness, ice and sleet, whilst also managing

his school and club commitments.

Through his efforts, he raised more than £1 ,500 for charity and is already planning his next

challenge.

We've got to see you back here again, aren't we?

The council would like to congratulate Reece on his inspiring achievement and the difference

he's made to a cause so close to his family.

Well done. So let's give him a round of applause.

APPLAUSE

Well done, Reece.

Our next nominee, we've got a pair of nominees here.

Kena Doran and Vanessa Rigg of Campden Edge Charity.

We're delighted to recognise Kena and Vanessa for their

outstanding commitment to supporting young people through

the Campden Edge Youth Arts Charity,

which they established to give disadvantaged local youngsters

access to creative opportunities they might otherwise

never have experienced.

Through their dedication and enthusiasm,

they provided musical instruments and lessons,

supported young people in activities,

including ballet, drama, painting, writing, and singing,

and enabled them to attend professional performances

and events.

Their work has opened doors for many young people,

with some going on to further studying careers in the arts.

Just as importantly, they've helped countless youngsters

develop confidence, skills, and aspiration

beyond the classroom.

I'd like to place on record our appreciation

for the remarkable contribution they have made

to the lives of young people and to the wider community.

Let's give them a round of applause.

We'd like to recognise Marie Liptrot for her exceptional and longstanding contribution

as a true unsung hero within the community. Marie has been a dedicated member of Blockley

Sports and Social Club for an incredible 53 years, including 49 years serving on the committee

and only recently stepping down as chair.

Her commitment and quiet determination have been central

to the success of the club over many decades.

She was part of the committee that recognised the importance

of securing a long -term future for sport in the village,

helping to raise funds to purchase land

and establish the facilities that continue

to benefit the community today.

Since then, Marie has remained at the heart

of the club's work, supporting fundraising,

helping to expand opportunities for new sports and junior teams

and taking on the responsibilities needed to ensure the club continues to thrive as a charity.

She has also played an active role in wider community events such as Blockly Fair,

helping to support other local groups and organisations.

Marie's long -standing commitment, generosity of spirit and quiet leadership have made a lasting difference to community life,

and the Council is proud to recognise her invaluable contribution.

Last but not least, we'd like to recognise Margaret Wright for her outstanding contribution

to environmental stewardship in relation to the River Cole.

And boy, don't we need it.

Margaret has been instrumental in establishing and coordinating the River Cole Guardians,

a dedicated group of volunteers who monitor the river along its 33 -mile course from Brock

Hampton to Lechelade.

Over recent years, she has given significant time and commitment to recruiting and training

volunteers, securing expertise and funding, and organising the distribution

of water testing kits to support regular monthly monitoring of water quality,

pollutants, and biodiversity. The work has created a valuable evidence base to

support the ongoing and future management of the river across

the communities it serves. Margaret's efforts have also helped to build

community awareness and pride, including through engagement with local residents

and school pupils at community information events she has organised. Her

makes a significant contribution to the Council's environmental and sustainability objectives.

And she is warmly thanked and recognised for her dedication and impact.

APPLAUSE

So, if you'd like to all come up to the front, we'll come up from behind here.

Anton Dech here.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:26:04

Okay, well thank you very much to our unsung heroes.

Thank you to our unsung heroes.

They're sung heroes now, so well done.

Enjoy the rest of the evening.

We now move on to item six, which is public questions.

So do we have any, it's not a big crowd of people at the back.

No? How disappointing.

Okay, we've got, moved to item seven now, member questions.

So I'm going to, we have 15 minutes to do this.

And I might use a little bit of the unused public speaker time if required, but because

you're going to be so succinct, I shouldn't need to.

So member questions have been submitted and have been responded to in writing.

These are on desks and on the website.

The questions on the agenda are presented in the order that we received them.

And each question will be asked whether they have a supplementary, and they've got one

minute to ask that.

And I'd encourage people to ask a question, not make a statement, which might arise out

the original question or the response I'll then invite the cabinet member to

respond to each supplementary question which you'll have two minutes. So our

first question this evening is from council Daryl Corp to council Juliet

Layton who's not here on housing on housing and planning. Daryl do you have a

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:27:34

supplementary? Yes chair thank you. I think councillor Ebeny will handle this.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:27:37

Okay thank you. Well firstly thank you to councillor and from the two cabinet

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:27:43

members actually who answered my question. I was very flattered by that.

But the more important question I want to ask is what value does the

administration actually place on protecting the Cotswolds? It's like how

is the decision made that one place, one landscape or community is important

enough to justify using the Planning Appeals Reserve when another one is not?

because obviously as we know more recently in Morton, the Morton appeal the

council did choose not to defend the Planning Committee's refusal. It's basically

the question is so what is the criteria for using this so -called

fighting fund and why was Morton apparently not considered worth fighting

for? Thank you. Thank you Councillor Cawle for your question. I totally

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:28:36

a refute that Morton was not considered worth fighting for.

But you can only go into appeal if you've got some chance of winning it.

And as we said in the publicity, and I'm sure you're aware, we took external independent

advice before we decided to withdraw from the appeal in Morton that you're referring

to.

Basically, we were going to lose.

And we were going to lose potentially tens of thousands of pounds, if not hundreds of

thousands of pounds because if you lose at a planning appeal and you then you

can lose costs so you absolutely you know we had our committee had made the

decision to refuse the application and that was pushed forward by our officers

but ultimately we are custodians of public money we have provide we're

accountable for how we spend that money we have to have best value in how we do

And what we can't do is we can't essentially fight appeals just because people in the community

want us to fight them when there is absolutely no chance or very, very little chance of us

winning.

And that was the conclusion the officers came to and they took external advice.

And so that was why that appeal was not lost.

But it's absolutely nothing to do with the community there.

It's all to do with the circumstances of the individual application, as I'm sure members

will be aware.

So yes, absolutely. We have money there to fight appeals

We fought the appeal in lecture late and lost and I think that just shows actually that

Even in the current circumstance without an up -to -date local plan. This is what we face which is obviously we will be discussing that next month

We need to get an up -to -date local plan. So we're not faced with speculative development like this. Thank you chair

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:30:25

Thank You council ever me next questions from council Gina Bloomfield about community infrastructure

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:30:34

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 0:30:35

levy. Yes, thank you chair. I do have a supplementary. I thank Judith Layton for her response. When

I opposed the question, I had understood the advice for the town and parish councils was

also going to be updated on SIL as well as the money which was held by CDC. I feel there

is sometimes a lack of knowledge in some councillors, particularly the newer ones, and some parishes

7 Member Questions

are sitting on significant sums of SIL money. They have not decided how to best use yet.

Could I request the briefing meeting on SIL is organised for the Town and Parish Councils

covering could be in person or by hybrid covering all aspects of SIL. Is this something you

would consider?

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:31:20

Thank you, Chair. We can certainly consider it. I know we have done and do from time to

I do surveys of town and parish councils.

I certainly know from those that I work with in my ward,

they're very aware, they've got the seal money,

they're very aware of how long they need,

they have it for until they're gonna have to give it back.

So I don't think we should presume

that as a district council that we need to tell them

how to operate their seal,

because I think in most cases they do,

but there may be a need for that.

And I'm certainly happy to take that back

and get an answer Gina having from officers and obviously in consultation with council Layton.

But yeah, I mean, I'm sure we can have a look at what communication also we provide for Town and Parish Councils when we give them

the CIL, when we allocate them CIL monies so that we're clear about how they need to use it and when they need to use it by.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:32:15

Thank you very much Mike. Next question is from Laura Hall Wilson to Councillor Andrew Pellegram on

environmental and regulatory services and I have it on good authority that

despite what's going on in Clapton we can talk about bins so oh yeah do you

Councillor Laura Hall-Wilson - 0:32:37

have a supplementary thank you very much I'm gonna be so quick I'm also going to

squeeze in a thank you for Tepry Upton's latest dog poo bin which arrived today

so great excitement thank you and you've clarified in your answer the the

plan to reduce the size of the residual waste bin and the plan to recycle more

but you haven't clarified whether there is a plan to provide a more substantial

and larger recycling bin for the increase in recycling and also how are

the fleet going to pick up all of the extra recycling because they do need

more capacity that they're often filling up before they finish their rounds. Thank

Thank you, counsellor.

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:33:19

You're welcome for the bin.

I'm sorry it took so long, but we got there in the end.

So we, this is a new service and in the next beginning

of April we'll start rolling out these changes.

And what it means is that people will then be given the

opportunity to have the flexible plastics.

We're not providing any bins for those.

They're going to be asked to use their own plastic bags,

stuff the flexible plastic bags and wrapping into those bags, so that won't actually change.

What we see is that there's a change in shopping behaviour, much more Amazon behaviour, much

less printing out paper copies of things.

So what we're seeing is a change in the composition of waste.

So there's less paper, but there's a lot more cardboard.

So we are taking this into account.

Those paper and the cardboard does not go into the residual waste bin in any case.

We have separate bins.

So right now households have two different receptacles

and they will retain those two receptacles.

And the new fleet that we've put on order

have been designed using modelling

on new waste flow content.

So looking to the future,

how much cardboard we're gonna have.

So they'll have a larger container

on the vehicles for cardboard.

And we expect that there will be less paper.

Thank you.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:34:46

Thank you very much Councillor Pellegrme. Next question is from Councillor Daryl Corr to

Councillor Juliet Layton again about local plan consultation supplementary.

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:34:59

Yes chair, just keep it short. First I wanted to thank Councillor Layton for her written

response. I did find it a little bit foggy unfortunately because residents

they're not asking whether their comments were fed in. They were asking

what actually changed as a result of them. I just wanted to ask whether

Councillor Layton is not here, or is it Councillor Efremi who's going to answer my

question kindly. Just whether you might be able to name one specific site, one

specific policy or just one specific housing figure that was actually

materially altered because of public feedback and tell us what it was before

and what it was after the consultation. Because obviously it's more than,

consultation is more than just a suggestion box for contents and residents are kind of

asking at the moment whether that they can be there being consulted and listened to as well.

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:35:55

Thank you, Chen. Thank you, Councillor Caulf. Well, they won't have long to wait because we're going

to publish the draught local plan next Friday. So it will be they will be able to see in there what

changes have been made and there will be responses.

Obviously, we published a consultation summary back

earlier in March, but the point of the Regulation 19

consultation is to come out with a local plan.

The point of the Regulation 18 consultation we did at the end

of the last year was to get that feedback.

So members, the public, everyone will be able to make a judgement

on that point when the papers are published next Friday,

I would suggest.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:36:31

Thank you very much. Next slide Councillor Jean Bloomfield, Councillor Layton again

on housing associations. Any other supplementary? Yes thank you chair and

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 0:36:43

thank you to Councillor Layton who is not here making Councillor F .B. have to work

very hard at answering all the questions. The supplementaries. What I was wondering

It says in the answer that the RP says registered providers

of social and affordable housing are not obligated

to notify the local authority when there is a change

in the amount, when they lose or have sold off or whatever,

for whatever reason, their housing stock is reduced.

But I'm wondering if we could not ask them

to provide those figures.

And actually I think I would like to see a split

between the social and affordable housing

and it would be nice to see those in the service performance

reports going forward. It is a vital part the housing we provide for those people

who need assistance with their housing and it's really important that we

understand fully what the numbers are that we provide in this district. Thank

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:37:43

you. Thank you Councillor Boonvester. Obviously we've got some figures in the

nothing wrong with obviously that if they're not obliged to then they may not

but it would be useful if we will ask we may well have asked already I don't know

because I haven't had that conversation directly with Alan Hogue the officer but

we can take that back and find out whether they have what information we

have had back from the RP so obviously we've got some about Bromford but

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:38:15

nothing about any of the others thank you. Thank you very much both of you. Next

The next question is from Councillor David Fowles,

and he's back in the lay -by, monitoring lay -bys.

So do you have a supplementary, David, for...

Councillor David Fowles - 0:38:25

I do think before I say anything,

you ought to withdraw that comment about lay -bys,

because I think it's not appropriate, actually.

But yes, I am monitoring lay -bys,

and I do drive past them, as do many people

who are not representing San Francisco,

but travelling through the Cotswolds.

The simple fact is there is, therefore,

Thank you for your response.

There is no review.

What has happened is that the bins that have been taken off laybys because they were trashed

or whatever were just removed, but we still have a situation where people are leaving

their waste there.

Just because there is no bin, they are leaving their waste there.

I have two supplementary questions.

Are we monitoring the laybys that don't have bins?

Where we do have bins, are we able to increase the frequency?

Because in your own response or the officers response you say that they're overflowing in the summer so can we increase can we?

Can you reassure residents that we are monitoring the labours where there aren't bins and that we're increasing the frequency of bins that are overflowing?

To collect them because this cost was looks like it's trashed

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:39:32

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:39:34

Councillor fells, I don't think that the console looks like trash

I think it looks pretty good.

But I do take your point, and we do take fly tipping very,

very seriously.

So the new Yubico team, the teams on the Yubico have new

software called Alloy, which they've just been trained in

how to use, and this should be a red amber green system where

they can actually assess if a bin is overflowing or not.

So we are actually starting to do that review.

It took a little bit longer than I thought it would,

but as I said, it's in train.

So we are monitoring this.

And we, as I think I've already said to you

in a past response to this, we can increase the bins.

In fact, Councillor Hall -Wilson has just thanked us

for a new bin because the clerk has asked us for a bin.

So if the clerk in the parish asks us for a bin,

then that will be provided and Yubico will empty it.

Thank you Councillor Berger, I'll just throw something in here at an Environment

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:40:37

Scrutiny meeting today which covered highways and waste. This was, this subject

was bought up and it was roundly, the conclusion was it's not who picks it up

and who's meant to pick up and mess, that's not the big issue, the issue is

who's dropping it and that's really needs to be addressed. So you know the

Cotswolds in your view may be a mess but it's not because people aren't

picking it up it's because people are dropping it in the first place and we

to clamp down on people like that and deal with those peeps. Let's go to next

question from Councillor Fowles to Councillor Layton regarding our

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:41:18

Councillor David Fowles - 0:41:21

ancestor town centre market, master plan. Thank you. When the Liberal Democrats took

over running this council in 2019 the master plan was good to go and in terms

that we were ready in a position to start work on it.

So I'm curious to know what's happened on the master plan

from 2019 to 2025, because at the moment,

we don't have a viable master plan.

We've had the steadings and other developments

in the town for nearly nine years.

This is the capital of the Cotswolds, and there is no plan.

And to just use the Waterloo car park

and the flooding issue there is, as far as I'm concerned,

unacceptable and it's unacceptable to the residents. You've been in past seven

years there's no master plan. Can I just jump in here I was on the board of the

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:42:05

town centre master plan when we came into administration and it wasn't

there was nothing ready to go then and it was a work in progress so I'd just

like to correct that before anybody gets the wrong question but I'm sure Michael

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:42:20

answered that. Sorry I know that's okay I'll be brief. It's a Syrinsester town centre

master plan, not a siren system master plan. So that's an error slightly in the response.

But, and yes, it's taken a while. I think we've had a global pandemic. As you can see in here,

we've also had issues with the proposals at the Waterloo car park. Officers have been working on

it and progressing it. It may have been before you came back on the council, David, certainly

in the run up to, in the last council, I know they were very, there was a neighbourhood plan,

regulation consultation.

So it isn't lost.

I think my answer said, and Juliet's answer I should say,

says we're now in a position where we're about to go

with the local plan.

That will obviously cover a talk about the development

of Cirencester as a whole.

So that is where we are in terms of obviously residence

in Cirencester represented obviously by Councillor Pellegram

and others on this side of the chamber.

I'm sure we'll have their say on that in the future of the town as they see it

And I think you know once we've set where the setting is for the town as a whole

Then we can have a look at the requirements for the town centre because that may well

Depend upon the development around siren sister, which will also be part of a discussion of work as well and the local plan

So yes, it's taken longer than I'm sure most members would have hoped it would have done

But we're now in a position we're about to go out with our local plan.

That has to take precedence.

When we are through that local plan,

it absolutely is the intention of this administration

to pull together a town centre master plan to sit alongside the local plan.

Thank you.

And the neighbourhood plan.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:08

And the neighbourhood plan.

I thank, I also thank Mike for answering questions on behalf of Juliet Lane.

Thank you very much, Mike.

Thanks, Councillor Ebony.

Item 8 now, we've got a committee membership change. Mike, do you want to tell us about that?

8 Committee membership change

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:44:25

Yes, I would like to advise council that the Liberal Democrat Group wishes to appoint Councillor Naomi Bloomer to sit on the overview and scrutiny committee with immediate effect and replacing Councillor Ian Watson.

We have a seconder for that. Are there any questions for clarity?

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:49

Councillor Neill. Yes I'd like to second the recommendation.

Councillor Nikki Ind - 0:44:54

Yeah I'm sure nobody has any questions on that. You're welcome to ask if you do.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:58

Good. Shall we get to the vote then?

Do we have to vote on this? No you're noting his decision.

The proposal is that name is black. I now call for the vote to be opened.

Let's vote for it anyway, why not?

Okay, that's unanimous.

Thank you very much colleagues.

Welcome Naomi to overview and scrutiny.

9 Making the Cotswold District Dementia Friendly

Councillor Patrick Coleman - 0:45:31

Okay next item 9 is an update on making the Cotswold district dementia friendly

and this is to update us on the progress and the proposed actions to contribute

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:45:47

towards the council ambition to make Cotswolds districts dementia friendly. So

who's going to speak? Paul you're going to introduce the guest. Thank you chair.

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:45:54

Firstly, I'm grateful to council for resolving to make Cotswold District a

dimension friendly place in their January meeting and to officers preparing the

report that set out how we as an administration intend to realise that

ambition. We know how an important topic it is for our residents and that's

increasingly so. It's borne out by the numbers. It's a growing challenge for us.

we have an estimated 2 ,000 to 2 ,200 residents,

and that's predicted by the NHS to rise to 3 ,000 by 2040.

It's a disease.

It's a condition that affects many of us.

It's a disease, a condition that affects many of our loved ones

and our friends.

We're fortunate in that we already have a tapestry of

support in the Cotswolds that includes memory cafes,

volunteer drivers, community organisations that are something to be

truly proud of. It's a good start but given the numbers that will be impacted

in coming years there is scope to do more and our programme has set out in this

report seeks to do just that. Our engagement with town and parish councils

told us that only 29 % of parish representatives felt confident signposting

dementia support, whilst 53 % did not. That highlights the need for awareness raising

and training in enabling those at the coalface, those within communities, to be able to sign

posts and to raise awareness and training. 90 % of parish representatives in our engagement

at the parish forums supported the council's dementia -friendly ambition. That's excellent

news and it provides us with a very strong platform for partnership working. Our way

forward will very much be a partnership approach intended to build resilience for future years

when this council is no longer sitting and authority has transferred elsewhere.

It will build resilience through VCSE community and town and parish

councils through the programme that we set out in this report. We already

recognised the work done by the NHS by carer providers and can absolutely find

a space where this council can add real value, working within the organisation as a council

and with our partners. Parish councils, charities and businesses and the broader Cotswold community

to create everyday behaviours, to change behaviours, welcoming places and crucially informed communities

throughout our district. The programme set out in the report is built around four, five

key work streams. Training, awareness, engagement, service mapping, service improvement, which

includes improving our services that we deliver as a council to make them dementia friendly.

Funding and facilitation as well. The intent is to deliver visible early progress.

Organisation wide dementia, organisation being this council, awareness training will ensure

staff are better equipped to support residents and improve customer interactions.

Through developing service champions with a keen understanding of services and a commitment

to dementia friendly practise should unlock further improvements still.

Indeed, the dementia virtual experience, also known as the dementia bus, hosted by Sarah

and Sester's Big Lunch at the Lighthouse Dementia Support, is an example of approach that we

will seek to utilise to really develop that understanding and it will be a

powerful tool to spark service improvements within this organisation.

Our report concludes that the programme provides a practical and ambitious

approach that will catalyse well -informed action based on numbers

and engagement and partnership across the district and I hope that Council will

support today's resolution and thus enable us to crack on in realising our

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you very much, Paul.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:50:31

I know it was unanimous to support for this, so if I can thank officers for the work they've

done.

I know it's been great.

Joseph, what's up, mate?

Thank you.

Now, do we have any questions for clarity or anything that anybody can say?

David, yeah.

I think everybody would be supporting this.

Councillor David Fowles - 0:50:50

It's a very important part of our everyday life.

And having had my father's photograph put in the

Cotswold magazine, ironically it arrived in my

house on the day that I fell down the stairs, so I had

a double whammy in terms of problems with people's

heads in my family.

I just wanted to know what engagement we're going to

have nationally, because from where I'm sitting,

back in the day we had I think the disability

Discrimination Act, and where we now have a situation where

disabled people, and we have someone in the chamber who

demonstrates every day how he's able to perform alongside us,

thanks in part to the Disability Discrimination Act.

And I think our aspiration should be that there should be

something similar for dementia.

And I wonder what engagement, Paul, we should be having with

our MPs to get this message across to them, because some of

numbers you showed are really staggering. Thank you Councillor Fells. The

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:51:56

Disability Discrimination Act I believe will cover aspects of this and it

indeed is delivering this report will be part of our commitment to

delivering disability to those who need assistance living in our

communities. Yes, we should engage with our MPs across the spectrum to make sure that

they are supportive of our approach. We'll absolutely be engaging with Gloucestershire

County Council and I know for one, one prominent town council in our district already has a

very similar approach and we will be engaging with them across the spectrum.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:52:36

Thank you very much. Do you have any other questions or anything?

Okay, let's make it now, and then we'll seek a seconder,

and then get through it.

Dr. Judith Hall -McGillicott -Minnell.

Okay, I think I might have said this before.

Councillor Tristan Wilkinson - 0:52:47

In the previous debate, I recently had calls to visit

Councillor Dilys Neill - 0:52:54

the dementia care team at Cheltenham General Hospital,

which actually covers the whole of the trust,

Gloucester as well.

There is one admiral nurse who works there who's responsible

for training up people to look after patients when they're

and admitted acutely with dementia.

It's often an absolute disaster when a patient who's

with dementia becomes acutely ill,

is taken out of their home environment and into hospital.

They often fare very badly.

And in my case, this man had a fall and died as a result of it.

So I have had two very long and interesting conversations

with the dementia care team from Gloucestershire Hospital's

which is very interesting and they would be really good

people to engage with as we progress this work forward.

So I think a lot of you know already that when somebody is

diagnosed with dementia, a team goes out and they start work

with them to look at how their life is going to be.

One of the things that they put in place is a document called

This Is Me, which the patient can carry with them.

So if they then go into an acute setting where such as a

hospital setting where somebody doesn't know them.

There's things like, you know, what their interests are,

what they like to be called, if they've got a nickname,

et cetera, et cetera, who their, you know, friends and family are.

It's a really very crucial and important document.

And the relatives of the patient with dementia,

as well as the patient themselves,

need to be really encouraged to make sure that that document is

filled in and taken with the patient when,

if they're moved to somewhere else.

The other thing is a hugely difficult discussion around

and hospital admission and resuscitation.

And that needs to be addressed and written down somewhere.

So if people say, under no circumstances do I want to be

admitted to hospital, I'd rather die at home and I don't want to

be resuscitated, it's a very difficult discussion to have,

but it needs to be documented and in the pack that travels

with the patient.

So, yeah, so doing, I can give you the name of the people in

as a dementia team at Gloucester Hospital.

They were terrific, and thanks very much.

Thank you, Delis.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:55:09

I noticed that Paul and Joseph are making copious notes,

but if you want to speak to it, and then we'll come to Nicky,

if you want.

Did you want?

I just said thank you.

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:55:17

Thank you, Delis.

Part of our mapping work that the programme will do will very

much seek input from all members where we know that there are

resources and activity within the district to pull

that together.

So, yes, absolutely please do.

Thank you.

Thank you, Paul.

Nicky.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:55:34

So Councillor Haynes.

Thank you, Chair.

Councillor Nikki Ind - 0:55:40

Just really to reiterate what Dyliss has just said, about 15 years ago now, we lost my dad

about 13 years ago.

So a couple of years before he died, he was starting to show signs of dementia.

And we had a very similar piece.

I hope it's developed quite a lot more.

But as a family who had a form, which was very hard to complete, and I sat on it for

six weeks. It's no secret, it sat on my kitchen table and I didn't quite know how I was going

to have the discussion with him and with my mother. I have to say, when my father was

then very seriously ill, everybody knew what was expected. We were able to show that document

to our GP, we knew exactly what my dad's wishes were and it helped us as a family know when

to know that we were doing the right thing. So I would encourage, yeah, definitely the

importance of those packs for families and as early in the diagnosis as possible.

But support for the families to have those conversations because it was a tricky one

for me and yeah, just I think anything we can do around that is really important.

Thanks for that insight, Nicky.

Appreciate it.

Okay, do we have a seconder for...

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:56:53

Paul, you're seconding, that's right.

Yeah, thank you.

I will keep this brief.

I mean, I think so thank you to the fellow Paul,

the other Paul in the chamber,

Councillor Evans for bringing this forward.

And I think it was me who seconded the original motion

that you put forward Mark.

It's a very, very important subject, isn't it?

I mean, it's a growing problem.

I think that's the interesting thing about it

is more and more people are aware of it

and more and more people are talking about it.

That has to be a good thing

because it means to say that more and more people

are aware of the symptoms, are aware of what to do.

But I think there's still a lot of kind of grey area

around what interventions there are,

how people can seek help and who to turn to.

So, and I think knowing some people whose partner

has dementia, sometimes it can be quite a lonely

and challenging existence for them.

So we need to support them too.

Just a bit of a shout out to the wellbeing team

at Cotsfield District Council,

because when I was the cabinet member for this area before Paul and Tony, I

attended a few things like in Tetbury, that wonderful event in Tetbury I went

to, Bourn on the Water, where there were some interventions there for people, not

just people with dementia, but for others. Fun games, music going, and it was

fantastic. They were fantastic events and it's that sort of thing which can really

help kind of galvanise generate enthusiasm and really bring people out

of their shells. So more of that please if you can and I very much support this.

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:58:29

Thank you very much Paul. Have we got any other comments or questions before Paul?

Do you want to sum up or would you like me to go to the recommendation? No? Okay

thank you very much. Okay so the recommendation is that the council

resolves to note the progress made since the council motion in January 26 and the

and the evidence gathered through engagement of the town

and parish councils and officers.

And to approve the proposed programme of intervention,

friendly workstream set out in the report.

Three, endorse continued partnership working with town

and parish councils, health partners,

voluntary and community sector, and local dementia support

organisations to take this work forward.

Four, request the progress report be shared with ONS

in approximately 12 months time.

I now call for the vote to be opened.

28, one more.

That looks to me to be unanimous.

Thank you all very much for your support on this motion and thank you to officers for

their continued work and Paul for you and your cabinet role as well.

Hugely appreciate it.

10 Motion report - Food and Farming

Right, we're going to move now to the next item, item 10, and this report will actually

be deferred until September, but I think, Mike, will you explain, give you reasons for

that?

Thank you, Joseph.

Thank you.

Thank you, Chair.

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:59:58

I'm withdrawing this report.

I think, obviously, as I said earlier, in my announcements, we are about to get a decision

on the future of local governments in Gloucestershire, and I think by postponing a discussion on

this until September we can have a much more comprehensive report and obviously

with the knowledge of the future of local government in Gloucestershire as

this was very much about that in terms of our work on food and farming so I'm

therefore not moving this report and just we bring it back to our meeting in

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:00:37

September. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Evermeade. Item 11 is an

11 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26

to receive a report from Overview and Scrutiny for 2526 and Councillor Bloomfield, Chair

will propose the recommendation.

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 1:00:59

Thank you, Chair. I know that there are other important events going on this evening, but

I do have a short report to give you all on Overview and Scrutiny. First of all, can I

thank all members of the Overview and Scrutiny committee who have been thoroughly engaged

in our agenda topics over the past year, and who together have provided the necessary scrutiny

and oversight of the Cabinet as a critical friend.

I also want to thank my Vice -Chair Angus Jenkinson and Claire Turner, who very obligingly

steps in as Vice -Chair on occasions.

At all times the views expressed and shared have not been part of political, and the intention

has been to question and debate the Administration's responsibilities and ensure decisions are

fit for purpose.

I also want to thank the members of the Democratic Services who work hard supporting OVO and

scrutiny in its functions.

It is much appreciated.

We have had a busy year which has meant additional O &S meetings had to be arranged to accommodate

the amount of reports requiring scrutiny.

This year we have already added an extra meeting in August solely to examine the local plan

in detail.

We also asked for a special report on the health of the retail and hospitality sectors

on our high streets, which revealed their challenges and has also been shared with other

councils subsequently.

The following motion passed in March 2026 has now been recommended to be considered

by LGR, which Councillor Evermy has just referred to.

It will be going to board for that.

As can be seen from the report, this year has led to an increase in recommendations to Cabinet on a wide range of subjects, most of which were accepted or partially accepted.

In particular, the recent careful examination of planning enforcement services, which gave rise to a number of recommendations to Cabinet which were accepted.

We also engaged with representatives from Freedom Leisure,

Hubico and Bromford Housing during the year,

who were all forensically questioned on the services they provide to CDC.

This year we also had some members of the public

asking questions at O &S, using it as a forum where they could raise

local issues of concern. This is to be commended and I hope

more people will engage with CDC in this way. And I'm just going to add a note

now that for the next meeting of overview and scrutiny on the local plan we are actually

going to be encouraging members of the public to come and ask questions at that meeting.

I won't take up time running through matters which are already very clearly detailed in

the report. So I just want to reinforce that going forward this year ONDESS will be focused

on scrutinising the new local plan throughout its process and the local government reorganisation.

in addition to the routine scrutiny of all aspects of the Council's policies,

including its budget, delivery of its priorities in the Council Plan and

oversight of the two main organisations CDC works with, Freedom Leisure, which

provides leisure facilities, and UbiCo, which deals with our domestic waste. And

Angus Jenkinson and I will also be part of the county -wide joint scrutiny for

LGR, Joint Scrutiny Panel for LGR, to make sure the transition to unitary in

whatever form it takes is smooth and makes sure that the residents across the

county continue to receive the public services they expect. I just also wish

England all the best tonight. Thank you.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:04:43

Well, we haven't got this far in life without getting a bit of

a...

I was born in 1966, so how long do we have to wait?

A lifetime.

Thanks very much.

Angus, what I'll do is I'll go to the second.

You can reserve your right to speak later if you wish.

Would you like to do that reserve?

Okay.

And does anybody have any questions about the report or anything they'd like to discuss?

Right, yeah.

Yeah, I just wanted to make a comment.

Councillor Ray Brassington - 1:05:12

I just wanted to thank every member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, because I

think we do a first -class job.

It's really important as part of democracy.

So thanks to everybody, and congratulations to Gina, who I think is an excellent chair.

Okay, I've got Councillor Everly first, and then Councillor Fowles.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:05:32

Yes, thank you, Chair.

Councillor Mike Evemy - 1:05:34

I on behalf of the administration thank Gina, Angus and the rest of the committee, both

past and present, for the work that they did last year.

I think this is the second year, a full year in which we've run the pre -scrutiny and I

think we've really got it working really well.

And the opportunity for cabinet members and the senior officers to sit at the front and

answer the questions and debate with members of the committee is really

valuable and I think I really thank the committee for their engagement I always

enjoy attending that and the questions and answer sessions that we have at the

committee. So I very much welcome the report. Can I just ask as it's

tidying up and I appreciate that the work plan is from the 1st of May 26

But can I just ask the officers to update the cabinet member appropriate cabinet members appropriately with their appropriate titles because when I read this through earlier I made quite a few scribbles that they're not right in terms of which cabinet member or the title of the cabinet member.

So obviously we had a change back in May so if we can just get that updated I'm sure Juna would like to know which cabinet members are coming to her committee and what their proper formal titles are.

but thank you very much for the work,

the committee for the work it does.

Thank you, Mike.

David.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:06:59

I was gonna just put a slightly different perspective on it

as a member of the opposition and a backbencher.

When there were vacancies on an overview and scrutiny meeting

because someone couldn't make it,

it used to be really hard as to try and get anybody

to come along and substitute.

And I've substituted on several occasions

because it's actually a fun committee and it's really refreshing as Mike has said to

Councillor David Fowles - 1:07:32

see the relationship between the cabinet and overview and scrutiny reach new heights and

it's much more about doing and less about talking which tended to be the view of overview

and scrutiny in the past.

And all I can say is that the county needs to watch out with Angus and Gina joining their

overview and scrutiny panel.

Good luck to you both and we're very grateful that you're going to do that job.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:07:55

Councillor Lisa Spivey - 1:07:58

Well done. And talking to the County, Councillor Spivey. Yes, thank you chair and yes I think I'd

just like to add my congratulations to the chair and vice -chair of the

Scrutiny Committee and all members of which I am once said a clear and

interest but I really think this has become an excellent model for scrutiny

and actually it's one that as leader of the County Council I am trying to bring

in and I really think that it works very well.

The pre -scrutiny absolutely is really, really valuable.

I think it makes all members who are on the committee feel

that they have an input into decision making and policy making.

And I know certainly as we look to unitarization that we should be looking at this model

and ensuring that this is embedded for any new council or councils that come forward.

because I think that in particular when we'll have a bigger membership of backbenchers,

feeling that you have a value and that you have a way and a method which you can input into

decision making, policy shaping, etc. is really, really important. I also know that

as a leader at the county council that those recommendations from scrutiny committee are

actually really welcomed. Sometimes they are things that you sort of didn't really want to

think about that much, oh the little niggles.

But often they are actually things

that you wouldn't have thought of yourself

for consideration.

So I really think that it is very, very valuable.

I have found it a really valuable committee to be part of.

And I really hope that we can use this as a model

as we move forward.

Thank you.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:09:32

Thank you very much, Councillor Spivey.

Councillor Jenkins now, would you like to second the...

Thank you very much, Chair.

Councillor Angus Jenkinson - 1:09:39

And thank you to those who've made comments.

I think life's too short to take matters like this in any other way than seriously.

I have no interest in spending time on empty activities, and I don't think anyone else here does either.

And so I'm really pleased to be able to acknowledge the way that this Scrutiny Committee has become obviously not perfect,

but more and more effective in making a difference.

And to that end, I'd like to thank all of the officers and the Cabinet members, the

officers who take the trouble to prepare the reports that we look at.

Of course, they go to Cabinet too.

But also the Cabinet members for turning up and treating it seriously and participating

in what happens.

And then afterwards Cabinet to give consideration.

And we're more and more monitoring what's actually going on.

I think that's really important.

I'd like to take the opportunity of saying that I think we have an excellent chair and

I think we can be very grateful to the chair for the work that she's been doing.

I think it's in fact something of a model.

We also have a number of members who've been very active and serious in the participation

that they've had, some changeover on it.

It's really important that people come prepared they thought about it

And they take it seriously because it seems to me that what this come what this district does

Within the county is important what we do for residents is important and therefore

It's important to make sure that we do our very best

To scrutinise what it is that we are planning to do and make sure it's the right thing and this notion of a critical friend

and I think is a really wonderful thing to take forward and adopt.

So we have managed to achieve some effectiveness and I think that's valuable.

And as I'm now on four scrutiny committees, three of them at county level, I can also

say that being on this particular scrutiny committee does mean that you get a chance

to participate elsewhere and make a difference.

and I've seen that we've been able to contribute to county economic scrutiny as a result of here.

And what goes on here and how we are doing things is already influenced what's happening in the LGR Committee

and in the Economic Scrutiny Committee because it is being regarded.

So thank you very much to everybody who is doing this and let's carry on doing good work. Thank you very much everybody.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:12:22

Thank you Councillor Jenkins and Councillor Bloomfield would you like to sum up before we go to a

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 1:12:28

you know we don't have to. Well I think everybody's expressed the views I don't

have a particular summing up it's obviously overview and scrutiny is a

very important committee on the integral parts of any council and I just thank

everybody who's been involved and I didn't actually haven't added in the

officers and also the cabinet members. It is collaborative isn't the

right word but it is it is a when we try to explore and find the best solutions

questions and it really does work very well so thank you to everybody who's

involved I fully support this report it was a very well written report thank you

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:13:04

very much. Thank you very much councillor okay I'll the recommendation is that

council notes the report from the Open Review and Scrutiny Committee 25 26 and

And my notes are telling me that we go to a vote on that.

So let's do that.

Three more, please.

If you miss it, you miss it.

There we go.

Four more, sorry.

OK, that's carried.

Thank you very much, Gina, for all your work.

Our next item, we have a motion, colleagues.

I imagine it's pretty uncontentious, I hope,

in improving maternity services across Gloucestershire.

And the proposer is Councillor Laura Hall -Wilson.

Would you like to take it away, Laura?

Councillor Laura Hall-Wilson - 1:14:01

Thank you very much.

Before I introduce my motion,

I want to pay tribute to all the women, babies,

and their wider families who have experienced trauma, loss,

and unsafe care during childbirth.

There are few words to describe the unimaginable pain

of losing a baby in the final stages of your pregnancy,

where you have every right to expect

that the system should keep you safe

and deliver the beautiful newborn you've kept safe

for nine months.

You're in my thoughts as I talk on this issue.

I brought this motion to full council today

after the publication of two harrowing reports

into maternity services, the Ockendon Maternity Review

and the Baroness Amos National Maternity

and neonatal investigation.

The latter including a specific report

on Gloucestershire Hospital's NHS Foundation Trust,

my own experiences and those of women across the district.

I've spent time meeting with and listening to mothers

and groups advocating on behalf of mothers

before writing this motion.

I'm delighted to have the support of Councillor Neill

who has agreed to second my motion.

Her experience in this area is vast

and I appreciate her acknowledgement

that this is an issue of utmost importance to residents.

I have two beautiful boys,

both delivered in Gloucester Royal Hospital.

The midwifery and obstetrics teams there

were kind and compassionate.

And I will always be grateful for their help

in delivering Sidney and Bertie.

However, my experience could have been better

and I shouldn't have been left feeling

that luck played a part in both deliveries.

The first experience left me terrified

of what was happening to my body

and being moved from birthing unit

to the delivery suite with little explanation

of what was happening or why I was moved was very confusing.

The second experience saw my baby arrive within two hours

and very nearly in the maternity triage area as I was left

in active labour with other women coming

in for inductions seen ahead of me.

I'm a woman who is capable of advocating for herself.

But in those moments, I was completely dependent

on my husband to communicate for me.

I just felt I wasn't being heard in that moment.

My experience in between those pregnancies,

however, was the most serious.

Turned away from health services four times with pain

and concerns around my pregnancy in August 2024,

I ended up with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.

I was taken by ambulance to Gloucester,

where I underwent three hours of surgery,

lost three and a half litres of blood, and my fallopian tube.

Nothing could have prevented the ectopic pregnancy,

but had I been listened to, the situation would never have escalated to the life -threatening

way that it played out.

Childbirth is how we all got here.

We should remember that most births in the UK are safe, but carrying and delivering a

baby has inherent risks, and there are clear, deep -rooted and long -standing issues in our

maternity services that must be addressed.

The maternal death rate in the UK is one of the highest in Western Europe, with still

births also high. The NHS currently spends more on payouts for medical

negligence in maternity than it does in frontline services. I welcome the

aforementioned reports from Donna Ockendon and Baroness Amos and the

recommendations that they have set out because it gives us the opportunity to

do better. Some are already being actioned at a national level and I'm

delighted for former MP Theo Clark and Louise Thompson from Made in Chelsea

that their call for a maternity commissioner has been shared by Baroness Amos and already

actioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

The report also highlights specific areas that I've seen first -hand needing improvement,

including the triaging of mothers in labour and listening more to women during their pregnancies.

These form some of the 10 immediate actions that are being taken here in Gloucestershire.

I attended Gloucestershire County Council's Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee earlier

this week as an observer to hear the agenda item on maternity services and I

was pleased to hear from senior NHS leaders more on actions they are taking

across the county but I want to keep raising this issue until the

improvement is delivered upon including reinstating at -home

births, reopening the Avita birthing unit in Cheltenham, keeping Stroud

maternity unit available 24 -7 and reopening the postnatal beds because

care shouldn't stop the moment the baby is delivered. Here in this chamber we

will not solve the problem but what we can do is speak on behalf of residents

in the Cotswolds to urge NHS leaders in Gloucestershire to grasp the situation,

deliver on the recommendations urgently and do all they can to give women and

babies in Gloucestershire the safe care that they deserve. Thank you very much

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:18:47

Laura. So the process goes like this there'll be any questions for you at

this stage and then we'll go to the seconder which is Dyliss and then

if there are any amendments we work through that process. I'm not sure they

probably will be and then we go back to the substantive motion. So do

we have any questions there? This is for clarity because you don't understand the

motion not just rhetorical. Okay we don't. Councillor Neill would you like to speak

Councillor Dilys Neill - 1:19:24

now? Yes that would be fine. Okay so I'm delighted that Councillor Hall -Wilson has

brought this motion to Council. She's obviously very well placed having

recently experienced maternity provision in the county but I'm also uniquely

placed to second this motion. I'm a member of the Health Overview and

Scrutiny Committee and as Councillor Hodgkinson also sits at that committee

and so I've seen the reports and discussions around the provision of

maternity services in Gloucestershire following the Panorama programme which

highlighted the failings of maternity care in the county. I've given birth to

three strapping children myself and seen that the difference in antinatal care

an intrapartum care received by my daughter in the UK and my daughter -in -law in Austria where it was much better I think.

I've also attended numerous births as a paediatrician. I have delivered babies while working as a junior doctor

and I have attended home deliveries while working as a GP. I've also worked in the third world and have seen some happy natural births

and also some disasters due to inadequate care for mothers giving birth.

Those of us who are parents, probably particularly mums,

will understand that having a baby is a hugely important life event.

We clearly remember the pregnancies and particularly the process of birthing.

It's something that never goes away, is it, ladies?

It should be a joyful experience.

Mothers should be able to feel confident and safe during the

antenatal period as well as while giving birth.

So childbirth is a natural process and we all understand

that for most of history and across much of the world today,

it is also a potentially very dangerous process.

And without the support, without support, neonatal and professional

support neonatal and maternal mortality and other complications birth injuries

for example would are unacceptably high without that medical intervention so but

the process during in my working lifetime the process of having a child

has become increasingly medicalized this it should in theory make childbirth

safer but the recent Occandon and Amos reports show that this is not always the

case, and we've seen the unacceptable records of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths.

This has led to conversations with mothers, family members and members of staff, which

should have happened a long time ago, to inform better practise. Many women feel that their

voice is not heard, the process through the system, often without really understanding

what's going on, which can be a distressing and alarming experience. And at the moment

Gloucester shows Laura has said there's very little choice for women apart from

having your baby in Gloucester. The midwives, there has been a

chronic shortage of midwives at Gloucester Royal Hospital with midwives

reporting being excessive workloads, excessive hours and burnout and the

response, the reduction in intrapartum services outside Gloucester Royal is

partly due in response to discussion with midwives who can't take on any more

work.

So it's great to see that the HOSC has put plans in place to

improve services.

And while I was working in general practise 30 years ago,

we ran antenatal clinics attended by one of the doctors

and community midwives.

This doesn't happen now in most practises,

and some pregnant women are now referred to the local

midwifery team, which is great, but there's often poor

communication between the community midwifery team and the

local hospital, and that's something that needs to be

improved so that mums always know where they can

turn for advice.

So actions were recommended in the Occhenden and Amos

reports, as well as in the report from NHS England.

These include workforce planning, accountability,

safe and effective triage, and addressing inequalities

and discrimination.

But top of the list in all of them is listening to women.

So if they say something's wrong, you take it seriously.

and also Martha's rule which is that anyone can ask for a second opinion

has also been brought to the fore. So I think that the actions that Councillor

Hall -Wilson has proposed are entirely appropriate. We need to speak out on

behalf of our residents. Maternity care is a hugely important topic and we need

to know this council that lessons have been learned from previous mistakes and

tragedies, and to be reassured that the actions proposed will be put into place, and above

all that every woman, whatever age, education, ethnic origin or other characteristic, will

be listened to.

Thank you, Delis.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:24:41

We'll go to the debate on the substantial mode, and I have to say this feels like something

that I feel eminently unqualified to debate on,

other than I stood by three births and not done the work.

But yes, do we have anybody who'd?

I've got Paul, and then Naomi, and then, yeah.

I'll get you down.

Of course.

Thank you.

Yeah, I just want, well, I can't compete with the experience,

obviously, of either giving birth or delivering.

But what I can do is obviously speak in terms of my role at Gloucestershire County Council

where I'm responsible for public health.

So I have been really engaged in this issue.

I'm very worried about it actually, very concerned about it.

I think all of the things that have come out nationally from you've referenced the two

reports Baroness Amos and the Ockendon reports, they are extremely worrying.

And this has raised itself on the national agenda.

And of course Gloucestershire has had its own share of these issues too.

So it is concerning and that has been referenced.

I was at the health overview scrutiny committee yesterday in Shire Hall in Gloucester and

I asked questions of the NHS around this.

They are making some progress.

There's no doubt about that.

And in terms of the opening of the birth unit, reopening, sorry, in Cheltenham.

But I'm still worried about what's happening at Stroud.

I asked a specific question yesterday about when or how the anti -natal units, the anti -natal

12 Notice of Motion

unit will be reopened in Stroud and I had no real, didn't have a time scale, didn't

have a guarantee.

In fact, the head of the NHS made a point of coming over to me afterwards and saying,

we are not guaranteeing this.

But they are working on it.

Now, given our experience of Syrinsester Hospital and other hospitals, I do get very concerned

about these promises which never come to fruition.

So we must keep a handle on that.

And I think, you know, the Stroud point is very important for those who live in the south

of the district, clearly.

So just a point around, I think in the motion it refers to the cabinet member for health

at GCC.

I'm public health.

I think this is probably Kate Usmar who is adult social care and health so it

probably will go to her but obviously I can input into that but very much

support this and I will do what I can to support this issue thank you. Thank you

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:27:14

Councillor Hodgkinson. Okay we're going to Councillor Naomi Blume and welcome.

Councillor Naomi Bloomer - 1:27:19

On the topic of unqualified speakers I'm probably in the room the most qualified

personally with an eight month old baby to speak about recent experiences with

Gloucester maternity services and I'd like to give my whole heart to support

this motion thank you so much for bringing it to the council. I would

like it noted however that not only women are giving birth in Gloucestershire

I'm a non -binary person who's given who's had two of my pregnancies using

services directly relevant to this motion and I would like to request that

the terminologies are altered or added to be more inclusive of non women using

maternity services. I also request and encourage all members to use more

inclusive language in their debate on this matter. Thank you very much.

Thanks for that. Thanks for that Councillor Bloomer. Duly noted.

Councillor Claire Bloomer - 1:28:13

Councillor Clare Bloomer. Thank you chair and I absolutely support this motion and

really sympathise with those that have been through those ordeals which is

awful. Our local MP was aware of this motion and has received a letter from

Stephen Kinnock to say that Stroud maternity units will be opened hopefully

in the autumn and home births will be also allowed to go forward.

I think it's really important that women have a choice in where they choose

to have their baby whether that's at home or in a hospital or the choice of

hospitals. I have friends that have given birth in the Stroud and really wanted to

go back there to have their second children. But I would also like to thank

Gloucestershire Hospital because most recently my daughter gave birth at

Gloucestershire Hospital and was given great treatment and I do understand that it's

very challenging times for the NHS and their incredible dedication and

professionalism really shone through and I would like to put on the record that

My own daughter is actually a midwife

and there are extreme pressures on them.

But yes, I absolutely support this moral notion

and thank you for bringing it forward.

Thank you, Councillor Cletb -Ruma.

Councillor David Fowles.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:29:26

Councillor David Fowles - 1:29:29

Thanks, Chairman.

Rather like you and I'm sure most of the men,

or all of the men in here,

probably ill -equipped to comment on this in detail.

But I came into this chamber being in awe of mothers.

I'm even more in awe of what you go through

and to bring children into the world.

I'd like to personally congratulate both Laura

and Dilys for their presentations.

And for me, they were the best presentations I've ever heard.

Well done, both of you.

I wanted not to make an amendment,

but a suggestion under item two.

As we've listened to the motion being brought forward,

it seems to me that it might make sense if the leader was willing to include in his meeting

with the cabinet member responsible both the proposal and the seconder of this motion.

So he's got access to two mothers and obviously a former GP as well just to help the process

just to speed it along. It's only a suggestion, it's not meant to be an

amendment, but if the leader was supportive of it, I asked my leader and

he was supportive of it. If when we sit down and continue the discussions,

Mike may or may not agree to that. Thank you.

Thank you very much Councillor Fowls, Councillor Clareton.

Councillor Clare Turner - 1:30:54

Thanks, Chair. The youngest of my children turned out ten days late, but 20 minutes ahead of the

home birth, but despite this slightly unplanned element of a planned home birth, it was a

really positive experience and I'm deeply saddened when these services are restricted

or suspended. I've also given birth in a hospital and a midwife -led unit and relied on the immense

skill and care of midwives and their colleagues when delivering following the loss of a baby.

So I feel reasonably well placed to advocate on the subject of choice when it comes to maternity services and the importance of the access to high quality care.

So I'd really like to thank both of my colleagues for bringing this motion to Council and for the very eloquent words that they both spoke on the subject.

Although this Council is obviously not responsible for maternity services and we've heard about some of the progress that's been made,

we still have that responsibility to speak on behalf of our residents and

ensure that the improvements are actually delivered. So this motion I feel

is about playing our small part in learning from past mistakes, rebuilding

the trust, making sure every family can feel confident in the care they receive

and can choose the right care for them at one of the most important times in

their lives. So I'm very happy to support the motion. Thank you very much Councillor

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:32:19

I've got Councillor Lisa Spivey next. Thank you and yes I'm absolutely

Councillor Lisa Spivey - 1:32:24

rising to support this really important motion I think you know the recent

reports which you cited have been really really truly shocking and actually what

is shocking more than anything I think is that this is just a part of a series

of reports it feels like this is one of the things that we've been hearing for a

long time and actually where in particular women's health and the care that we receive

in the health service is never put to the forefront.

We know that things like pain that women suffer from whether that's endometriosis or other

things are just never really, we're not listened to enough.

We know that if a woman is having a heart attack, she has different symptoms from that

of a man and yet therefore is misdiagnosed as being a bit anxious.

We know that if you are in a car accident as a woman, you'll probably have a bit more chance of injury,

because seat belts are not designed to look after you, so when you present at hospital, there are lots of things like that.

This happened when my daughter had an appendicitis, and of course when the junior doctor very nicely sort of pulled up the diagram to show her what was going on,

of course it was a picture of a man, and yet he had to say, yes, well of course actually your appendicitis, your appendix isn't quite there.

And it's just a sort of, it feels like it's constantly.

And I think as one of our colleagues just said,

this is something which affects all of us

because we're all born at some point.

And it is absolutely vital that we stand up

and that we say this.

And I don't mind who says it.

I think it's important whether you have given birth

or not given birth, that we make this point.

It is really important.

And absolutely, if you are giving birth,

you should feel that it is safe,

that you will be listened to and that you will be cared for.

And I know that there are excellent people working within

our NHS every day striving to do that.

But we are hearing repeatedly of these terribly traumatic

incidents which are occurring.

And absolutely, we should stand up and make sure that that is

not going to happen again.

I know that we have excellent MPs in the county who are already

standing up for this in particular.

I know that Max Wilkinson has campaigned long and hard on the Avita birth unit in Cheltenham.

I'd like to thank him publicly for his efforts to do that.

And I know that clearly at Gloucester County Council, we don't run the health service.

And so there are some nuances in the actions, but I mean, I absolutely take the spirit of

it.

And of course, we're very happy for the leader and for the proposal and seconder to meet

with Paul and in fact, Dr Kate Asmar who is in fact herself a GP and has delivered many babies.

So she leads on adult care and independence at the County Council. I'm sure we'll be an absolutely

somebody who wants to champion this. I think just finally to say that at the County Council,

Councillor Ian Dobie takes his role as the chair of that health overview and scrutiny committee

very seriously and has practically as a standing item on the agenda an item

around maternity cover and care because we know how important it is. Oh and actually

I think just just very finally I think this also is really important because

here in Gloucestershire we have as you know I often talk about rural

discrimination it's about access to services and when you are giving birth

you need to know that you can access a service that is near to you,

that is going to provide really good care and that you feel safe in.

And I think that's absolutely vital.

That's even more important when we live in rural areas where our nearest hospital

or place where we can birthing unit is, you know,

half an hour, an hour away from us.

And when we're asking, you know, people who are giving in -labour

then to potentially travel even further, I think it's absolutely right

that we stand up and we champion the use of our local hospitals to really bring

this back because we should all have access to safe birthing facilities

throughout this county. Thank you. Thank you Councillor Spivey. I'm going to go to

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:36:39

Councillor Pellegram and then Councillor Jenkinson and then I'm going to go to the vote

unless anybody's got got an argument it's going to shoot this down and then

we'll carry on debating it for another hour and a half. You're welcome to say

something. Yeah. So Council Perogram first, then Jenkinson.

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 1:36:56

I'll be fast because I know that people want to get out. I just want to say oh my

god what an experience how horrific and how brave of you to do this and thank

you both for this. Of course I support it. As a mother I've done it myself. I came

here as a foreigner and I was amazed and delighted that I actually didn't have to

worry about my insurance and whether it would cover my health and that I got as

much pain medication as I wanted and I didn't have to worry how much I was going to have

to pay for a caesarean. So it's, you know, could be worse. But it can also be better.

And I think you've really shown that here. I just want to say you're not alone in your

battles. I know, you know, we've heard about other MPs but our MP for the South Cotshold,

Ross Savage is working very, very hard on this, trying to get our hospital, you know,

secured and of course we lost our maternity services in Sire ancestor, so you're not alone and I support you so much

Thank you much council paragraph. Council Jenkinson

Thank you very much chair. I won't keep you very long, but I do have

Councillor Angus Jenkinson - 1:38:05

I do have an unusual experience

As well as a very usual one from which I'm making this point and then obviously I'm not a woman so

I'm not coming from that point of view.

But the common experience that I share with you all is

that I am a grown -up child.

I was born.

So I'm speaking on behalf of the children because we've heard a lot

about the mothers and rightly so.

But what goes with that is that there are children born and each one of us,

as has been mentioned by several people, was one of them.

It makes a lifetime difference. The science on this is clear.

It makes a lifetime difference to children what happens in the birth, which makes it all the more reason

to say that this motion is extremely important to support.

Thank you, Councillor Jenkins and Councillor Everly, and then I'm going to go to the vote.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:39:05

Thank you, Chair.

Councillor Mike Evemy - 1:39:11

I was obviously named, so I've stood up to speak on this. I want to start by thanking

Councillor Horwils and Councillor Neill for their excellent presentations and

obviously in Councillor Horwils case a very personal one so thank you Laura

thank you Delis for the presentation and I also want to commend them for the well

how well written the motion is and how very clear the ask is of of us as a

council and of me personally as a leader and what I take and that's why I want to

speak to now is that you're essentially asking me on your behalf to seek how

both councils can work together to meet with a one of Lisa's cabinet I would

suggest so I'm going to gently decline the suggestion that Councillor Fowles

made because I think this is about my role as the leader of the council on

behalf of the whole council I'm very happy to meet with Dyliss and Laura

before that meeting and for you to brief me but essentially what you've asked and

what you're asking, you're passing this motion, is for me to meet with my counterpart at GCC

to talk about how the councils can work together. And I think that's best done by two people,

frankly, and most quickly done by two people in terms of organising calendars, and I'm

sure you will want me to get on with that. So that's how I intend to take this forward

if you pass the resolution.

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:40:31

Thank you very much, Councillor Edmy. Right, if we could open the voting. I'm not going

got it, you've all seen it. Keep it coming, folks. Well, that looks to me to be unanimous,

So thank you all very much for that. Thank you Laura and Dilys for bringing it

and

With that

Next meeting 12th of August 2026 at 6 p .m. And then the following one will be the 23rd of September

Enjoy the summer apart from when we hook up on the 12th and enjoy that as well

And but more importantly enjoy the football drive safely on your way home, please. Thank you very much

Thank you.

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CouncilWednesday, 15th July 2026 at 6:00pm

1 Apologies

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:00:03

Nickie Mackenzie-Daste, Officer - 0:00:40

2 Declarations of Interest

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:00:47

3 Minutes

Councillor Julia Judd - 0:01:19

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:02:27

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:02:58

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:10:19

Councillor David Fowles - 0:10:34

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:11:39

Councillor Patrick Coleman - 0:11:44

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:12:38

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:12:44

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:13:53

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:14:25

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:18:20

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:18:25

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:26:04

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:27:34

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:27:37

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:27:43

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:28:36

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:30:25

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:30:34

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 0:30:35

7 Member Questions

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:31:20

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:32:15

Councillor Laura Hall-Wilson - 0:32:37

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:33:19

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:34:46

Councillor Daryl Corps - 0:34:59

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:35:55

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:36:31

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 0:36:43

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:37:43

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:38:15

Councillor David Fowles - 0:38:25

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:39:32

Councillor Andrea Pellegram - 0:39:34

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:40:37

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:41:18

Councillor David Fowles - 0:41:21

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:42:05

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:42:20

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:08

8 Committee membership change

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:44:25

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:49

Councillor Nikki Ind - 0:44:54

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:44:58

9 Making the Cotswold District Dementia Friendly

Councillor Patrick Coleman - 0:45:31

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:45:47

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:45:54

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:50:31

Councillor David Fowles - 0:50:50

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:51:56

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:52:36

Councillor Tristan Wilkinson - 0:52:47

Councillor Dilys Neill - 0:52:54

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:55:09

Councillor Paul Evans - 0:55:17

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:55:34

Councillor Nikki Ind - 0:55:40

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:56:53

Councillor Mark Harris - 0:58:29

10 Motion report - Food and Farming

Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:59:58

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:00:37

11 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report 2025/26

Councillor Gina Blomefield - 1:00:59

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:04:43

Councillor Ray Brassington - 1:05:12

Councillor Mark Harris - 1:05:32

Councillor Mike Evemy - 1:05:34

Council
Wednesday, 15th July 2026 at 6:00pm