Minutes:
Councillor Meekins stated that as Councillor Barber, the Vice Chairman, was not present at today’s meeting, the Standing Orders for ordinary meetings of the Council permit under Paragraph 2.1b, the election of a person to preside if the Vice-Chairman is not present.
Councillor Meekins proposed that Councillor Humphrey assume the role of Vice-Chairman for the purposes of the meeting, Councillor Boden seconded the proposal and Councillor Michael Humphrey was duly elected to fulfil the role of Vice-Chairman
Councillor Meekins paid his respects to former District Councillor Kathleen Brennan. During her time with the Council, Kathleen had served on various committees including Community, Housing and Property, Policy and Resources as well as the Leisure Services Board.
Members joined Councillor Meekins in observing a minute’s silence for Kathleen Brennan.
The Chairman thanked everyone who attended his Civic Reception in September and hoped they found it to be as thoroughly enjoyable an evening as he did. He thanked Member Services for their support in organising this event. Councillor Meekins advised members that the next planned event is his charity coffee morning on 17 October, which will be held in the Council Chamber. He explained that this year he has chosen to support the Damsons Community Group who are based in Wisbech, and their aim is to support those persons suffering from dementia along with their carers. The Chairman also advised that he will be holding his Community Carol Service on Friday 6 December in the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Wisbech and he looks forward to seeing Members at both of these events.
Paul Medd, Chief Executive, made the following announcement:
“I am delighted to announce that the Council has once again been reaccredited for Customer Service Excellence. CSE is a national standard that recognises public bodies that provide customer focused, high-quality services. Fenland is one of the few councils that have consistently achieved this rigorous standard for all its services. Following an assessment in June, the CSE assessor stated that Fenland continues to demonstrate how they put residents at the heart of service delivery, with examples of reduced Council Tax and the introduction of new services, such as the Early Help Hub. He continued, the ongoing transformation project has added further channels, and traditional channels have also been enhanced ensuring access for the elderly, vulnerable or people who do not have digital access. He added that the assessor also praised the Council and stated that the use of staff insight into delivering excellent services was already at a high level in 2023, however staff insight has increased further through empowering the 3C’s (Compliments, Comments and Complaints) Team. The assessor noted further that the number and range of partner organisations is constantly increasing to meet the needs of a diverse community, including areas of deprivation, with the Council increasing their interaction with wider communities.
Paul Medd invited Councillor Steve Tierney, Portfolio Holder for Transformation and Communications, to be presented with the CSE reaccreditation certificate from Councillor Meekins.
Councillor Tierney commented that he was proud to be the Portfolio Holder for this area of the Councils business, with the Council having a very strong team of officers who strive to work hard to deliver for the residents of Fenland and the officers should be afforded a great deal of thanks.
The Chairman congratulated Councillor Tierney.