Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the minutes of the previous Council meeting on 23^rd October 2025 and the two extraordinary meetings on 25^th November 2025.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meetings on Thursday 23^rd October 2025 and two meetings on Tuesday 25^th November 2025 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

It was proposed by Cllr Bullivant, seconded by Cllr Keeling and

RESOLVED

The minutes of the meetings on Thursday 23 October 2025 and two meetings on Tuesday 25 November 2025 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Announcements only from the Chair of Council, Leader, Members of the Executive or the Managing Director.

The Chair reported on his Civic engagements since the last meeting, which included Teignmouth Town council Christmas pantomime, and the Staff Awards the previous day.

In regard to Local Government Reorganisation, the Leader advised that following him forwarding to all Councillors a letter from the Minister for Local Government and Housing asking Councils with elections in 2026, Plymouth and Exeter City Council, if they wished to postpone them. Plymouth will carry on with their elections. Exeter City Council has announced that it does not have the capacity to run elections. Consequently, he will be offering the Council’s resources to the Leader of Exeter City Council to assist with the election and will share this letter with all Councillors.  

Information pertaining to the Members' Code of Conduct and guidance relating to declaring interests can be found on the following webpage: Teignbridge District Council - Councillor-conduct

Cllr Bullivant declared an interest in Minute 157 relating to the Special Responsibility Allowance to be paid to the Chair of the Governance Committee, and left the meeting while the item was discussed and determined.

Members of the public may ask questions. A maximum period of 15 minutes will be allowed with a maximum period of three minutes per questioner.

None

Members of the Council may ask questions of the Council subject to procedural rules.

In accordance with the Council’s procedural rules, the Leader responded to councillors’ question. 

The questions and responses were published prior to the meeting and related to Cllrs providing factually incorrect information in a meeting, and Council enforcement for unlawful flags on public furniture.

Supplementary questions were asked and can be viewed at the link below

Full Council - Thursday 15 January 2026, 11:00am - Start video at 0:12:53 - Teignbridge District Council Webcasting

To receive the recommendation of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee on 6^th January 2026, to appoint the Council’s Monitoring Officer pursuant to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

The agenda and minutes of this meeting can be found: Agenda for Appointments & Remuneration Committee on Tuesday 6th January 2026

RECOMMENDATION

The Committee recommends to Full Council the appointment of Charlie Fisher to the position of Interim Monitoring Officer, and that the Committee notes that should efforts to recruit for the role be unsuccessful that he continues on in the role.

RESOLVED

That Charlie Fisher is appointed to the position of (Interim) Monitoring Officer, and that Council notes that should efforts to recruit for the role be unsuccessful that he continues on in the role.

It was proposed by Councillor Keelin, seconded by Councillor Parrott and unanimously,

RESOLVED

That Charlie Fisher is appointed to the position of (Interim) Monitoring Officer, and that Council notes that should efforts to recruit for the role be unsuccessful that he continues on in the role.

At the Executive Meeting on Tuesday 6^th January 2026, the Executive recommended to Full Council that:

1.    The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (attached as Appendix A) is adopted for the year 2026-27 with the income amounts uprated in line with annual uprating of welfare awards which are usually confirmed before the end of this calendar year.

2.    Delegated authority is given to the Council Tax Lead Officer to amend the income bands within the scheme to align with the uprated amounts, once confirmed by Government.

The associated documents can be found at: Agenda for Executive on Tuesday 6th January 2026 - Teignbridge District Council

RESOLVED

1.     The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (attached as Appendix A) is adopted for the year 2026-27 with the income amounts uprated in line with annual uprating of welfare awards which are usually confirmed before the end of this calendar year.

2.     Delegated authority is given to the Council Tax Lead Officer to amend the income bands within the scheme to align with the uprated amounts, once confirmed by Government

The Executive Member for Corporate and Finance gave an updated which included the following:

·     Confirmation of the originally proposed income bands following a review of central government decisions about welfare awards from 1.4.26

·     The impact of above CPI inflation increases to some welfare award elements.

·     The government’s decision to change the 2 child limit allowances.

·     Confirmation there are no changes to the proposed income bands at paragraph 6.5 of the agenda report.

·     In relation to paragraph 6.6 of the agenda report, the Council’s scheme has provisions for annual increases in line with CPI, however central government has announced changes that were above or beyond those provisions.

-        The 6.2% increase to the standard allowances of Universal Credit exceed the customary Consumer Price Index amounts

-        The abolition of the Universal Credit 2 child allowance limit.

·     With regards to paragraph 6.7, the effect of any band change which causes hardship will be mitigated by using the Exceptional Hardship scheme provisions.

·     The impact of the changes will be monitored and any public consultation for any changes to the scheme undertaken. There is insufficient time to make any changes to the scheme for the coming year. (Paragraph 6.8)

·     Referring to paragraph 6.9, the scheme has an in-built provision to incorporate the prescribed changes to pensioner claims which are set by Government. This is a statutory uplift.

In response to questions, the meeting was advised that the cost to the Council of the support and benefit was£920K, 8% of the total cost for Devon which was £10m.

The financial hardship scheme was supported, and it was proposed by Councillor Parrott, seconded by Councillor Keeling and,

RESOLVED

1.       The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (attached as Appendix A) is adopted for the year 2026-27 with the income amounts uprated in line with annual uprating of welfare awards which are usually confirmed before the end of this calendar year.

2.       Delegated authority is given to the Council Tax Lead Officer to amend the income bands within the scheme to align with the uprated amounts, once confirmed by Government

To consider the recommendations from Independent Renumneration Panel, as recommended by the Governance Committee at its meeting on 8^th January 2026.

The agenda and minutes for this meeting can be found: Agenda for Governance Committee on Thursday 8th January 2026

The report of the IRP is attached.

RESOLVED

1.     Travel for those receiving a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA)

The existing practice as set out in Section 8f of the Constitution – Members Allowance Scheme as below be confirmed:

“The SRA is paid to recognise the additional commitment and time required to fulfil each role and covers subsistence and travel for attending meetings not listed in Appendix A.”

2.     SRA for the Chair of the new Governance Committee

The SRA for the Chair of the Governance Committee continue and be set at the current SRA of £3,159.71.

3.     Annual review of expenditure and benchmarking

There be no increase in the Council’s Basic Allowance other than the annual increase in line with Local Authority employee pay increase.

Cllr Bullivant declared an interest relating to the Special Responsibility Allowance to be paid to the Chair of the Governance Committee and left the meeting while the item was discussed and determined.

It was proposed by Councillor Keeling and seconded by Councillor Palethorpe that the recommendations proposed by the Independent Remuneration Panel be approved.

RESOLVED

1.     Travel for those receiving a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA)

The existing practice as set out in Section 8f of the Constitution – Members Allowance Scheme as below be confirmed:

“The SRA is paid to recognise the additional commitment and time required to fulfil each role and covers subsistence and travel for attending meetings not listed in Appendix A.”

2.     SRA for the Chair of the new Governance Committee

The SRA for the Chair of the Governance Committee continue and be set at the current SRA of £3,159.71.

3.     Annual review of expenditure and benchmarking

There be no increase in the Council’s Basic Allowance other than the annual increase in line with Local Authority employee pay increase.

To consider a number of amendments to the Constitution, as agreed by the Constitution Review Working Group.

Within the Procedural Rules (Section 4) that the Monitoring Officer be named to determine the acceptance of Questions by Members of the Public (4.7.1 (f)) and Questions from Members of the Council (4.7.3) instead of the Managing Director to ensure consistency across all processes.

RESOLVED

That within the Procedural Rules (Section 4) that the Monitoring Officer be named to determine the acceptance of Questions by Members of the Public (4.7.1 (f)) and Questions from Members of the Council (4.7.3) instead of the Managing Director to ensure consistency across all processes.

It was proposed by Councillor Steemson, seconded by Councillor Palethorpe and unanimously,

RESOLVED

That within the Procedural Rules (Section 4) that the Monitoring Officer be named to determine the acceptance of Questions by Members of the Public (4.7.1 (f)) and Questions from Members of the Council (4.7.3) instead of the Managing Director to ensure consistency across all processes.

To agree the proposed changes to the Amendments to Motions procedure.

RESOLVED

That the changes to the Amendments to Motions procedures be adopted.

It was proposed by Councillor Steemson, seconded by Councillor Keeling and

RESOLVED

The changes to the Amendments to Motions procedures as set out in the agenda be adopted.

To agree a petitions process to be inserted into Section 4 – Council Meeting Procedural Rules.

RESOLVED

That the petitions process be adopted and inserted into Section 4 (Council Meeting Procedural Rules).

It was proposed by Councillor Steemson, seconded by Councillor Keeling and unanimously,

RESOLVED

The petitions process as set out in the agenda be adopted and inserted into Section 4 (Council Meeting Procedural Rules).

To agree the proposed Councillor Role Profiles to replace the current Section 8a and those role profiles documented in other parts of the Constitution.

RESOLVED

That the Councillor Role Profiles to replace the current Section 8a and those role profiles documented in other parts of the Constitution is adopted.

It was proposed by Councillor Steemson, seconded by Councillor Palethorpe and

RESOLVED

The Councillor Role Profiles as set out in the agenda to replace the current Section 8a and those role profiles documented in other parts of the Constitution is adopted.

The following motion on the proposed closure of Torquay Police Custody Centre has been proposed by Councillor Jane Taylor, seconded by Councillor Horner and supported by the requisite number of Members within the procedural rules.

Background

I am proposing a notice of motion regarding the proposed 'pilot' closure of Torquay Custody Centre, on the grounds of efficiency. As I am sure you will have seen in the press, Police Officers will have to transport prisoners arrested in Torbay or Teignbridge, to Exeter or Plymouth. It has been reported that more than 5,000 detainees are processed each year. Some sources put it has high as 7000, either way it is a lot of detainees being transported across the County. 

Torquay is one of the busiest custody centres in the force and is frequently full, having to divert Officers to other custody centres. There are at least 36 cells and numerous other functions are carried out in custody suites, including breath and blood tests for drink and drug drivers. This is a time crucial process with a serious risk of offenders providing samples under the limit, if not done as soon as possible. Strip and intimate searches, swabs, bail returnees, interviews, fingerprinting and DNA are also conducted there, to name a few.  

In a previous life, I served 30 years with Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, starting in Torquay and spending most of my career in South Devon, including a stint as a Custody Sergeant. This is an issue which is very close to my heart because first and foremost it is about the welfare and safety of our police officers. There are many obvious consequences of closure and some less, which I have listed below to assist you in your letter to the Chief Constable. 

In relation to the proposed closure of Torbay Custody Centre, the Council notes that:

1. Officer Safety - Violent prisoners need to be transported the shortest possible distance for the safety of Officers and the detainees. Currently violent prisoners can be restrained in prison vans for long periods of time when Torquay Custody Centre is full. The detainee will remain restrained while they are transported to the nearest custody centre with availability, in some case first going to Exeter and then being redirected to Plymouth.  

2. Detainee Safety - It is well documented that prolonged restraint of detainees can contribute to deaths in custody, as was the finding of the Coroner in the sad case of Thomas Orchard. On arrival at a custody centre the waiting times to process detained persons are regularly longer than two hours and up to 7/8 hours, the whole of the officer's shift! 

3. Officer Abstraction - Officers would be out of area for longer, leaving little or no response capability. The effectiveness of any policing response will be seriously impacted. The consequence of this will be incurred overtime cost, increased time in lieu being accrued and officers being refused time off and annual leave.   

4. Response Times - Response times will increase with fewer officers  ...  view the full agenda text for item 159.

The Notice of Motion was withdrawn by the proposer, Councillor J Taylor and seconder Councillor Horner because the Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police had decided not to close the Torquay police custody centre. Councillor J Taylor thanked the Leader and all those who had made written representation to the Chief Constable, opposing the closure of the custody centre.