Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Mayor’s Celebrant, Ms June Saville, will lead the Council in a moment’s reflection.

The Mayor opened the meeting and welcomed all present. The Mayor’s celebrant, June Saville, led the Council in a moment’s reflection.

To receive any apologies for absence on behalf of Council members.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Bill Hartnett, Robin King and Wanda King.

To invite Councillors to declare any interests they may have in items on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 17th October 2011.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 5 - 2011/12)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 17th October 2011 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To receive a report from the Mayor on civic matters which have arisen since the last meeting or events which may be occurring in the near future.

To give notice of any variation to the items listed in the Forward Plan and/or items accepted as “Urgent Business”.

(No separate report / oral update)

The Mayor’s communications and announcements were considered under the following headings:

a)         2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment

The Mayor informed the Council of the recent sad death of a member of the 2nd Battalion, the Mercian Regiment, Private Matthew Haseldin, 21 years old from Settle in North Yorkshire. A letter of condolence had been sent on the Council’s behalf to the Regiment.

b)         Canon David Salt

The Mayor advised the Council that Canon David Salt, former Vicar of St. Stephens, would shortly be retiring to Wiltshire. On behalf of the Council, the Mayor wished David and Mrs Salt the very best for their retirement.

c)         Mayor’s Announcements

The Mayor advised that since the previous meeting of the Council she had undertaken a number of engagements in her civic capacity including her own Civic Dinner, a Charity Quiz Night and the Sports Awards 2011 in Worcester, at which Redditch’s Richard Murphy and Stevan Walton were presented with awards.

d)         Forthcoming events

The Mayor advised that forthcoming events included the Town Centre Carol Concert that coming Thursday evening and the Pantomime at the Palace Theatre.

To receive a report from the Leader on matters considered to be of significance to the Council.

(No separate report / oral update)

There were no announcements.

To consider the following Question for the Leader, which has been submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 9.2:

“White Ribbon Campaign”

(Councillor Juliet Brunner)

(Question attached)

The Leader responded to a question submitted in accordance with Procedure Rule 9.2 from Councillor Juliet Brunner. Councillor Brunner’s question related to the White Ribbon Campaign and 16 Days of Action against domestic abuse that was taking place within Redditch and across the world.

The Leader responded by thanking Councillor Brunner for drawing attention to this campaign. The Council was informed that the Police in Redditch had recently launched a new method of dealing with incidents of domestic violence which focussed upon keeping the victims within their homes whilst removing the perpetrators for a period of time. The local Community Safety Partnership was behind moves to increase the protection available to vulnerable individuals and enhance home security in such instances. The education of younger people as to the unacceptability of abusive behaviour was highlighted as a key measure in tackling this problem in the long term.

There are no Motions on Notice in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.

No motions had been received.

To receive the minutes and consider the recommendations and/or referrals from the following meetings of the Executive Committee:

15th November 2011

Matters requiring the Council’s consideration include:

• Gritting and Snow Clearance – Redditch Borough Council Approach;
• North Worcestershire Community Safety Partnerships – Proposed Merger;
• Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Adults Policy;
• Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
• Worcestershire Shared Services Joint Committee;
• Minutes / Referrals – Constitutional Review Working Party – 10th November 2011 – Meeting Cycles; and
• Sandycroft – Future of Site.

(Reports and decisions attached)

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 5 – 2011/12)

Members received the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 15th November 2011.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 15th November 2011 be received and all recommendations adopted, subject to:

in respect of Minute 112 (Solar Panels – Government Consultation) it being noted that Officers had undertaken to provide Councillor Debbie Taylor with information on the impact of the reduction in the feedback tariff on companies within the Borough involved in the solar power generation sector.

To formally receive the minutes of the following meetings of the Council’s Regulatory Committees:

Audit and Governance Committee -           15th November 2011

Planning Committee -                                   3rd October 2011

                                                                        5th October 2011

                                                                        2nd November 2011

(Report and decision from the Planning Committee attached)

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 5 – 2011/12)

The Council received the minutes of recent meetings of the Audit and Governance Committee and Planning Committee.

RESOLVED that

1)         the minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 15th November 2011 be received and adopted, subject to:

in respect of Minute 23 (Internal Audit – Update on Delivery Against 2011/12 Plan) it being noted that the electronic updates on amendments to the Audit Plan following Officer meetings had not been provided and that this matter should be expedited by the Officers concerned; and

2)        a)         the minutes of the meetings of the Planning Committee held on 3rd October, 5th October and 2nd November 2011 be received and adopted; and

            b)        the Scheme of Delegation to Officers be updated to include authority for Officers, in consultation with the Committee Chair, in exceptional and urgent circumstances to vary deadline dates set by the Planning Committee for conclusion of Section 106 agreements. 

To note any decisions taken in accordance with Standing Order 36 and/or the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Constitution), as specified.

(None to date).

There were no Urgent Business decisions under the Council’s urgency procedures for consideration at this meeting.

To consider any additional items exceptionally agreed by the Mayor as Urgent Business in accordance with the powers vested in her by virtue of Section 100(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

(This power should be exercised only in cases where there are genuinely special circumstances which require consideration of an item which has not previously been published on the Order of Business for the meeting and/or on the Leader’s Forward Plan.)

There were no separate items of Urgent Business for consideration at this meeting.