Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Mayor opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

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

There were no apologies for absence.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive the Mayor’s opening remarks and report on the mayoral year.

To give notice of any items of “Urgent Business” accepted by the Mayor for consideration at this meeting.

(No separate report)

a)         General Remarks

The Mayor commented that the past year had been a very special and memorable one for her, attending, as she had, 140 functions in a Civic capacity, each of which had been special in its own way.

The Mayor thanked her Celebrant, June Saville, for her support, thoughtful words prior to meetings of the Council and presiding at the Civic Service and the local Air Cadet Force for supporting her during her year in office. The Mayor also thanked her husband, Councillor Brandon Clayton for his support throughout the year and her Deputy Mayor, Councillor Gay Hopkins, for representing the Borough at various engagements over the past year. The Mayor also thanked the outgoing Leader of the Council, Councillor Carole Gandy for her hard work for the town and its community.

Finally, the Mayor thanked the three Independent members of the Standards Committee whose terms of office had now also come to an end with a change in the law regarding Standards arrangements, Mrs Deborah Andrews, Mr Michael Collins and Mr Brian Warwick.

b)         Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire

The Mayor formally notified the Council of the death the previous month of the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, Mr Michael Brinton. It was reported that a letter of condolence had been sent to his widow and family on behalf of the Council.

c)         Award for Outstanding Service to the Community

The Mayor’s Annual Award for outstanding contribution to the community which had been instituted in 2010 was awarded to Mrs Kay Hadley in recognition of the work she had undertaken in support of the Primrose Hospice over a number of years.

d)         Mayoral Charities

The Mayor informed the Council that a sum of £3,664 had been raised throughout the year for her charities, the Primrose Hospice and the Air Cadet Force and cheques were presented to both organisations.

e)         Mr Steve Skinner

Finally, the Mayor paid tribute to the Democratic Services Manager, Mr Steve Skinner, who had served the Council for over 25 years and would be greatly missed by elected Members following his retirement from the authority at the end of the month.

To elect the Mayor for the ensuing municipal year and to take his/her declaration of acceptance of office.

RESOLVED that

Councillor Alan Mason be, and hereby is, elected Mayor of the Borough of Redditch to serve until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

Councillor Alan Mason made the statutory declaration of Acceptance of Office. He was then invested with the Chain of Office by the outgoing Mayor,  former Councillor Anita Clayton.

(The new Mayor, Councillor Alan Mason now in the Chair)

Councillor Mason thanked the outgoing Mayor and Deputy Mayor and, on behalf of the Council, expressed gratitude for the work they had carried out as ambassadors for the town.

RESOLVED that

the Council formally express, and record, its gratitude to former Councillor Anita Clayton and to Councillor Gay Hopkins for their excellent service to the town over the last 12 months as Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.

To appoint the Deputy Mayor for the ensuing municipal year and to take his/her declaration of acceptance of office.

RESOLVED that

Councillor Wanda King be, and hereby is, appointed Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Redditch to serve until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

The Deputy Mayor, Councillor Wanda King, made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Mayor, Councillor Alan Mason, then invested Councillor King with the Deputy Mayor’s Badge of Office.

To receive the new Mayor’s communications and announcements, including:

Mayor’s Charity (-ies).

To receive any announcements from the Chief Executive Officer and Leader of the Council.

(No separate report)

a)         Mayor

The Mayor’s communications and announcements were as follows:

i)          Announcements

The Mayor informed the Council that he was privileged to be taking on the role of Mayor of the Borough of Redditch and undertook to do his best to serve the community throughout the coming year

The Mayor advised that he wished to show that the Borough was a community which embraced and respected all religions and so each Council meeting would be preceded with brief thoughts and reflections on life from the leaders of different religions. The Mayor announced that his charities for the year would be the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust and Child Alert, a charity  which helps locate children that are missing.

ii)         Forthcoming engagements

The Mayor announced that the Sea Cadets would be supporting him during his Mayoral year and presented cadet badges to Petty Officer Cadet David Cullum and Leading Cadet Cameron Stewart . The Mayor advised that his Civic Dinner would be taking place in September and would be a Caribbean themed event. The Council was advised of further forthcoming engagements including the unveiling of new Gateway signs at the entrance to the town and welcoming the visiting party from Auxerre to Redditch at the start of June.

b)         Chief Executive

            The Chief Executive had no announcements.

c)         Leader

            In light of the recent election results and the loss of her Group’s majority, the Leader of the Council, Councillor Carole Gandy, announced her immediate resignation from this position. She thanked her colleagues and Officers for their support during the previous four years and summarised some of the major achievements during the period of her leadership.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 16th April 2012.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book 1 - 2012/13)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 16th April 2012 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

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

Standards Committee – 26th March  2012

There are outstanding recommendations for the Council to consider but these will be considered under Item 16 on the current agenda.

(Minutes circulated in Minute Book  – 2012/13)

The Council received the minutes of a recent meeting of the Council’s Standards Committee. The Leader of the Majority Group wished to place on record his thanks to the former Independent members of the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Standards Committee held on 26th March 2012 be received and noted.

To receive the Returning Officer’s report in respect of the Borough Council elections held on 3rd May 2012.

(Report attached)

(All Wards, except Abbey, Astwood Bank and Feckenham and Crabbs Cross)

The Council received the Returning Officer’s report in respect of the Borough Council elections held on 3rd May 2012.

RESOLVED that

the Returning Officer’s report be noted.

Further to the local elections 2012 and change of political control, to appoint a member of the Council to hold the office of Leader of the Council.

To receive any announcements from the newly appointed Leader of the Council.

(No separate report)

The Council appointed Councillor Bill Hartnett to the position of Leader for the coming four year period. The Leader announced his appointments as set out in the detailed Order of Business.

The Leader announced that his Group would be enacting the measures set out by them in their ‘shadow’ budget at the Budget-setting meeting in February 2012, including the provision of free swimming for under 16s and over 60s and pre 9.30 concessionary bus travel. The measures would be encapsulated in a report, Revisions of the Medium Term Financial Plan which would be added to the Forward Plan and presented to the Executive Committee at the earliest opportunity.

The Leader was delighted to present to the Council his guest of honour, Mr Simon Winston, Holocaust survivor and a special guest at this year’s Redditch Holocaust Memorial event. The Leader and the Leader of the Minority Group presented Mr Winston with commemorative prints of the event in January following which Mr Winston made a short address to the Council.

RESOLVED that

1)         Councillor Bill Hartnett be, and hereby is, appointed Leader of the Council for the ensuing four years; and

2)         the appointment by the Leader of the Deputy Leader, of Members to the Executive Committee and to the individual Portfolios as detailed in Appendix A attached to these Minutes be noted.

To resolve, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and relevant Procedure Rules, that the Council appoint Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels, Task and Finish Groups, Working Parties, etc.; and their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

(As indicated in the Appendix to the separate Order of Business report – to follow)

RESOLVED that

1)         in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and relevant Procedure Rules, the Council’s Committees, Sub-Committees, etc. be appointed as indicated in Appendix B attached to the minutes;

2)         the various specific appointments of Members to Committees, Sub-Committees, etc. be noted; and

3)         it be agreed that the seats on the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Crime and Disorder Scrutiny Panel not be allocated proportionally.

To appoint, or nominate as appropriate, Council representatives on various Outside Bodies.

(As indicated in the Appendix to the separate Order of Business – to follow)

The Council considered the nomination, and/or appointment, of Council representatives to serve on outside bodies on behalf of the Council. It was noted that revisions might be needed to the appointments / nominations to the Town Centre Partnership (to reduce the Council membership by two places), Where Next? Association (to include Councillor Roger Hill, should the Association be amenable to the proposal) and the Redditch Trade Justice Network which had ceased meeting.

RESOLVED that

subject to the amendments, above, the appointments / nominations to outside bodies be made as detailed in Appendix C to the minutes, and notified to the outside bodies as soon as possible after the meeting.

To consider the establishment of a West Mercia Police and Crime Panel (PCP) as a joint committee of the 10 principal local authorities in the West Mercia police force area, the proposed membership of the PCP, the Panel arrangements and any consequential actions required under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

To appoint a Borough Council representative to the Panel.

(Report attached)

RESOLVED that

1)         the establishment of a West Mercia Police and Crime Panel as a joint committee of the 10 principal local authorities in the West Mercia police force area, to be administered by Worcestershire County Council as lead authority, be approved;

2)         the proposed membership of the Police and Crime Panel, the Panel arrangements and any consequential actions required under the Act be approved;

3)         authority be delegated to the Head of Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services to finalise the details of the proposals, including nominating Council representatives, in consultation with the Leader; and

4)         Councillor Rebecca Blake be appointed to the Panel for a term of office expiring May 2013.

To confirm the Council’s Constitutional arrangements.

(Hard copies available to Members in Group Rooms; electronic version available via the Council’s website)

The Council considered its Constitutional arrangements for the coming year. The proposal that the Leader of the Council also be allowed to be a member of the Planning Committee was discussed as it was suggested that this did not conform to best practice. Officers confirmed that there was no legal prohibition but, in noting that the proposition did present potential difficulties, stated that they would work with the Leader to ensure that the holding of both positions was managed effectively.

RESOLVED that

the Council’s Constitutional arrangements be re-affirmed.

To receive a report on upcoming changes to the standards regime in light of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider proposals for implementation of the new regime.

(Report attached – Minutes of the Standards Committee on 26th March 2012 circulated in Minute Book 1 - 2012/13)

RESOLVED that

1)        the Council approve the creation of a Committee to enable the Council to discharge its duty to promote high standards of behaviour in public life with a composition as set out at Appendix 3 to the report;

2)        the Draft Code of Conduct attached at Appendix 1 to this report be approved and authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with Group Leaders, to make any consequential changes that may be necessary once the Regulations are published, recognising that this will include the definitions in relation to Interests;

3)        the process for managing Standards complaints at Appendix 2 to this report be approved and authority delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with Party Group Leaders, to determine the process for managing an investigation and hearing;

4)        one Parish representative be co-opted onto the Committee as a non-voting co-optee, together with, as a transitional measure, a non-statutory, non-voting, Independent Observer;

5)        the proposals for discharging the requirement under the Localism Act for an Independent Person(s) be approved and authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to carry out the recruitment and selection process, in consultation with Group Leaders;

6)        the proposals for managing dispensations, as detailed in the report at paragraphs 3.31 to 3.35, be approved; and

7)        the Members’ Allowances Scheme be updated to include the new allowances detailed in paragraph 3.2 of the report below, to be funded from within existing Allowances budgets.

To consider a proposal to amend the current size of the Independent Remuneration Panel and the appointment of a Member to a Joint Committee that would consider the appointment of a further Member to the Panel, should it be necessary.

It has been proposed that the current size of the Independent Remuneration Panel be amended downwards from six to five following the imminent departure of one of the Panel Members following the ending of their second and final four year term as a member. The rationale for such a change has been given as a modest saving in terms of allowances and expenses and little discernible difference in terms of the activity of the Panel.

(No separate report)

RESOLVED that

Councillor Phil Mould be appointed to the Joint Committee that will consider the appointment of a member to the Worcestershire Districts Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to fill the vacancy that has arisen on that Panel.

To receive a report on expenses and allowances paid to Members during the financial year 2011/12.

The Council considered a report on expenses and allowances paid to Members during the financial year 2011/12 under the Local Authorities’ (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003.

RESOLVED that

the report be noted.