Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Mayor’s Chaplain, the Reverend Mike Herbert, will lead the Council in prayer.

The Mayor opened the meeting and welcomed all present.

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

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Hunt and Smith.

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 the meeting.

(No separate report)

a)         General Remarks

The Mayor commented that the past year had been a very special one for him, having been born in the town and having been afforded the opportunity and privilege of serving the local community. He had been especially pleased that the granting of the Freedom of the Borough to the Mercian Regiment had taken place during his period of office.

The Mayor thanked the current Deputy Mayor, Councillor Hall, for standing in for him at various engagements and particularly during his spell in hospital. The Mayor wished him well for the year ahead, should he be elected as Mayor.

The Mayor also thanked his Chaplain, the Reverend Michael Herbert, for his wise words and for leading the Council in prayer and his daughter and Mayoress, Dr Jane Yeomans, for her great support and help throughout the year and to Councillor Brunner who had acted as Consort when Dr Yeomans had been unavailable.

b)         Mayoral Engagements

The Mayor advised that, since the last meeting of the Council, he had attended various functions, including: the Civic Service at Hallow for the County Council, the welcome of the visitors from Gruchet Le Vallasse on their biennial visit to Redditch, the Bromsgrove Civic Dinner, the Young Enterprise Awards Ceremony here at the Town Hall and the Astwood Bank Carnival. The Mayor made special mention of the Young Enterprise Award Winners from Trinity and St Augustine’s High Schools.

c)         Mayoral Charities

The Mayor informed the Council that a sum in excess of £3,500 had been raised throughout the year for his charities, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and the League of Friends of the Alexandra Hospital, which would be despatched to them as soon as possible.

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

RESOLVED that

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

Councillor Hall made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office. He was then invested with the Chain of Office by the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Field.

(The new Mayor, Councillor Malcolm Hall now in the Chair)

Councillor Hall thanked the outgoing Mayor and, on behalf of the Council, expressed gratitude for his services to the Borough and Council.

RESOLVED that

the Council formally record its gratitude to the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Jack Field, and his Mayoress Jane, assisted by Councillor Brunner, for all their excellent service to the town over the last twelve months.

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

RESOLVED that

Councillor K Banks 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 Banks, made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Mayor, Councillor Hall, then invested Councillor Banks with the Deputy Mayor’s Badge of Office.

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

 - new Mayor’s Chaplain / Mayor’s Charity (-ies).

a)         Announcements

The Mayor informed the Council that he considered it a privilege to have been asked to become the Mayor of Redditch. The Mayor stated that he wished to use his mayoral year to focus on the needs of the young people of the Borough.

The Mayor advised that his Chaplain for the year ahead would be Canon David Rogers.

The Mayor stated that his charities for the year would be Indigo Arts and the Redditch and Bromsgrove Sea Cadets.

b)         Urgent Business

The Mayor advised that he had accepted no additional items of urgent business, other than one late paper, Item 14, Members’ Allowances, which was circulated after the agenda.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20 April 2009.

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 20 April 2009 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To consider an urgent referral regarding the implementation of shared services for Electoral and Community Safety Services.

(In view of the fact that it contains information relating to consultations / negotiations in connection with labour relations matters, the Appendices to the report are not for publication and have been circulated only to relevant Officers and Members of the Council.)

(Report attached)

The Council considered an urgent referral from the Executive Committee regarding the implementation of shared services for Electoral and Community Safety Services. There was some discussion as to the style and the amount of the information that had been presented to Members at the Shared Services Board meetings at which these shared services proposals had been discussed.

During the consideration of this item Members discussed matters that necessitated the disclosure of exempt information. It was therefore agreed to move to exclude the press and public prior to any debate on the grounds that information might be revealed in respect of consultations / negotiations in connection with labour relations matters.

There is nothing exempt however in this record of the proceedings.

RESOLVED that

Shared Services for Electoral and Community Safety Services be implemented.

To appoint members of the Council to hold the offices of Leader and Deputy Leader.

(No separate report)

RESOLVED that

Councillor C Gandy be, and hereby is, appointed Leader of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.

RESOLVED that

Councillor M Braley be, and hereby is, appointed Deputy Leader of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.

The Council was asked to note the proposition that, in principle, the Leader of the largest Minority Group should be denoted the Leader of the Opposition.

RESOLVED that

the principle that the Leader of the largest Minority Group be denoted the Leader of the Opposition be approved.

To resolve, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and Standing Orders 30, 32 and 36(2), that the Council appoint Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels, Task and Finish Groups, Working Parties, etc.; and their memberships, Chairs and Vice-Chairs (as indicated in the Appendix to the separate Order of Business report).

(Detailed Order of Business to follow)

RESOLVED that

1)         in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and relevant Standing Orders, the Council’s Committees, Panels, etc. be appointed as indicated in Appendix A attached to the minutes; and

2)         in relation to this and subsequent minutes, the Chief Executive be authorised, in consultation with the relevant Group Leader(s), to fill vacancies, in accordance with agreed memberships / proportionality.

To appoint Councillor representatives to Neighbourhood Groups (a indicated in the Appendix to the separate Order of Business report).

(Detailed Order of Business to follow)

RESOLVED that

elected representatives to the Council’s Neighbourhood Groups, and Group Chairs, be as detailed in Appendix B attached to the minutes.

A.        To appoint Council Representatives to serve on outside bodies on behalf of the Council.

B.        To nominate Council Members for appointment to outside bodies, but not to formally represent the Council.

(Detailed Order of Business to follow)

The Council considered the nomination, and/or appointment, of Members to various positions on outside bodies.

RESOLVED that

1)         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.

2)         Members’ candidature for the subject positions, as agreed by Party Groups and as now detailed in Appendix C to the minutes, be taken as Members’ agreement and full acceptance that the bodies in question are to be formally notified of the appointments / nominations.

To receive a report on expenses and allowances paid to Members during the financial year 2008/09 under the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003.

(Report attached)

The Council considered a report on expenses and allowances paid to Members under the Local Authorities (Member’ Allowances) Regulations 1995 (as amended) for the 2008/09 financial year.

RESOLVED that

1)         the report be noted; and

2)         the Council publish the details of Members’ allowances for 2008/09 in full.

To order the Common Seal of the Council to be affixed to any documents necessary to carry into effect any resolutions passed by the Council during the municipal year.

RESOLVED that

the Common Seal of the Council be affixed to any document or documents necessary to carry into effect any resolutions passed by, or confirmed at this meeting, and subsequent meetings during the ensuing municipal year.

During the course of the meeting, it may be necessary, in the opinion of the Chief Executive, to consider excluding the public from the meeting on the grounds that exempt information is likely to be divulged. It may be necessary, therefore, to move the following resolution:

“that, under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following matter(s) on the rounds that it/they involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs (to be specified) of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended.”

RESOLVED that

under S.100 I of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following matter on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 (A) of the said Act, as amended:

Executive Committee Referral – Shared Services (as detailed in Minute 12, above).