To consider Announcements under Procedure Rule 10:
a) Mayor’s Announcements
b) The Leader’s Announcements
c) Chief Executive’s Announcements.
Minutes:
a) Mayor’s Announcements
The Mayor announced that she had participated in the following civic events since the previous meeting of Council:
· A visit to St Augustine’s High School to welcome a number of Spanish teachers.
· Attended the Showmen’s Guild Annual Dinner.
· Attended the Inner Wheel Annual Fellowship luncheon.
· Visited Hilda Clulow on the occasion of her 110th birthday party.
· Attended the West Midlands Ambulance Trust’s Awards.
· Hosted her civic dinner.
The Mayor took the opportunity to thank Councillor Nina Wood-Ford, in her capacity as Deputy Mayor, for her help and support.
During consideration of this matter the Mayor also announced that four Councillors would be standing down at the forthcoming local elections; Councillors Gay Hopkins, Jane Potter, Rachael Smith and David Thain, each of whom spoke in turn about their experiences as Borough Councillors.
Councillor Rachael Smith commented that she had enjoyed the four years that she had served as a Councillor, which she described as the experience of a lifetime. She thanked officers and fellow elected Members for their support during this period.
Councillor David Thain paid tribute to the residents of Crabbs Cross, the ward that he had represented for four years. Thanks were also extended to fellow Members for their support, to the Mayor and to the Editor of the Redditch Standard.
Councillor Hopkins commented that during her time serving as a Councillor she had been proud of a number of episodes, including serving as the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Tourism at a time when the redevelopment of the Abbey Stadium took place, her involvement in work on the introduction of the Springs Statue in the town centre and serving as Deputy Mayor of the Borough. Councillor Hopkins also noted that she had enjoyed participating in scrutiny activities and was particularly proud to have chaired the Improving Recycling Rates Task Group and a review of access for people with disabilities to taxis in Redditch as well as her participation in the LGB&T Scrutiny Task Group, which had resulted in the establishment of a local community group and recognition in an awards programme. Councillor Hopkins thanked officers and Members for their support and extended particular thanks to her family, especially her husband, for their help.
Councillor Potter commented that she had enjoyed serving the people of Astwood Bank and Feckenham. Highlights during her time on the Council had included serving as the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee. She concluded by thanking Members and Officers for their support over the four years that she had served on the Council.
Following these speeches a number of tributes were paid by all Members to those Councillors who would be standing down. In particular the hard work and dedication of the four Councillors to the Borough of Redditch was highlighted and Members noted that they would all be missed.
b) The Leader’s Announcements
The Leader announced that he had participated in the following activities since the previous meeting of Council:
· The Leader had presented staff awards to those who had been commended and highly commended, including the Palace Theatre, the Planning team and Laney Walsh.
· During the LGB&T month the Leader had attended a comedy event at the Palace Theatre.
· The Leader had attended the Mayor’s Civic Dinner.
· The Leader had taken part in the British Spring Clean in Church Hill as part of the Big Local project.
The Leader announced that, as requested at a previous meeting of Council, he had written to the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, the Right Honourable Nadim Zahawi MP, about care leavers. Concerns had been raised that a consistent approach had not been adopted across the country to the Council Tax liability for care leavers. A response had been received and it had been highlighted that decisions about Council Tax liabilities required a decision at a local level. The Leader promised to provide a copy of this letter for the consideration of the Transition of Young People Leaving Care in Redditch Short Sharp Review.
The Leader also led tributes to the Interim Chief Executive of Worcestershire County Council, Steven Stewert, who had passed away suddenly since the previous meeting of Council. Mr Stewert would be greatly missed.
c) Chief Executive’s Announcements
The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that there were no announcements from the Chief Executive.