Agenda and minutes

At approximately 12.45pm, headed by the Sword and Mace Bearers, the Mayor and the majority of Members present processed from the Guildhall to The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. They were accompanied by the Chief Executive, incoming Mayor’s Chaplain and the interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services).

At 12.57pm, the procession entered the auditorium of The Apex and the Mayor invited the incoming Mayor’s Chaplain to open the meeting with prayers.

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Patrick Chung, will present cheques of £5,000 to representatives of his chosen charities for the 2015/2016 civic year, namely:

(a)     Samaritans

(b)     East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH)

(c)     Women’s Refuge

(d)     Rainbow Ward at West Suffolk Hospital

Each recipient will receive their respective cheque and will be photographed with the retiring Mayor.

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Patrick Chung, invited representatives of his chosen charities for the 2015/2016 civic year to be presented with cheques of £5,000, namely:

(a)     Samaritans

(b)     East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH)

(c)     Women’s Refuge

(d)     Rainbow Ward at West Suffolk Hospital

Each recipient was then photographed with the retiring Mayor.

The retiring Mayor will announce that the next item of business is the election of Mayor for the ensuing year and will call for nominations.

Councillor Robert Everitt will move,

"That Julia Wakelam, a Councillor of the Borough, be and is hereby elected Mayor for the ensuing year."

Councillor Diane Hind will second.

The retiring Mayor will ask if there are any other nominations.

The retiring Mayor will then put the motion to the vote and, on its being carried by a show of hands, will declare that Councillor Julia Wakelam is elected Mayor.

Musicians from King Edward VI School to play whilst:

The retiring Mayor will rise.  All other Members of the Council will rise simultaneously.

The new Mayor will then move to a position behind the Mayor's Chair.

The Mayor’s Officer will remove the Chain of Office and Robe from the retiring Mayor and hand the Robe to him, whilst the Sword Bearer will remove the Chain of Office and Robe from the outgoing Deputy Mayor. The retiring Mayor and Mayor’s Officer will then robe the new Mayor.

The Mayor’s Officer will next hand the Chain to the retiring Mayor who, with the assistance of the Mayor’s Officer, will place it on the new Mayor.

The new Mayor will then occupy the Mayor's Chair, and the retiring Mayor will then occupy the chair vacated by the new Mayor.

Simultaneously with the robing of the new Mayor, the Chain of Office will be removed from the retiring Mayoress, Mrs Anna Chung, and placed on the new Mayor’s Consort, Mr Paul Rynsard.

The retiring Mayoress and Mr Paul Rynsard will then exchange places.

All Members of the Council will now sit.

The new Mayor will then sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, and rising, will read the terms thereof before passing it to the Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) for his signature.

The Mayor will then acknowledge her election.

On the motion of Councillor Robert Everitt and seconded by Councillor Diane Hind, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Julia Wakelam, a Councillor of the Borough, be and is hereby elected Mayor for the ensuing year.

The Mayor took the Chair, signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office and acknowledged her election.

To receive announcements (if any) from the officer advising the Mayor (including apologies for absence)

Apologies for absence were received from the following Councillors for the parts of the meeting as indicated:

·         Part I (Ceremonial Business) only: Councillors Jane Midwood and David Nettleton

·         Part II (Procedural Business) only: Councillor Bob Cockle

·         Both Parts I (Ceremonial Business)  and II (Procedural Business): Councillors Terry Buckle, Jason Crooks, Jeremy Farthing, Karen Richardson, Peter Thompson and Paula Wade

The Mayor will formally announce that she will be appointing as her Chaplain the Very Reverend Canon Mark Hackeson of St Edmunds’ Church, Bury St Edmunds.

The Mayor formally announced that she would be appointing as her Chaplain the Very Reverend Canon Mark Hackeson of St Edmunds’ Church, Bury St Edmunds.

The Mayor will announce that she has arranged for the Civic Service this year to be held at St Edmunds’ Church, Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday 3 July 2016 at 3.00 pm.

The Mayor reported that she had arranged for the Civic Service this year to be held at St Edmunds’ Church, Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday 3 July 2016 at 3.00 pm.

Councillor Sarah Stamp will move,

"That the Council, in recognising the most able and diligent manner in which the retired Mayor, Councillor Patrick Chung, has carried out the duties of Mayor of the Borough during the past year, record its thanks and deep appreciation of his services as Mayor, and the Council further record its appreciation of the gracious work of the retired Mayoress, Mrs Anna Chung.”

Councillor John Griffiths will second.

The Mayor will then put the motion to the vote and, on its being carried by a show of hands the Mayor will then present Councillor Patrick Chung with his past Mayor's Badge. Patrick Chung will then acknowledge his year in office.

On the motion of Councillor Sarah Stamp, seconded by Councillor John Griffiths, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That the Council, in recognising the most able and diligent manner in which the retired Mayor, Councillor Patrick Chung, has carried out the duties of Mayor of the Borough during the past year, record its thanks and deep appreciation of his services as Mayor, and the Council further

record its appreciation of the gracious work of the retired Mayoress, Mrs Anna Chung.

The retiring Mayor acknowledged his year in office.

Having announced this item as the next business, the Mayor will call for nominations.

Councillor Paul Hopfensperger will move,

“That Councillor Terry Clements be and is hereby elected Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year.”

Councillor Frank Warby will second.

Upon the nomination being proposed and seconded, the Mayor will then ask for any other nominations.

The Mayor will then put the motion to the vote and, on its being carried by a show of hands, the musicians from King Edward VI School will play whilst the Mayor’s Officer and the Mayor robe the new Deputy Mayor and, with the assistance of the Mayor’s Officer, invest the new Deputy Mayor with the Chain of Office. Simultaneously, the new Deputy Mayoress, will be invested with her Badge of Office.

All Members of the Council will then sit.

The new Deputy Mayor will then sign his Declaration of Acceptance of Office and pass it to the Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) for his signature.

The new Deputy Mayor will then formally acknowledge his election.

On the motion of Councillor Paul Hopfensperger, seconded by Councillor Frank Warby, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Terry Clements be and is hereby elected Deputy Mayor for the ensuing year.

The Deputy Mayor signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office and acknowledged his election.

The Mayor announced presentations to Mr Paul Rynsard, the Mayor’s Consort; Mrs Anna Chung, the retiring Mayoress; and Mrs Vivienne Clements, the Deputy Mayoress.

(At 1.53pm, the Mayor then announced the conclusion of the ceremonial business of the Council and an adjournment for a civic reception. The procedural business in Part II of the Agenda commenced at 2.45 pm.)

(Councillor Bob Cockle left the meeting during the adjournment and did not return.  Councillors Jane Midwood and David Nettleton arrived during the adjournment for the start of Part II (Procedural Business) of the meeting.)

Having regard to the provisions of the Constitution, the Mayor will invite the Leader of the Council to announce:

(a)     up to nine Members whom he will be appointing to form the Cabinet;

(b)     the name of a Member of the Cabinet to act as Deputy Leader; and

(c)     the Portfolios, and which Members of the Cabinet will be Portfolio Holders.

(Note: In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the appointment of Members to the Cabinet announced in this way will take immediate effect. Otherwise, the Leader will give written notice to the Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) (as the proper officer) of the Members of the Cabinet as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting.)

Councillor  John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, announced that he would not be making any changes to the membership of the Cabinet nor the portfolios at the present time, and therefore the Cabinet would comprise the following:

Councillor Griffiths also informed the Council that he would retain responsibility for:

1.       Leadership and strategic direction of the Council;

2.       External relations and communications; and

3.       Strategic Economic Development;

and that Councillor Sara Mildmay-White would continue in her role as Deputy Leader of the Council.

Report No: AGM/SE/16/001

Council considered Report No: AGM/SE/16/001, which detailed the results of the Political Balance Review as at 19 May 2016 and provided an analysis of the number of seats on the various committees required to be allocated to the Council’s political groups, based on the rules of proportionality where applicable.

The table at Appendix 1 showed those bodies that were required to be politically balanced and provided the exact entitlement to places of each Group. 

Council then considered that the allocation of seats and substitutes to political groups in accordance with the political balance rules, and the re-appointment of the existing membership or appointment of new membership as applicable to the various bodies listed in the report, should be made under delegated authority on the nominations of Group Leaders.

Appendix 2 contained the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the various bodies listed in the report, which were required by the Constitution to be reviewed at the Annual Meeting.  Relatively minor amendments had been proposed to the ToR for the Mayoral Advisory Committee, and these were duly accepted by the Council.

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Sara Mildmay-White, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED: That

(1)     the Committees, Joint Committees and Working Party listed in Sections 1.2.1 to 1.2.3 of Report No: AGM/SE/16/001 continue to operate for 2016/2017 in accordance with their existing number of seats and terms of reference (ToR), as amended to include amendments to the ToR for the Mayoral Advisory Committee, as contained in Appendix 2;

(2)     the formula for the allocation of seats to the political groups on those Committees which are required by law to be politically balanced, as set out in paragraph 1.1.1 of Report No: AGM/SE/16/001, be approved;

(3)     the allocation of seats on the Committees which are required by law to be politically balanced, as indicated in Appendix 1 to Report No: AGM/SE/16/001, be approved;

(4)     the allocation of seats on the West Suffolk Joint Standards Committee, as indicated in Section 1.2.2 of Report No: AGM/SE/16/001, be approved. This Committee is not required to be politically balanced;

(5)     whilst the Democratic Renewal Working Party is not required to be politically balanced, the allocation of seats is by custom and practice, undertaken on this basis.  Therefore, the allocation of seats to this Working Party, as indicated in Section 1.2.3 of Report No: AGM/SE/16/001, be approved; and

(6)     the interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and substitute Members to those bodies set out in recommendations (3), (4) and (5) above on the basis of nominations from the relevant Group Leaders.

In accordance with the Constitution, the Council will appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the:

(a)     Overview and Scrutiny Committee; and

(b)     Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee.

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Tony Brown, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Diane Hind be appointed as Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Diane Hind, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Jeremy Farthing be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Frank Warby, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Sarah Broughton be appointed as Chairman of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee.

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Sarah Broughton, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Patsy Warby be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee.

The Council is required to appoint an Independent Remuneration Panel, which broadly has the function of providing the local authority with advice on its Members’ Allowance Scheme.

On 7 July 2015, the Council resolved to appoint two Members, plus a substitute Member to the West Suffolk Joint Independent Remuneration Panel (Selection Panel).  Councillors Ian Houlder, David Nettleton and Sara Mildmay-White (Substitute) were appointed.  For information, Forest Heath District Council on 15 July 2015, appointed Councillors Chris Barker, Rona Burt and David Palmer (Substitute) to the Selection Panel.

On 15 December 2015, the Council resolved (minute 117 refers) that:

(1)        The St Edmundsbury Borough Council Members’ Allowances Scheme should continue in its current form until 30 November 2016; and

(2)        A new West Suffolk Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to be appointed from 1 June 2016, to conduct a full review of both Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council Members’ Allowances Schemes.

The Joint Selection Panel met on 30 March 2016, and interviewed eight candidates and has RECOMMENDED that:

Sandra Cox, Karen Forster, Clive MacLeod, Dave Ray and Dr John Watson, be appointed members of the West Suffolk  Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, with a term of office for four years, commencing 1 June 2016 and expiring on 31 May 2020.

Council considered a narrative item, which sought approval for the appointment of a new West Suffolk Joint Independent Remuneration Panel for Forest Heath District and St Edmundsbury Borough Councils.

The Council was required to appoint an Independent Remuneration Panel, which broadly had the function of providing the local authority with advice on its Members’ Allowance Scheme.  St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Members’ Allowance Scheme was currently operational until 30 November 2016. 

On 30 March 2016, the West Suffolk Joint Independent Remuneration Panel (Selection Panel) met and interviewed eight candidates and had recommended that five of the eight be appointed to comprise the new West Suffolk Joint Independent Remuneration Panel to conduct a full review of both Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council Members’ Allowances Schemes.

On the motion of Councillor Ian Houlder, seconded by Councillor David Nettleton, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That Sandra Cox, Karen Forster, Clive MacLeod, Dave Ray and Dr John Watson, be appointed members of the West Suffolk  Joint Independent Remuneration Panel, with a term of office for four years, commencing 1 June 2016 and expiring on 31 May 2020.

(Subsequent to the conclusion of the meeting, Dave Ray stepped down from the Panel.)

Report No: AGM/SE/16/002

Council considered Report No: AGM/SE/16/002, which sought approval for the re-appointment of Member representation on outside bodies.

At each Annual Meeting, the Council was required to receive, or arrange the delegation of, nominations of Councillors to serve on any outside body for which a new appointment or re-appointment was required.

Attached as Appendix A to the report was the list of outside bodies for the last civic year, 2015/2016.  This list provided the name of the organisations and the number of representatives in that year. The  Council considered the list at Appendix A and agreed that delegated authority should be given to the interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) to re-appoint the existing Borough Council’s representatives on outside bodies not covered by the provisions made in Recommendations (1), (2) and (3) for 2016/2017.

In addition to the review and re-appointment of representatives on outside bodies, the Council was also being requested to appoint one representative to attend the Barley Homes (Group) Ltd Annual General Meeting. It was proposed that this representative should be the Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing and who was also one of the two St Edmundsbury Borough Council Members that sat on the Shareholder Advisory Group of Barley Homes (Group) Ltd. 

The Council agreed that this proposal was acceptable. 

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Diane Hind, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

(1)     Where the Council may send observers to meetings of outside bodies these will be appointed by the Cabinet.

(2)     If deemed appropriate, the Council to explore the passing of nominations to other organisations.

(3)     Where the Council may make a nomination, but the nominee is not automatically appointed by the organisation, the nomination be made by the Cabinet.

(4)     The Interim Service Manager (Legal and Democratic Services) be given delegated authority to:

(a)         re-appoint the existing Borough Council’s representatives on outside bodies not covered by the provisions made in Recommendations (1), (2) and (3) above for 2016/2017, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No: AGM/SE/16/002; and

(b)     make new appointments to outside bodies, as applicable, in accordance with nominations put forward by the relevant Group Leaders or (if applicable) the nominating body or individual listed.

(5)     Councillor Sara Mildmay-White, Portfolio Holder for Housing, be nominated to attend the Barley Homes (Group) Ltd Annual General Meeting (AGM), as outlined in paragraph 1.3 of Report No: AGM/SE/16/002.