Agenda for St Edmundsbury Council on Thursday 17 May 2018, 12.30 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Apex, Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3FD

Contact: Claire Skoyles  Email: claire.skoyles@westsuffolk.gov.uk

Note: Part I: Ceremonial Business (Mayor Making) and Part II: Procedural Business (Annual Council) (Procession from The Guildhall at 12.15pm) 

Items
No. Item

349.

Procession from The Guildhall to The Apex

Minutes:

At approximately 12.15 pm, 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 and the Service Manager (Democratic Services).

 

At 12.28 pm, the procession entered the auditorium of The Apex and the Mayor invited his Chaplain to open the meeting with prayers.

350.

Presentation of Retiring Mayor's Charities' Cheques

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Terry Clements, will present cheques to representatives of his chosen charities for the 2017/2018 civic year, namely:

 

(a)     Suffolk Mind

(b)     My WiSH – Wish Upon a Star Children’s Appeal

(c)     Gatehouse Dementia Hub

(d)     TS St Edmund (Mayor’s Own) Sea Cadet Corps

(e)     Lift the Cloud, Bury St Edmunds

 

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

Minutes:

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Terry Clements, invited representatives of his chosen charities for the 2017/2018 civic year to be presented with cheques, namely:

 

(a)     Suffolk Mind

(b)     My WiSH – Wish Upon a Star Children’s Appeal

(c)     Gatehouse Dementia Hub

(d)     TS St Edmund (Mayor’s Own) Sea Cadet Corps

(e)     Lift the Cloud, Bury St Edmunds

 

Each recipient was then photographed with the retiring Mayor.

 

351.

Election of 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 Julia Wakelam will move,

 

"That Margaret Marks, 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 Margaret Marks 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 Sword Bearer will remove the Chain of Office and Robe from the retiring Mayor and hand the Robe to the Mace Bearer. Subsequently, with the assistance of the Mace Bearer, the Sword Bearer will remove the Chain of Office and Robe from the outgoing Deputy Mayor.  The Sword Bearer will then robe the new Mayor.

 

The Sword Bearer will next hand the Chain to the Mace Bearer who, with the assistance of the Sword Bearer, 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 Consort’s Badge will be removed from the retiring Mayoress, Mrs Vivienne Clements and the Chain of Office will be placed on the new Mayor’s Consort, Mrs Elaine McManus.

 

The retiring Mayoress, and Mrs Elaine McManus 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 (Democratic Services) for her signature.

 

The Mayor will then acknowledge her election.

Minutes:

On the motion of Councillor Julia Wakelam and seconded by Councillor Diane Hind, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Margaret Marks, 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.

352.

Apologies for Absence

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

 

 

Minutes:

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

 

·         Part I (Ceremonial Business) only: Councillors Simon Brown, John Burns (as he was filming the proceedings), Jane Midwood and David Nettleton

·         Both Parts I (Ceremonial Business)  and II (Procedural Business): Councillors Trevor Beckwith, Jason Crooks, Susan Glossop, Robin Pilley, Alaric Pugh and Anthony Williams

353.

Mayor's announcements

Minutes:

(a)     Appointment of Mayor's Chaplain

 

          The Mayor formally announced that she would be appointing as her Chaplain the Reverend Canon Ian Finn, Rector for St Mary’s Church, Haverhill.

 

(b)     Civic Service

 

          The Mayor reported that she had arranged for the Civic Service this year to be held at St Mary’s Church, Haverhill on Sunday 24 June 2018 at 3.00 pm.

354.

Vote of Thanks to the Retired Mayor and Mayoress

Councillor Paul Hopfensperger will move,

 

"That the Council, in recognising the most able and diligent manner in which the retired Mayor, Councillor Terry Clements 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 Vivienne Clements.”

 

Councillor Frank Warby 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 Terry Clements with his past Mayor's Badge. Terry Clements will then acknowledge his year in office.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Council, in recognising the most able and diligent manner in which the retired Mayor, Councillor Terry Clements, 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 Vivienne Clements.

 

The retiring Mayor acknowledged his year in office.

 

355.

Election of Deputy Mayor and Mayoress

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

 

Councillor Sarah Stamp will move,

 

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

 

Councillor John Griffiths 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 new Deputy Mayor will rise.  All other Members of the Council will rise simultaneously.

 

The Sword Bearer and the Mace Bearer will robe the new Deputy Mayor and invest the new Deputy Mayor with the Chain of Office. Simultaneously, the new Deputy Mayoress, Mrs Anna Chung, will be invested with her Badge of Office.

 

All Members of the Council will then sit.

 

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

 

The new Deputy Mayor will then formally acknowledge his election.

Minutes:

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Councillor Patrick Chung 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.

356.

Presentations

Minutes:

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

 

(At 1.20pm, 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 2.05 pm.)

 

(Councillors Simon Brown, John Burns, Jane Midwood and David Nettleton arrived during the adjournment for the start of Part II (Procedural Business) of the meeting.)

357.

Presentation of Long Service Award

On 16 July 1991 (Council Minute 28 refers) (and in addition to the statutory provision for the creation of Honorary Freemen and Honorary Aldermen) the Council created a third award option, namely formal acknowledgement of 12 years or more cumulative service by former Members of the Council.  Accordingly, the following motion in respect of Councillor Cockle who is eligible for the award will be moved by Councillor Griffiths, and upon approval of the resolution by the Council, the Mayor will present a framed copy of such resolution to Councillor Cockle:

 

***********************

 

“That, in recognition of twenty-one years of dedicated public service by

 

ROBERT (BOB) JOHN COCKLE

 

as an elected Member of the Council for the Fornham and St Olaves Wards, and in acknowledgement of his contribution to the work of the Borough Council, including his term of office as Mayor for 2008/2009,and his service to the community and fulfilment of the duties and responsibilities of a Councillor, the Council hereby record its thanks and deep appreciation.”

 

Minutes:

On 16 July 1991 and in addition to the statutory provision for the creation of Honorary Freeman and Honorary Alderman, the Council created a third award option, namely formal acknowledgement of 12 years or more cumulative service by former Members of the Council. Accordingly, the following motion in respect of former Councillor Cockle who was eligible for the award was duly carried.

 

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor David Nettleton, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

That, in recognition of twenty-one years of dedicated public service by Robert (Bob) John Cockle as an elected Member of the Council for the Fornham and St Olaves Wards, and in acknowledgement of his contribution to the work of the Borough Council, including his term of office as Mayor in 2008/2009, and his service to the community and fulfilment of the duties and responsibilities of a Councillor, the Council hereby record its thanks and deep appreciation.

 

Unfortunately, former Councillor Cockle was unable to attend the meeting to accept a framed copy of the above resolution and alternative arrangements would be made accordingly. Members of the Council wished to record their best wishes to former Councillor Cockle.

358.

Appointment of Cabinet Members

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 (Democratic Services) of the Members of the Cabinet as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting.)

 

Minutes:

Councillor John Griffiths, Leader of the Council, firstly welcomed Councillors Elaine McManus and Robin Pilley to St Edmundsbury Borough Council.  Both had been recently elected in by-elections for the Haverhill North and Haverhill East Wards respectively.

 

He then 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

Portfolio

Carol Bull

Future Governance

Robert Everitt

Families and Communities

Sara Mildmay-White

Housing

John Griffiths

Leader

Ian Houlder

Resources and Performance

Alaric Pugh

Planning and Growth

Joanna Rayner

Leisure and Culture

Peter Stevens

Operations

 

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

 

Acknowledgement was then given to Cabinet Members, and to other Members, for their contributions in 2017/2018, which had been particularly challenging given the decisions taken to move towards creating a new council for West Suffolk. 

359.

Review of the Political Balance and Appointment to Politically Balanced Bodies pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Report No: AGM/SE/18/001

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered Report No: AGM/SE/18/001, which detailed the outcome of the Political Balance Review as at 17 May 2018 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 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, would be made under delegated authority on the nominations of Group Leaders.  Proposals for the allocation of seats to non-grouped Members were also set out in this Appendix, as provisionally agreed by Group Leaders.

 

Appendix 2 showed the entitlement and proposed allocation of substitutes on the politically balanced committees.  It was suggested that the Council continued its precedence of ensuring that each Group had a substitute if they were represented on a committee, and, once this was achieved, if there were additional substitute places on a committee, they were distributed by political balance, as indicated.

 

Council agreed this was a sensible approach.

 

Council then noted that approval was sought to disband the Democratic Renewal Working Party due to its work largely being superseded by the Future Governance Steering Group and the Joint Constitution Review Group, as detailed in Section 1.2.5 of the report. This was agreed.

 

Appendix 3 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. 

 

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

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)     the Committees and Joint Committees listed in Sections 1.2.1 and 1.2.4 of Report No: AGM/SE/18/001 continue to operate for 2018/2019  in accordance with their existing number of seats and terms of reference (ToR), as contained in Appendix 3;

 

(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, be approved;

 

(3)     the allocation of seats (and seats for substitute Members) on the Committees which are required by law to be politically balanced, as indicated in Appendices 1 and 2 to Report No: AGM/SE/18/001, be approved;

 

(4)     the allocation of full member and substitute seats on the West Suffolk Joint Standards Committee, as indicated in Section 1.2.4, be approved. This Committee is not required to be politically balanced;

 

(5)     as the work of the Democratic Renewal Working Party has been superseded by the informal Joint Constitution Review Group and the Cabinet’s informal Future Governance Steering Group, as outlined in Section 1.2.5, this Working Party be disbanded; and

 

(6)     the Service Manager (Democratic Services) be requested to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 359.

360.

Proposals to form a Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee pdf icon PDF 83 KB

Report No: AGM/SE/18/002

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered Report No: AGM/SE/18/002, which sought approval for the establishment of a Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee.

 

Council noted that the proposed Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee, would comprise all current Members of Forest Heath District Council’s and St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Cabinets and would have executive decision making powers. Historically, where decisions were required of both Cabinets on the same subject matter, informal joint discussions were held on the common item, and as constitutionally required, these were immediately followed by individual Cabinet meetings to vote on the matter, which was often confusing.  Executive decisions could now be made by the Joint  Executive (Cabinet) Committee, thus avoiding the need for separate Cabinet meetings. 

 

As the two Cabinets were proposed to come together, it was proposed to increase the Key Decision threshold from £50,000 to £100,000 for the individual Cabinets and the Joint  Executive (Cabinet) Committee. Decisions below the £100,000 level would be made by officers or portfolio holders, but would still be referred to Cabinet where it was considered they had a significant impact on the local areas or officers / portfolio holders did not wish to exercise their delegation.

 

Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Future Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that whilst residents would still be able to identify separate Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury issues listed on the agenda, the collective decision making of a Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee would assist with the transition towards creating a single council for West Suffolk.

 

Whilst it was in the Leaders’ gift to form such a committee, the necessary revisions to the Constitution that were required as a consequence of establishing the new Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee were required by Council, and these were contained in Appendix A attached to the report.

 

Recognition was given to Councillor David Nettleton, Chairman of the Joint Constitution Review Group, for the Group’s work in reviewing the proposals and the respective constitutional amendments that would be required.

 

On the motion of Councillor Carol Bull, seconded by Councillor David Nettleton, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the constitutional amendments required as a consequence of establishing a new Joint Executive (Cabinet) Committee, as contained in Appendix A to Report No: AGM/SE/18/002, be approved.

361.

Appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees

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.

Minutes:

(a)     Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

On the motion of Councillor David Nettleton, seconded by Councillor John Griffiths, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

(b)     Vice-Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Committee

 

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor David Nettleton, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Councillor Susan Glossop be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

(c)     Chairman of Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee

 

On the motion of Councillor John Griffiths, seconded by Councillor Julia Wakelam, and duly carried, it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

 

(d)     Vice-Chairman of Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee

 

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

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

362.

Review and Re-appointment of Representation on Outside Bodies pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Report No: AGM/SE/18/003

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Council considered Report No: AGM/SE/18/003, which sought approval for the appointment and re-appointment (where applicable) 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, 2017/2018.  This list provided the name of the organisations and the number of representatives in that year.

 

The  Council considered the existing and newly nominated representatives on outside bodies listed at Appendix A and agreed that the existing delegated authority of the Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer  should be exercised to appoint or re-appoint, as applicable, the Borough Council’s representatives on outside bodies not covered by the provisions made in Recommendations (1), (2) and (3) for 2018/2019.

 

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

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(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 Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer be requested to exercise their existing 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 2018/2019, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No: AGM/SE/18/003; 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.

 

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