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 99 KB
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 83 KB
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 81 KB
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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