Agenda and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds IP33 3YU
Contact: Helen Hardinge (Democratic Services Officer)
Email: helen.hardinge@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
48. |
Minutes PDF 118 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
20 November 2018 (copy attached).
Minutes:
Councillor David Nettleton made reference to
Minute No 46. ‘Civic Leadership Review (Report No:
COU/SA/18/013)’ set out within the minutes of the meeting
held on 20 November 2018 and proposed, in view of the perceived
importance of the item in question, that the minutes be amended to
include the number of votes cast for (33) and against (22) the
substantive motion. This amendment was
duly seconded by Councillor John Griffiths.
Accordingly, the minutes of the meeting held
on 20 November 2018 were, therefore, confirmed as a correct record
and were signed by the Chair, subject to the following amendment:
Minute No 46. Civic Leadership Review (Report
No: COU/SA/18/013)
“Upon the
motion being put to the vote, and with 33 voting for
the motion and with 22 against, it was…”
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49. |
Chairman's Announcements
Minutes:
At the invitation of the Chair, the Vice-Chair
Councillor Brian Harvey addressed the meeting.
Councillor Harvey advised the Shadow Council
that it was intended at the start of the civic year that he and
Councillor Sarah Stamp would each take six months of chairing the
Shadow Council, similar to how the Leaders would change over.
However, as he currently held the position of
Chairman of Forest Heath District Council, which occupied a
considerable amount of his time, and in light of Councillor Stamp
doing such an excellent job as Chair it seemed sensible for him to
remain as Vice-Chair of the Shadow Authority.
Councillor Stamp thanked Councillor Harvey for
his kind words and advised the meeting that the Constitution agreed
in May for the Shadow Authority confirmed that the Chair would
remain in post for the year, hence, there was no need to put any
re-appointment on the agenda.
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50. |
Apologies for Absence
To receive announcements (if any) from the
officer advising the Chairman (including apologies for absence)
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Ruth Allen, John Bloodworth, Max Clarke, Jason Crooks,
Roger Dicker, Beccy Hopfensperger, Ian
Houlder, Christine Mason, Elaine McManus, David Roach, Lance
Stanbury and Frank Warby.
Councillors Andrew Appleby, Chris Baker,
Louise Marston, Reg Silvester and Peter Thompson were also unable
to attend the meeting.
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51. |
Declarations of Interests
Members are reminded
of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary or local non
pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the
agenda no later than when that item is reached and, when
appropriate, to leave the meeting prior to discussion and voting on
the item.
Minutes:
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52. |
Leader's Statement (Report No: COU/SA/18/014) PDF 73 KB
Paper No: COU/SA/18/014
(Shadow Council Procedure Rules
8.1 – 8.3) The Leader will
provide a written statement summarising important developments and
activities since the preceding meeting of the Shadow Council where
these have arisen. These developments
and activities will solely relate to the development of the Shadow
Council, and matters related to the future West Suffolk
Council.
Members may ask the Leader questions on the
content of both his introductory remarks and the written statement
itself.
A total of 30 minutes will be allowed for
questions and responses. There will be a limit of five minutes for
each question to be asked and answered. A supplementary question
arising from the reply may be asked so long as the five minute
limit is not exceeded.
Minutes:
Councillor John Griffiths, presented what was
to be his last statement as Leader of the Shadow Council, as
contained in Report No: COU/SA/18/014.
Councillor Griffiths stated that it had been a
huge privilege to have been elected Leader of the Shadow Council in
May 2018 and tremendous progress had been made since
then.
No questions were posed to Councillor
Griffiths on his statement.
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53. |
Election of the Leader of the Shadow Council
The Chairman will call for nominations for the
election of Leader of the Shadow Council, and this item of business
will be determined by the normal voting process.
Minutes:
The Chair advised the Shadow Council that, as
referenced within the minutes of the last meeting, Councillor John
Griffiths had indicated his intention to step aside and nominate
the current Deputy Leader, Councillor James Waters, to lead the
Shadow Council for the remainder of the 2018/2019 year.
In his introductory remarks, Councillor
Griffiths made reference to how much he had enjoyed working
alongside friend and colleague Councillor Waters for a number of
years, and particularly since the inception of the Shadow Council
in May 2018.
He was therefore delighted to nominate that
Councillor Waters was elected Leader of the Shadow Council for the
remainder of the 2018/2019 year. This
was duly seconded by Councillor Robin Millar.
Upon the motion being put to the vote, it
was
RESOLVED:
That Councillor James Waters be elected Leader
of the Shadow Council for the remainder of the 2018/2019 year.
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54. |
Election of the Deputy Leader of the Shadow Council
The Chairman will call for nominations for the
election of Deputy Leader of the Shadow Council, and this item of
business will be determined by the normal voting process.
Minutes:
Councillor James Waters echoed the sentiments
made by Councillor John Griffiths under the previous agenda item,
and stated that he was looking forward to continuing to work
together for West Suffolk.
He therefore proposed that Councillor
Griffiths be elected Deputy Leader of the Shadow Council for the
remainder of the 2018/2019 year. This
was duly seconded by Councillor Sara Mildmay-White.
Upon the motion being put to the vote, it
was
RESOLVED:
That Councillor John Griffiths be elected
Deputy Leader of the Shadow Council for the remainder of the
2018/2019 year.
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55. |
Public Participation
(Shadow Council Procedure Rules
Section 6) Members of the public who live or work in the West
Suffolk area are invited to put one question of not more than five minutes duration about the
work of the Shadow Council to members of the Shadow
Executive. A person who
wishes to speak must register at least fifteen minutes before the
time the meeting is scheduled to start.*
(Note: The maximum
time to be set aside for this item is 30 minutes, but if all
questions are dealt with sooner, or if there are no questions, the
Shadow Council will proceed to the next business.
Each person may ask
one question only. A total of five
minutes will be allowed for the question to be put and
answered. One further question will be allowed arising directly
from the reply, provided that the original time limit
of five minutes is not exceeded.
Written
questions may be submitted by members of the
public to the Interim Monitoring Officer no later than
10.00 am on Monday 17 December 2018. The written notification
should detail the full question to be asked at the
meeting of the Council.)*
*For further
information, see Public Information Sheet attached to this
agenda.
Minutes:
No members of the public in attendance had
registered to speak.
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56. |
Referrals Report of Recommendations from the Shadow Executive (Cabinet) (Report No: COU/SA/18/015) PDF 92 KB
Report No: COU/SA/18/015
(A) Referral from Shadow
Executive (Cabinet):
27
November 2018
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1.
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Council Tax Base for
Tax Setting Purposes 2019/2020
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Shadow Executive (Cabinet) Members:
Councillors Stephen
Edwards and Ian Houlder
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Minutes:
The Shadow Council considered the Referrals
Report of Recommendations from the Shadow Executive (Cabinet)
contained within Report No: COU/SA/18/015.
(A) Referrals from Shadow
Executive (Cabinet): 27 November 2018
1. Council Tax Base for
Tax Setting Purposes 2019/2020
Approval was sought to set the tax base for
2019/2020 for West Suffolk.
Shadow Council were reminded that Orders had
been laid allowing West Suffolk to harmonise the council tax of
Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury over a
period not exceeding seven years.
Councillor Stephen Edwards, one of the Shadow
Executive Members with the responsibility for Resources and
Performance, drew relevant issues to the attention of the Shadow
Council.
Councillor Andrew Smith raised a query in that
the figures set out in Paragraph 1.5 of Report No: COU/SA/18/015
did not match those listed within Recommendation 1.
Councillor Edwards confirmed that, to his
understanding, the figures within the recommendation were correct
and he would ask Officers to check those listed within Paragraph
1.5 and respond to Members outside of the meeting.
On the motion of Councillor Edwards, seconded
by Councillor Jo Rayner and duly carried, it was:
RESOLVED:
That:-
1.
The tax base for 2019/2020, for the whole of West
Suffolk is 55,056.11 equivalent Band D dwellings, and for each of
the predecessor areas is: Forest Heath 18,313.11 and St
Edmundsbury 36,743.00, as detailed in
paragraph 1.4.3 of Report No: EXC/SA/18/018; and
2.
The tax base for 2019/2020 for the different parts
of its area, as defined by parish or special expense area
boundaries, are as shown in Appendices 3 and 4 to Report No:
EXC/SA/18/018.
(Following conclusion of the meeting, Officers checked the
source reports and confirmed that the figures in Recommendation 1,
as proposed by the Cabinet Member and voted on, were consistent and
correct.
Paragraph 1.5 therefore contained an error and this was
communicated to all West Suffolk Members via their weekly
bulletin.)
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57. |
Urgent Questions on Notice
The Shadow Council will consider any urgent
questions on notice that were notified to the Interim Monitoring
Officer by 11am on the day of the meeting.
Minutes:
No urgent questions on notice had been
received.
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