Transcript

Transcript

concerning this county, we should seek to faithfully discharge our duties of office, both in our debate and in our decisions, and promote the health, safety, and well-being of those we serve. Thank you. Please be seated. Henri Oldeman, Bull and Dale, and Freeman Solorence, fellow Councillors, officers and members of the public, including those listening by the webcast, welcome to our Council meeting this evening. We are not expecting a fire drill, therefore in the event of a fire alarm, please leave the Council chamber by the next exit and assemble at the rear of the Council car park. I'd also like to remind members to stand and ensure your microphone is switched on and please speak clearly into it. When voting, please ensure your hand is fully raised and wait until voting is confirmed before lowering it. So now on to the agenda. First item is election of Chairman of the Council. Please can I have nominations for the Chairman of the Council for the 2024-25 Municipal Year with a Opposer and Seconder for each nomination. Councillor Ross. I would like to nominate Councillor Andrew Brown for the role of Chair of the Council. I believe that Councillor Brown is active as a most effective and independent chair ensuring that Councillors are heard our meetings are effectively and our meetings are effectively run. Importantly, he has sought to ensure the appropriate balance between public access to the business of this Council and necessary commercial confidentiality in aspects of our decision-making. I also consider that he has shown a quite outstanding level of personal commitment to representing this Council in his engagement with a wide range of public bodies and civic events, not just in Rutland but also in surrounding authorities, all this and his many other public commitments by their proposed Councillor Andrew Brown. Councillor Ross, seconded please. Councillor Powell, any other nominations? In that case, all those in favour please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay, thank you very much. Thank you members. I am once again honoured and humbled by the trust and confidence you've placed in me. Rest assured, I will continue to serve this Council and this county to the best of my ability and I will continue to work closely with officers and members to get the best out of the meetings. Let's not forget we are actually on public display here and we have to uphold the reputation of this Council. I hope I've done that in the past year and I look forward to working with you all for another year. Thank you very much. Item 2 is election of Vice Chairman of the Council. Please can I have nominations for the Vice Chairman of the Council for the 2024-25 Municipal Year with a pre-proposer and a seconder for each nomination. Councillor Powell. Thank you, I'd like to pose Councillors, this is the month of Harvey for the post of Vice Chair. The seconder, Councillor Stevenson. Thank you. Any other nominations? Okay, in that case, all those in favour of Councillor Harvey, please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay, thank you, Councillor Harvey, it's Judy, reappointed. Would you like to say a few words, Councillor Harvey? I would. Thank you and thank you very much, members. I do apologies, Chair, failing already. Just testing you. One thing I've had a really good year and it's very different, actually, to be Vice Chair of the Council. It's a different role, actually, from a cabinet member or from a normal member. I think one of the biggest things that I've found is actually that representation really does matter. It's not so much for people my age. What I have been really surprised about is the amount of ladies of slightly older than me, from a different generation, who are actually really, really proud that I'm Vice Chair of the Council. I've been really surprised by the people that have taken time out, people that I wouldn't necessarily think would even say come and say it. For that reason, I think it's really, really good that the representation is there. I'd like to thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Harvey, and congratulations. Do you need to sign your declaration? Item three, apologies for absence. Any apologies this evening, Mr Delaney? No, I've received Chairman. Therefore, Councillors voting to 27. Okay. Item four, Chairman's Announcements. Either myself or the Vice Chairman have attended the following events since the last ordinary meeting of Council. Ocampan Town Council's 50th anniversary of Victoria Hall, High Sheriff's Declaration Ocampan Castle, unveiling of the statue of her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Let's see a fire and rescue awards evening at the King Power Stadium and the visit to Rutland of the Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to Ocampan Castle. Item five, announcements from the leader, members of Cabinet and the head of paid service. Leader, would you like to address the Council? I have provided our clerk with my announcements for this evening in order that they can be circulated with the minutes. Thank you. Councillor Waller. Item six is declarations of interest. Do we have any declarations of interest this evening? No. Okay. Item seven, notification by the leader of appointments to the Executive. Councillor Waller, can you provide Council with the appointments of members of the Executive, including the Deputy Leader? Thank you. The appointed Cabinet members and their portfolios are unchanged from the last reshuffle I undertook in January this year and have been circulated in the agenda supplement shared with you last week. The Deputy Leader will continue to be Councillor Johnson. The delegation of decision-making continues to be to Cabinet to make decisions as a whole, a set-out in Cabinet procedurals at part four of the Constitution. Thank you. Councillor Waller, those appointments are duly noted. Item eight, this updates to the Constitution. This is pages five to 248. In your PACs, report number 41, stroke 2024. Members will note that the covering report explains exactly which parts of the Constitution are proposed to change and sets out what is in the appendices. I'll invite Councillor Johnson to introduce the report and pose a motion. Councillor Johnson. Thank you, Chairman. I'd like to introduce this report, which presents several updates to the Constitution for Council's approval. The recommendations are as set-out in power of 1.2. Members will be familiar with the Constitution and will understand that the Council has a duty to maintain the Constitution in order to keep it up to date. The Constitution Commission has been consulted throughout the year on all substantive changes to the Constitution proposed in this report and were supportive of all the changes. I don't intend to go through all the changes proposed in detail as members will have read the paper. In summary, the proposed updates to the Constitution are. Firstly, the scheme of delegation, which can be found at Appendix B and secondly, the change in the designation of the Constitution Commission to a working group, the terms of which can be found in Appendix G. There are other changes to the planning and licensing committee, deadlines for public deputations, an updated planning code that could practice the member scheme of allowances and the contract procedure rules. Within Appendix F, the contract procedure rules, it is important to note the changes to Section 10, where we are moving to a principles-based approach rather than a defined requirement for extended levels of authority. The Council needs to simplify its systems and procedures in order to engage successfully with the transformation agenda and become more efficient. It is important to note that these changes are not intended to remove the involvement of the portfolio holder. All the changes proposed were reviewed and approved by the Constitution Committee, which is a cross-party group. I move the recommendations in paragraph 1.2. Councillor JOHNSTON, for Seconder, Councillor WALLET. OK, Members, open to debate. Councillor Stevenson. Thank you, Chair. It's just one observation and it's a point that I've been making for several years. I was very pleased to see that there was the removal of a cap on expenses for child care. Everything else there wasn't a cap apart from child care, which I felt potentially made it more difficult for people with caring responsibilities to be Councillors. So I was very pleased to see that because I believe I have repeated myself over the years on that one. So that was good to see. Thank you, Chair. Councillor Stevenson. You're the Members. Councillor POWELL. Thank you. Just a point of clarification, if I may, that it's in the contract procedure rules, Councillor JOHNSTON. It's highlighted under 3.6.2.2.2 that the change means that procurements with the value of over 1 million will no longer be brought to Council to approve. I was part of the Constitution Commission and we'd have indeed debated these at length and fully understood the implications. I just wanted and as I understand it, the confirmation is also that this principal-based approach means that the items that previously came to cabinet for approval over 50,000 pounds will no longer be going down that route either on this new approach. Could you just confirm that's also the case as well as the threshold for Council having been changed and key? Councillor POWELL. Do you want to do that and you're summing up, Councillor JOHNSTON? Councillor Raimin, paint, did I see you indicating it? Obviously not. Councillor HUMSY. Thank you very much, Chair. I appreciate this is helping to streamline running the business, but I would hope that the leader will persuade all portfolio holders to keep this chamber updated in a suitable manner so we understand what's going on behind the scenes. Thank you. Councillor HUMSY, the members. In that case, Councillor JOHNSTON. Thank you, Chair. Yes, to respond to Councillor POWELL's point. Yes, there is a removal of an absolute obligation to bring items to cabinet, but it's not intended that portfolio holders are kept in the dark, nor is it intended that officers will do things without consulting cabinet members. So I think what we're trying to do is allow officers to have a degree of common sense when it comes to occupying time with these things. They're already going through a very exhaustive process of procurement. As Councillor POWELL will be aware, we debated some of these things on the Constitution Commission, and the key thing here is to free up time for both cabinet and the Council, and also to smooth and streamline procurement processes so that they're not overburdened with the Administration. Does that conclude your summing up, Councillor JOHNSTON. Yes, I think that's all right. In that case, the motion is that Council approves the recommendations as set out in section 1.2 of report number 41-2024. All those in favour, please raise your hand. I believe that's 25, Chairman. Those against? So no abstention. Okay, in that case, the motion is approved. Item 9, political balance and allocation of seats to political groups, pages 249-256 in your PACS. This is report number 42, stroke 2024. Members will be aware and updated appendix has been circulated by the agenda supplement. Councillor JOHNSTON, to introduce the report and propose the first four and the sixth recommendation. Thank you, Chairman. This report requests decisions by Council as required at the annual meeting. These are the political balance calculations, allocations of seats to political groups, and the appointments of chairs on these committees. The political balance calculation, which we are required to make sure we allocate seats proportionally, has changed due to the addition of one member to the independent group. The leaders of the groups have been involved in the discussions and the situation is now as follows. The Liberal Democrat and Green Group has 12 Councillors, the Independent Group has seven Councillors, the Conservative Group has six Councillors, and the Labour Group has two Councillors. This means that the Liberal Democrat and Green Group have 46% of the seats or 19. The Independent Group have 26% of the seats or 11. The Conservative Group have 22% of the seats or 9, and the Labour Group have 8% of the seats or 3. The licensing committee is not included in the 42 seats for political balance purposes. The recommendations are as detailed at 1.2 items 1-6. The initial motion will be on items 1-4 and item 6. Chairs of committees will then be confirmed subsequently. I move recommendations 1-4 and 6. I have a seconder. Councillor Waller. Okay. Members, open to debate. In that case, the motion is that the Council approves recommendations 1-4 and 6 as listed in section 1.2 of report number 42 stroke 2024. Will those in favour? Please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay. Thank you. The motion is approved. With regard to the chairs, I will take each committee in our first order, and I will ask for a seconder for each nomination. Take a vote on each body and then proceed to the next committee. So first is the Audit and Risk Committee. Can I have a proposal and a second of each nomination? Councillor Stephens. Thank you, Chair. I'd like to propose Councillor Karen Payne as Chair for Audition Risk. Can I have a seconder? Councillor Ross. Any other nominations? In that case, all those in favour of Councillor Karen Payne, please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay. So, Councillor Payne is duly appointed. Next is the conduct committee. Can I have a proposal and a seconder please for each nomination? Councillor Powell. I'd like to propose Councillor Oliver Hemsley for Chair of Conduct Committee. The seconder? Councillor Corbie. Any other nominations? In the case, all those in favour of Councillor Hemsley, please raise your hand. Councillor Hemsley is duly appointed. Next is the Employment and Appeals Committee. I have a proposal and a seconder for each nomination please, Councillor Powell. I'd like to propose Councillor Samantha Harvey as Chair of the Employment and Appeals Committee. And seconder please. Councillor Carr. Any other nominations? In that case, all those in favour of Councillor Harvey, please raise your hand. Councillor Hemsley is duly appointed. Next is the Licensing Committee. The proposal and a seconder please for each nomination. I'm Councillor Powell. Me again. I'd like to propose Councillor Nick Beggie, Chair of the Licensing Committee. Seconder please. Councillor Hemsley, wise. Any other nominations? Those in favour of Councillor Beggie, please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay, Councillor Beggie is duly appointed. Next is the Planning Committee. Can I have a proposal and a seconder please for each nomination? Councillor Powell. I'd like to propose Councillor Nick Beggie, Chair of Planning Committee. And a seconder. Councillor Smith. Any other nominations? Those in favour of Councillor Beggie, please raise your hand. That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay, then Councillor Beggie is duly appointed. Last is the Strategic Overview and Screwsony Committee. Can I have a proposal and a seconder for each nomination, please? Councillor McRough. I'd like to propose Councillor Ross. Thank you. And a seconder please. Councillor Payne. Any other nominations? Councillor Powell. I'd like to propose Councillor Lucy Stevenson. And seconder please. Councillor Cairn Payne. Any other nominations? Okay, would the candidates like to say a brief few words before we take a vote? If that is a yes, then I will do it in alphabetical order. So I believe Ross comes before Stevenson in the alphabet. So, Councillor Ross, you're correct. Thank you. You may go first. I stood here a year ago and said that I believe my background in business and indeed charities would be useful to the working of the committee and I still believe that to be true. But I've also learned a lot about very different procedures and practices associated with Council meetings and have attended a number of courses through the year to improve my familiarity with the workings of scrutiny. So I believe I will be a more effective chair of elected. In a year just gone by, I also like to think that I've tried to encourage all committee members to participate and I believe that we operated effectively as a team. So far as Leicester, Leicester, and Rutland Health scrutiny is concerned, I've engaged actively in both agenda setting and questioning. If I'm fortunate enough to be reelected, I will seek to encourage committee members to consider placing a greater emphasis on the areas of social care and health in the year ahead to provide a more balanced range of work than the consolidated committee structure has provided to date. I would also ask Councillors who are not members of the committee to consider bringing forward proposals, but possible inclusion in the forward work plan. There is never a monopoly on ideas and all proposals would be welcome. Thank you. Thank you very much, Chair. Members, you'll be aware that I have many passions in my life. Rutland, Rutland County Council, scrutiny over the years, but most importantly, my passion is around residents, the residents that we seek to serve in this county. All of you will have had induction training about the role of scrutiny. You'll have heard scrutiny being spoken of as the critical friend of the executive to influence decisions, to sense check, to think about accountability. We work within the context of the corporate strategy. We work within the context of our budget. There are statutory obligations with scrutiny. However, if you choose to elect me as your Chair, my focus will be on how we engage our residents with that. It's part of our work improvement plan for scrutiny. The absence of members of public in our public meetings is to be noted. We need to make sure that members of our public are aware of all our constitutional functions. It is not a case of Rutland residents being done to, rather than Rutland residents doing with us. I would like to think that the Flood Evidence Panel is an absolute case study of that. We had a special council meeting because residents were concerned. Scrutany established a Flood Evidence Panel, which I chaired. We are in the process of drawing together all of the evidence that we got from our residents, from our officers, from external agencies. I am quietly confident without pre-determining our final report. There will be recommendations that are deliverable that are affordable, but most importantly will have a positive impact for our residents. It is our scrutiny. It will be as good as we make it. I would absolutely relish the opportunity to work hard, really delivering on that improvement program, and I would be grateful for your support this evening. Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you, Councillor Stevenson. All those in favour of Councillor Ross, please raise your hands. 14, Chair. Those in favour of Councillor Stevenson. 13, Chair. So, Councillor Ross is duly appointed. The program of meetings, pages 257-262 in your pack. This is report number 43-2024. Councillor JOHNSTON, would you like to introduce the report and propose a motion? Thank you, Chairman. This report presents the program of meetings for 2024-25 for Council's approval. The recommendations are as detailed at paragraph 1.2. The reason for this is that Council is required at its annual meeting to agree the date and time of ordinary meetings of Council and its committees for the coming municipal year. This year's program can be seen at Appendix A. The setting of dates into May and June 2025 provides greater transparency for members, officers and members of the public on future meeting dates and assists with agenda planning. The main change in this year's program is that Council meetings will be held on Thursday from September onwards. This is primarily to allow officers the time to deal with the large number of queries that generally arise prior to a Council meeting. The Constitution Commission have been fully involved in the shaping of this year's program. I move the recommendations at 1.2. Councillor JOHNSTON, you have a seconder. The motion is that Council approves the recommendations set out in section 1.2. I'm sorry, Councillor JOHNSTON, I didn't ask you if you wanted to sum up. But seems we haven't had a debate. Okay, thank you. So the motion is that Council approves the recommendations set out in section 1.2 of the report, number 43-2024. All those in favour? That's unanimous, Chairman. Okay, thank you. The motion is therefore approved. Item 11, appointments to outside bodies for the 2024-25, pages 263-274. This is report number 43/2024, I assume that should be, not 2023. So that's correct, Chair. So it's number 44-2024. Councillor JOHNSTON, would you like to introduce the report and propose the motion, please? Thank you, Chairman. This report seeks Council approval for the appointment of elected members as the Council's representatives on a number of outside bodies. The recommendations are as detailed at 1.2. The appointment of members to outside bodies is a matter for Council to approve. The bodies set out in Appendix A, still wish for member representation, and appointing them to them will positively contribute to the Council's relations with these bodies and ensure the Council's interests are represented. Each year, the Council is required to appoint elected members to represent the Council on outside bodies, as well as external bodies. The list includes internal Council working groups that sit outside the Council's decision-making structures. I wish I had changed that sentence. Since the last consideration of the matter by Council in May 2023, some changes have taken place. Two bodies have amended their arrangements and no longer require appointed member representation. These are no longer included in Appendix A. Council membership of two new bodies hosted by Lester Chair County Council were approved by Council in September 2010 to 2023, and these bodies are now included in Appendix A. Council could choose not to appoint to the organisations listed, but this is not recommended for the reasons just stated. I move the recommendations as detailed in 1.2. Thank you. Councillor JOHNSTON, seconder. Councillor ELSON. Members, open to debate. Councillor POWELL. Thank you. Very happy, and I think it's really important that representatives of this Council are represented on these bodies. We have discussed it, but it was just disappointing to note that whereas we previously had a champion for looked after children, considering the motion that went through Council last time all the time before, that this, that we no longer have that appointment. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor POWELL. Councillor ALLAN. Thank you. I'll speak now, given that Councillor POWELL has raised this issue. The appointment of champions are at the total discretion of the leader of the Council in terms of who they are. We have had two for the last more than one year. The Armed Forces Champion and the looked after children champion. The Armed Forces Champion is an expectation of the Armed Forces Covenant that we are signed up to. I am extremely pleased to announce that Councillor David Wilby is prepared to carry on in the role, and I am more than happy to appoint him. So thank you, David. I think you are an excellent choice for this Council. As far as the children's champion is concerned, looking after and protecting children and young people is one of the most important tasks for which Councils are responsible. When a child, for whatever reason, can't safely stay at home, it's up to us as the local authority to step in and give them the care, support and stability that they need. The Council and all elected members as corporate parents are required to give our children in care and care levers the same opportunities that all children should experience who live with their birth or extended families and have the same aspirations and interests in their progress as any parent would have for their own child. All elected members are corporate parents, and it's the role of each and every elected member to be a champion for the children in our care. It is not the sole remit of a single member champion or indeed the lead member. It's for these reasons that I'm not appointing to the role of children in care and care levers champion. We are embarking on a review of our corporate parenting strategy, and this review is being led by our children and young people, and it will inform the future corporate parenting approach in Rockland. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Councilor Wallach. Are you the members? Councilor Stevenson. Thank you, Chair. Just picking up on that, I would hope that all of us are also signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, not just one person as the champion. Could I ask the leader that when the young people, and obviously they are leading that review, what their view is on having a name person that can be called upon, noting our role as corporate and parent, it might be one for the portfolio holder, but like Councillor Powell, I also think it's a shame that we don't have a champion. Councilor Stevenson. Can I respond to that? Yes, Councillor Wallach, and then Councillor Harvey. I would like to assure Councillor Stevenson that Councillor Smith and I will put that question to the young people, although knowing young people, and certainly Rockland young people, I think if they have a few, they will tell us before we even ask them. Councillor Wallach, Councillor Harvey. Thank you, Chair. Like others, and as the previous Children's Champion for four years, I'm really, really disappointed. I think specifically the Children's Champion was able to advocate for our young people, specifically in meetings and things, and in other ways. I agree completely we all have a role in corporate parenting. Unfortunately, I would say we've all failed immediately on this because no one has stepped forward to become the other member of the corporate parenting board, so that in itself shows how much it's taken seriously, I would argue. Councillor Harvey, any other members? In the case, Councillor JOHNSTON, are you wishing to sum up? Thank you, Chair. Just to say that, we've obviously now dealt with the issue of Champions and Councillor WARROW has indicated the reasons why we won't be appointing a Children's in Care and Care Leavers Champion this year, and has reaffirmed the fact that we will be appointing an armed force as Champion. I think that's what I need to say. Thank you, Councillor JOHNSTON. The motion is that the Council approves the recommendations as set out in section 1.2 of report number 44 stroke 2024. Will those in favour please raise your hand? 25, Chair. Those against? 2, Chair. No abstentions. The motion is duly carried. I would just like to echo what the Leader has said that a highly decorated serviceman such as Councillor Wilby is an excellent choice for the Armed Forces Champion. So thank you for continuing to do that, Councillor Wilby. Item 12 is any other urgent business. I have not been made aware of any other urgent business for consideration. Item 13 is date of next meeting. The date of the next Council meeting will be Monday, July 15. That concludes the business of this meeting. Thank you to our honoree, Alderman and Freeman for attending. Those who have joined us this evening and are listening in, and I declare this Council meeting closed at 1937. (door slams) [BLANK_AUDIO]