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[BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] If you make a representation to the meeting, you will be deemed by the council to have consented to being filmed. By entering this meeting, you are also consenting to being filmed by the council and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. The council, members of the public, and the press may record, film, photograph, or broadcast this meeting when the public and the press are not lawfully excluded. I would like to invite the vice chair, Councillor Dowling, to take the chair for the first item on the agenda as I need to leave the room. Councillor Dowling. [BLANKAUDIO] [BLANKAUDIO] Okay, thank you. We'll move to item one on the agenda, which is election of the chair of the council. Please, can I have nominations for the position of chair of the council? Council, a plumb, please. Thank you, chair. When I said I would willingly nominate Elizabeth, they told me I had to make a speech. Well, I did it last year, and just made it such a splendid job this year. It's no point in me speaking about it. I nominate Elizabeth Melvita. Thank you. That's a proposal. It's a seconder, please. Thank you, Councillor SAW. Are there any further nominations? Okay, so we're going to go to voting by show of hands this evening for efficiency's sake. So can I please ask you to show in favour of Councillor Malvisi as chair? That looks unanimous. Thank you. So I declare Councillor Malvisi duly elected as chair of the council for the following year. And I think she can come back in now. Thank you. Councillors interjecting. Thank you, Councillor, Councillor Dowling. Right. Just while I get my wires uncrossed. I, Elizabeth Melvita, having been elected to the office of chair of the council, hereby declare that I take that office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it according to the best of my judgement and ability. I undertake to be guided by the Suffolk local code of conduct and in the performance of my functions in that office. Last year I was greatly honoured to be elected by you, my fellow Councillors, as chair of Faber District Council, and was supported in this role by Councillor Dowling to whom I am very grateful, especially when he was able to stand in for me. Throughout the year I was invited to a variety of events from school price giving to a conference about the impact of sexual abuse in the home and how it affects more than just the victim. To visiting an agroforestry where I witnessed firsthand changes in the way it is possible to farm and extract wholesome food from the land. Over the year I attended nearly 50 separate events and in doing so realised that we all face the same issues. The difference is how we address them and in that I believe the role of chair can help to share and create joined up thinking. I was humbled and privileged to meet people in our community who go above and beyond in caring and providing help and support for those who are less able to do it for themselves. Naturally I represented Faber at various remembrance parades along with other military events and was very proud to so do. I chose to support the Star Valley Men's Shed as my chosen charity and held a burnt supper, civic service and dinner to raise funds for a very worthwhile cause. Our residents face the same problems and usually there is more than one way to approach and resolve matters. We don't know it all. It has been hugely humbling, immensely enjoyable experience and I thank you once again for re-electing me to present to represent Faber District. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you. Now I need nominations for Vice Chair of the Council. Councillor Jameson, are you proposing? Thank you. I would like to pose Councillor Henry for the position of Vice Chair. I think this would be a nice deal opportunity for her. Ruth is tenacious, she's caring and she's mildly outspoken when she sees it in justice. I think this position would give a platform to both enhance and show these skills. So I'd like to, I want to say she likes the bling as well. I'd like to nominate Ruth as Vice Chair. Thank you. Can I have a seconder please? Council Award? I can't really say anything more from what Councillor Jameson said. I agree with every word of it. Thank you. Are there any further nominations? I think we can now move to the vote and the vote will be taken this evening by a show of hands on every item on the agenda in order to expedite matters. I think everybody knows how to put their hand up. Okay. We only need one hand. Thank you, Councillor Busby. Okay. Henryette? Can I have your shoulder hands please for Councillor Ruth Henry as Vice Chair of the Council, please. I think it's a unanimous unanimous. Okay. Yes. I declare Councillor Henry duly elected. [Applause] You won't need decorations. [Applause] [Applause] Thank you. I, Councillor Ruth Henry, having been elected to the Office of Vice Chair of the Council, hereby declare that I take that office upon myself and will duly and faithfully fulfil the duties of it according to the best of my judgment and ability. I undertake to be guided by the Suffolk Global Code of Conduct in the performance of my functions in that office. I'd like to thank all of the members for giving me this opportunity. I'd also like to thank Councillor Dowling for all his work over the past year. I very much look forward to working with the Chair and I'm sure I will learn a lot from her. Thank you. Thank you very much, Councillor. We now have apologies for absence. Thank you, Chair. We have received apologies from Councillor Hillen Davis, Councillor Derek Davis, Councillor Margaret Mayberry, Councillor Mark Newman, Councillor Brian Riley, Councillor Daniel Potter, Councillor Peter Beer and Councillor Isabelle. Ruth, thank you. Thank you. Are there any declarations of interest? No, moving on. We now move on to the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 19th of March 2024, and for accuracy only, are there any issues with accuracy? No. Could I have a proposal, please? Councillor Plum and Councillor, I saw you in a second. Thank you. All those in favour? Carried. We now move on to the election of Leader of the Council. Could I have a nomination for Leader of the Council? Councillor Ward? Yes, I'd like to propose Councillor SOAR, please. Firstly, most importantly, as you'll be aware, our coalition has a rotating leadership as a central part of the agreement, and it was always intentional that Councillor SOAR would take over as a leader at this meeting. But of course, it is just as much, if not more, about the individual, about the person. And as I'm sure you'll all have realised by now, Deborah is hardworking. She's tenacious, that word again must be a green trait, and she's never shy in letting us all know what she thinks and wants, as she has a forensic attention to detail. So I believe that she'll be an excellent leader for favour. Deborah will be the third green leader in the county, and the second female green leader, and I know that Councillor Topping is going to be looking forward to working with her Suffolk Public City leaders meetings. And lastly, of course, Deborah is already sitting in the leader's chair, and I certainly wouldn't dare to try to remove her. Thank you. Do I have a seconder, please? Councillor Jaimerson? Yes, Chair, I'm pleased to second, Deborah is a leader, and more to add. I'm looking forward to the next year with Deborah in charge. It could be quite interesting. Are there any further nominations? We again will go to the vote by a show of hands. Are you an anonymous one? So Councillor Saw is duly elected. We now move to announcements from the Chair and Leader. I refer you to paper BC/24/2 for noting. Councillor Saw, would you like to make any announcements? Thank you, Chair. First of all, I would like to say that the Cabinet will remain in situ for the near future, although there may well be changes. Also, again, because we are a rotating leadership, Council Award will become statutory Deputy Leader, and Council of Busbee will become Political Deputy Leader. It is a privilege to have been elected leader, and I'm proud and honoured to become Babers' first ever Green Leader. Ten years ago, there was only one Green sitting in Council, and now we are the largest party, and this year we lead the Council. So it's a good track record, and of course I'm delighted to speak to this small but select gathering of the Council. I want to start by paying tribute to Councillor Busbee, who despite his health challenges has not let that diminish his contribution. I'm sure I speak for all members when I say we wish him well with his future treatment. I also look forward to seeing Councilor Riley back in the Chamber and wish him a speedy recovery. I would also like to thank Council Award for stepping into the breach and taking on the role of Acting Leader. A tripartite administration with a rotating leadership is unusual, but we've all been committed to making it work, and I would also like to thank my Cabinet colleagues for all their hard work over the last 12 months. A new administration, even when it has some familiar faces within it, is a challenge for officers, and I would like to thank our officers for rising to that challenge with patience and good humour. In my first leader's announcement, I wanted to set out where we are and how we will continue to deliver on the vision set out in our plan for favour adopted by this Council in January. Our plan focuses on three things, a revitalised and improved environment, building a thriving economy and supporting our communities. We do live in a fantastic, beautiful place, but we recognise that, like most places, it has its challenges. For example, the need for good quality housing in the right places, our young people left wondering if they'll ever get on the property ladder. Families forced to use food banks and the urgent need to combat climate change and nature recovery. Addressing issues such as these, supporting the most vulnerable and helping our communities in economy to thrive, must be what drives us. Of course, like many councils, we also face significant financial challenges and growing demand on our services. I urge everyone not to underestimate these, we have incredibly tough decisions to make so we can protect valued services for our residents. We have to become financially resilient. In this situation, we must be clear, business as usual no longer exists. We can't keep doing things in the same way as we have in the past. We need to rethink, rebuild and repair. We need to be more innovative in identifying solutions that our communities need. We need to support them by using our influence to work with partners to deliver positive change at the grassroots level. We don't have the funding for all the things we'd like to do, but we are determined to support all our communities by using our influence to work with partners to deliver positive change at the grassroots level. Our vision is to see communities empowered to develop and deliver local solutions while being supported by us. As well as working differently, I want to outline some of the actions we will take in the next 12 months. It will come as no surprise that one of our key priorities is the continued improvement of our council housing to deliver the best possible service to tenants. Nearly 1 million pounds has already been invested to reduce the repairs backlog. We are making progress, but we must go much further. Our investment in a full stock survey will be critical to this. We also want to encourage more community led housing and stimulate the formation of community land trusts. These result in community ownership of land for affordable housing. Currently, the district's only scheme that has built new housing is in Lavanam. We want to support more parishes to complete neighbourhood plans or people and place plans to shape their future development and place a renewed emphasis on good design in residential and commercial buildings. Neighbourhood plans produce a wealth of information about what communities need and we will make better use of this information. We want to explore how communities can create local renewable energy plans. In my own ward, a group called Heating Buildersden has secured government funding to commission a feasibility study. And I'm looking forward to seeing what we can learn from this. We will continue our work to make it easier for listed buildings to be made more energy efficient and also hope to become the first council to allow property owners to put solar panels on outbuildings. These were forward thinking ideas and show our determination to do things differently. We will also work with partners like Citizens Advice to help people through the cost of living crisis. Exploring how else we can work with communities to deliver additional support. These are just some of the things we want to do and we will continue to develop these with our communities and all Councillors. We as a council touch the lives of everyone in our district every day. There are many challenges that confront us, the council and our communities, but we have the imagination and creativity to offer up new solutions to today's challenges and those in the future. I would like to end with a quote from Mayor Angelou, which I think encapsulates my approach and perhaps the approach of the council. Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better. I think after 12 months I know better and I am now determined to ensure that I and we do better. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor. We now have the designation of committees and joint committees. Could I have a...we are going to go through each one or do I do it in role? Chair, if you just read them out then we can take a price in a second. So we are considering overview and scrutiny committee, planning committee, licensing and regulatory committee, joint audit and standards committee, joint appointments committee. I now ask for a proposal to appoint all the committees listed on the agenda. Councillor Jameson proposing. Can I have a seconder please? Laura, Councillor Smith, it's right. And we shall take the vote by a show of hands. Thank you very much. That is carried. We now move to BC/24/3, political balance and composition of committees. I refer you to the updated appendix B in the tabled papers. I would like to invite the interim monitoring officer to introduce paper BC/24/3. Thank you, Chair. The purpose of the report is to comply with the provisions of the local government and housing act 1989, which does require us to review the allocations of seats to political groups at every annual meeting of the Council. The report also seeks tonight the approval of the composition of committees, which must be agreed each year at the annual council meeting. I'm happy to take any questions, but I would like to seek a proposal, Chair. Thank you. Do we have a proposal? Councillor Ward. And do we have a seconder? Councillor Plum. Any questions on this? We will now put it to the vote by another show of hands, please. Councillors, that is carried. We now have election of chairs and vice chairs of committees. Note, in accordance with the Council's Constitution Article 6, Open Bracket 6.2.1 closed bracket, the leader shall take up the chairmanship of the cabinet. To elect a chair and vice chair for the following committees, overview and scrutiny committee, planning committee, licensing and regulatory committee, to elect a co-chair for the following joint committees, joint audit and standards committee, joint appointments committee. May I have a nomination for the chair of overview and scrutiny committee. Councillor Plum. Thank you very much, Chair. I'd like to propose Merrick McFarrah. She has, during a time when overview and scrutiny has perhaps had more publicity than it has in many years, has handled everything extremely well. And I think we should ask her to continue. Thank you. Thank you. Can I have a seconder, please? Councillor Ward. Councillor Klob. Thank you, Chair. I'd like to propose Councillor Holt. I think we've seen him recently on overview and scrutiny and where he asks very insightful questions. And he's got the experience, the objectivity and perhaps the independence to make a very good job of this. So that's my proposal. Thank you. Do I have a seconder? Councillor—oh, sorry, Councillor Rowan. Yes, I think it's just right that we have the opposition to leave that, the overall scrutiny. So, Rowan, I think Michael would do a good job. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Bussby, did you want to say something? Only really to echo what Alison said. I think ONS, it should be keeping a check on what the Council's doing. I think it's therefore better done through an opposition person rather than a member of the Administration. It's a bit like the police policing themselves, I think so. I will be supporting my turn's case. I think Mary's done a fantastic job, really fantastic job and I'm truly very happy with what she's done. But as a matter of principle, it should go to the opposition. Okay. Are there any further nominations or shall we go to the vote? We'll take a vote for each candidate, so the first one is Councillor McLaren. That's 14 voted for Councillor McLaren, which means that Councillor McLaren has been duly elected or appointed. Thank you very much. We now want Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, Councillor Parker. Chair, thank you very much. I'd like to nominate Councillor John Wyman as Vice-Chair. Thank you. Do we have a seconder, Councillor Jameson? Thank you. Any further nominations for Vice-Chair? We'll move to the vote. It's Carrie, thank you very much. Why have I got Vice-Chair and overview twice? It's a slip up, Chair. It doesn't? We'll just go to the Chair of Planning. Yeah, but I've got it done. Okay, I now need a nomination for Chair of Planning. Councillor SAW. Thank you, Chair. I would like to propose Councillor PLUM for Chair of Planning. He's vastly experienced, is always calm when confronted with contentious issues and has a—and I'm going to use Councillor WOOD's phrase here—a forensic grasp of detail, all of which qualities that are absolutely key in the Chair of the Planning Committee. Thank you. I'm going to have a seconder, please. Councillor Jameson. Are there any other nominations? We'll move to the vote. Councillors, please vote. That's Carrie. That's Carrie, thank you very much. Now, can we have a nomination, please, for the Vice-Chair of Planning? Vice-Chair of Planning. Do I have a proposal? Councillor Parker? Chair, thank you once again. I would like to nominate Councillor John Wyman for Vice-Chair for Planning Committee. Thank you. Okay, can I have a seconder, please? Councillor PLUM. Any other nominations? Can we move to the vote, Councillors, please? Yeah, that's carried. This is Carrie, thank you very much. Now, may I have nominations for the Chair of Licensing and Regulatory Committee? Councillor PLUM. Thank you, Chair. Even brief at this time, I think Lee, Councillor, as he is, has been doing a brand job and would like him to continue. Thank you, Lee. Thank you, a seconder, please. Councillor Jaimerson? Yes? Can we have a vote, then? We have nominations for the Vice Chair of Licensing and Regulatory Committee. Councillor Parker? Thank you again, Chair. I would like to nominate Councillor Lee Jameson again for Vice-Chair for Licensing and Regulatory. Okay, can we have a seconder, please? Councillor PLUM. Thank you very much. Any further nominations? We will now go to the vote. That's carried very much. Can I have nominations for the co-chair of Joint Audit and Standards Committee? Could I have a proposal? Well, don't all rush. Councillor ACROW. A seconder, please. I would like to propose Councillor GINNATRA. Lee, Bryn Haren, but has that been done? Okay. Thank you. I didn't think it had been. No, it hasn't been. So, I'm proposing Councillor Bryn Haren. Yes. Thank you. For continuing as the co-chair of Joint Audit and Standards. Thank you. Thank you. A seconder, Councillor PLUM. Super. Are there any further nominations? Are there any further nominations? We move to the vote. Councillors please. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. May I have nominations for the co-chair of Joint Appointments Committee? Councillor SAW. I would like to propose Councillor JAMISON for this role. He has been a Councillor for--he is the one Councillor in the Green Party that has been in post for over one year. So, of course, has seniority over all. Okay. Could I have a seconder, please? Councillor WOOD. Any further nominations? We'll now move to the vote. Thank you. A paper BC/24/4/4. Appointments to outside bodies for 2024 stroke 25. I would like to invite the leader to introduce the paper and move the recommendation in the report. It's somewhat of a surprise, Chair. I so move. Can I have a seconder to that motion? Councillor WOOD. Thank you very much. Can I just add one minute to the list? Councillor interjecting. And that is on the Suffolk enhanced bus partnership. I believe the third place, Councillor HARRIS, has agreed to take that third place. So, we're voting for the paper. So, can I have a show of hands, please, Councillors, if you're in agreement? Thank you. That's carried. Appointment of Councillors to the shared revenues partnership joint committee. The nominations have been tabled. Could I have a proposal, please, followed by a seconder? And don't all rush at once, Councillor WOOD, a seconder, please. Councillor SAW. Can we have a vote? Thank you. That is also carried. Appointments to the Suffolk Joint Standards Board. Nominations have been tabled. Therefore, can I have a proposal, please? Councillor Jaimerson and a seconder. Councillor SAW. Now can we move to the vote? Councillors, thank you. That's also carried. Appointments to the joint gypsy and traveller steering group. Councillors ask to appoint four Councillors to the joint gypsy and traveller steering group. The nominations have been tabled. Therefore, could I have a proposal, please, followed by a seconder? Opposed? Councillor CURTHS. Councillor CURTHS. Thank you. And seconder, Councillor SMITH. Thank you very much. We now move to the vote, Councillors. Thank you. That's carried also. Appointments to Council Working Groups. Councillors ask to appoint Councillors to the following working groups as tabled. Community Governance Review Working Group. Constitution Working Group. Council Investment Portfolio Working Group. Member Learning and Development Working Group. Local Plan Working Group. Could I please have a proposal? Councillor McGraw. Thank you. And a seconder? Councillor OWEN. Thank you very much. Can we please vote? Thank you very much. That's carried. We now move on to the appointment of Armed Forces Champion. The nomination has been tabled. Please could I have a proposal? Councillor SAW. And can I have a seconder, please? Councillor REGISTER. Can we go to the vote? I was just checking. Can we go to the vote, please? Thank you. That's carried. Thank you very much. Appointment of the Mental Health Champion. Nominations have been tabled. Please could I have a proposal? And a seconder. Councillor SMITH proposing? Yes. Seconder. Councillor WARD. Can we move to the vote? Thank you. That's carried. That's carried. We now move to questions by the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. Can we see the chair? Thank you. Questions by Councillors in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13. Can we see the chair? Thank you very much. I declare the meeting terminated. Our next meeting is the 25th of June at 5.30 and we're closing at 18.09. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You [BLANKAUDIO]