Transcript

Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome to this full council meeting and our AGM, and I have to say welcome to our new members, and of course, we have some new faces, and I welcome our old faces as well, so it's very good to see you. We come to, excuse me, we come to item two on the agenda, which is the election of chair, so do I have any nominations for chair? Do I have any nominations? Yes, councillor George Finch, I nominate councillor Edward Harris. Thank you. Do I, seconder? Yes, I would welcome the nomination, second the nomination. With pleasure, because he will make an absolutely excellent ambassador for this county, and a marvellous chairman. I support it. Wish you would all show some support for him in the future. Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Are there any other nominations? Council, Roodhouse. Thank you, Mr Chairman, and can I thank you for the year's service that you've done. I'd like to move Councillor Sarah Bode to the post of chairman. Thank you, and could I have a seconder, please? Thank you, Chair. I'd like to second that proposal, and Sarah Bode has a wealth of experience, and she'll certainly run a smooth and fair council meeting. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Rolfe. Thank you very much, indeed. Well, there's more than one. Are there any more? Any more nominations? No? Thank you. Right, now we moved to the vote. Vote, please. Okay, so the way we're going to do this is that each member, each councillor has one vote. So, you either vote for, when I call out your name, you state whether you vote for Councillor Harris or Councillor Bode, or you abstain. That way, we'll have the smoothest, most efficient vote. Is that clear? Okay. So, listen for your name. State a name, or whether you abstain. Councillor Aikenhead. Vote for Edward Harris. Edward Harris, thank you. Thank you. Councillor Alban. Councillor Bode. Councillor Bannister. Edward Harris. Councillor Barker. Harris. Councillor Bode. Bode. Councillor Bridgewater. Apologies. Councillor Briggs. Edward Harris. Councillor Brown. Councillor Bode. Sorry, Bode. Councillor Cameron. Edward Harris. Councillor Carvell. Councillor Edward Harris. Councillor Cheshire. Councillor Edward Harris. Councillor Chilvers. Councillor Bode. Councillor Cooper. Councillor Harris. Councillor Coucher. Councillor Bode. Councillor Crocker. Councillor Edward Harris. Councillor Crump. Councillor Harris. Councillor Curtis. Councillor Bode. Councillor Dummash. Councillor Harris Councillor Dixon Councillor Bode Councillor Drew Councillor Edwards Councillor Bode Councillor Falpe Councillor Bode Councillor Feeney Councillor Bode Councillor Finch councillor edward harris councillor garland councillor harris councillor gisborne councillor glover councillor goldby councillor harris councillor green councillor edward harris councillor grokot councillor sarah bode councillor harris councillor harris councillor holland councillor bode councillor howard apologies councillor jones councillor bode councillor caradia councillor board councillor keeling councillor harris councillor kettle councillor harris councillor condor core councillor sarah bode councillor Councillor Langer. Councillor Sarah Bode. Councillor Harris. Councillor Norris. Councillor Bode. Councillor Pym. both councillor Richards councillor Roberts councillor bird councillor rolfe councillor Roodehouse councillor Scott councillor Sarah bird councillor Shaw. Councillor Harris. Councillor Shingler. Councillorindestiche. Councillor Huffs. Councillor Harrison. Councillor Songco. Councillor Harris. Councillor Stephens. Councillor Sarah Bode. Councillor Wain. Councillor Harris. Councillor Warren. Councillor Harris. And Councillor Warwick So the vote is 29 to councillor Harris, 25 to councillor Bode, there are no abstentions so councillor Harris is duly elected to chairman of the council. Hello everybody in the chamber, I will get to know everybody I'm sure over a period of time. I'm grateful for your vote of confidence in me as chair. And you'll be reassured to know that I shall exercise proper dignity, proper integrity and respect this place and the democratic process that it represents. Okay, I think that's the most important thing to say at this point. Thank you all for voting for me and for your confidences again. And we shall proceed, we have quite a lot to do today. And the first thing I would like to do in accepting this role is to move a vote of thanks for Councillor Chris Mills. for all this hard work in this role previously. So, well, thank you personally. Thank you very much. Thank you. Yes. Everybody. Thank you. Okay. All right. At this point, it's customary to ask if anybody else would like to say a few words regarding the retiring chair. Councillor Chris Mills. Be nice. Councillor Feeney. Councillor Feeney. I want to take this opportunity to thank Councillor Mills for his hard work and dedication to the county over the course of the last year. I know he's fulfilled many engagements, ably supported by his wife, who I understand said not again when he was appointed chair of the county council, because he'd been chair of Stratford District Council. But you've both been absolutely wonderful. You've supported the communities. And I want to thank you on behalf of the Labour Group for the hard work you've done. I'm not sure we'll miss some of the jokes, but we all have laughed, I promise you. And thank you so much, Chris. You've been excellent. You're very kind. Thank you. Councillor Roodhouse. Councillor Roodhouse, please. Thank you, Mr Chairman, and look forward to working with you over the year, especially through the budget debate in February, which if I go back some years, I think it used to take about 14 hours, but there you go. Councillor Mills, thank you very much for the way that you've chaired the meetings over the last year, and the way that you've managed to keep us all in check and keep us in control, and also for the way that you've represented the county in other parts of Warwickshire, from north, south, east and west as well. I think the way you've done that, and the comments that I've heard come back through, even on other councils and other communities in the voluntary sector, clearly demonstrates your passion for Warwickshire as a county as a whole. The geographical differences that happen within Warwickshire, that we all live in different communities, and the way you've represented that as you've travelled around, and taken the message of Warwickshire County Council to it. So thank you very much, and I hope you have an enjoyable rest. Thank you very much, Councillor Woodhouse, thank you. Councillor Warwick. Thank you very much, Councillor Mills, Chris. Thank you for what you've done. You have represented this council in a superb way. We thank your wife as well for all you've done. You've travelled, you've put many hours into it, you've been a fantastic ambassador for this council, and we, as our Conservative group and the rest of us, thank you so much for your endeavours over the last year, and we look forward to you having a little bit more time on your hands. You take care, Chris. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Warwick. Thank you. Councillor Cromwell, please. Thank you, Mr Chairman. Congratulations on your election. I'd just like to say a few words about Councillor Chris Mills. What can we say about him? One is, his jokes are as bad as mine, if not worse. So for all new members, you've got a treat to come both from Councillor Mills and myself. But on a serious note, Chris has been a great ambassador for Warwickshire. Throughout the county, I've got contacts in so-called Chaingang, and Councillor Angela John from Southam spoke really highly of the way he's engaged with all our communities. So, really good job, Chris. And now you've got a bit more spare time. Me and you can get a new joke book between us. So, thank you, Chris. Well done. Oh, and thank you to Sue as well. Great. Thank you, Councillor Cromwell. Keeping him on the straight in there. So, thank you very much. Councillor Fowle, please. Thank you, Chairman. What can I say, Chris? Excellent, excellent chairing skills during the year. I've been lucky enough to have social... I was going to say social intercourse there. Perhaps not the right word. I've spent time with Chris and Sue at social events. We've welcomed him to WITNASH. We've sent his passport and allowed him in. And had some really good discussions. And everything done with a slight joke or sense of humour, which was brilliant, which you need in politics at times. So, thank you, Chris and Sue. You've served this council well. Thank you very much. Thank you. Councillor Kettle, please. Thank you, Mr Chair. As your immediate predecessor, Councillor Mills, I watched with great interest as you took on the role that I had previously done. And all the feedback I got was you did a great job. Thank you very much for your service for that. As I know and you will know, our appearances, and as the new chairman will discover, our appearances across the council, working with a lot of those volunteer charitable organisations, hugely appreciate the support that this council, through the chair, give to their organisations. And you have done that very well, Chris. Thank you. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you. Anyone else would like to speak? At this time. That's fine. Thank you. We shall move on. It's my honour to present past chair, Chris Mills, with his past chair medal. It may be a nice reminder of all the wonderful experiences you've had in this role. And recognition is duly deserved. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, thank you everybody for those, especially a few kind words. Indeed. Council Crump, I will get the joke book out and we'll do a new one together, I'm sure. And is it quite right that when you go on the doorstep, you say, you vote for me or I'll tell you one of my jokes. So you get off quick, don't you? But it's been an honour, it really has been an honour and a privilege to be chairman of Warwickshire County Council for the past year. I must say, I really enjoy presiding over the council meetings, which in general were extremely civilised between councillors from all parties, which I thank them for. Also a big thanks, a heartfelt thanks to my wife. Susan, she's here today. And honestly, without her, I couldn't have done this, especially when we get to an event and she makes sure the chain is in the right place and the medal is in the proper place as well. So neat and tidy. So we had some very, very good times together and enjoyed it so, so much. There were very memorable moments throughout the year at the events that we went to. And I have mentioned this before at council. The standout moments for me were the side-by-side concert performed at the spa centre where a few of the cast were able to, and able-bodied, were able-bodied, and some of the cast had a disability. That's where the side-by-side comes from. It was an absolutely magnificent concert that they put on that evening. And it was, you know, humbling to be there. It really was. Also, there was none-eaten signs. Now, none-eaten signs, I don't know if anybody is aware, they were awarded the King's Award for Enterprise. And this is where 70% of the staff have a disability, and none-eaten signs make the road signs for the county, as well as creating signs for display purposes and other sometimes very complicated signs. And I say that was a real humbling experience as well. I attended all the King's Award for Enterprise ceremonies, which were given to so many companies based in the Midlands. I also attended Medal Award ceremonies, where people from all walks of life were either awarded the OBEs, BEMs, or MBEs, and were recognised for their standing work in their communities. Also, which I found so, so interesting and exciting, and also the citizenship ceremonies, which I presided over here at Shire Hall. These wonderful ceremonies are for people of all nationalities who want to become a British citizen. We had a lady from Russia, several Ukrainians, this is over several ceremonies, Sri Lanka, Germany, America, somebody who wants to become, I can't think why, India, Kazakhstan, just to name a few. But the experiences they bring to this community are very important to us. They have talents and skills which enrich our everyday lives, and we hope that by sharing our values, we can work and live together to make a more harmonious and prosperous society. Warwickshire today has a diverse community and is home to many people from all over the world. Our council, I'm pleased to say, embraces many of their traditions, festivals, and religious celebrations. This cultural diversity is reflected in the work of our excellent schools, where our council plays a big part. I was also fortunate to see a little bit of history made for Warwickshire in having as the High Sheriff of Warwickshire for the year, my year, was Vajvinda Corgill. Now, Raji was the first Sikh woman to be appointed as High Sheriff in the country, so it was quite memorable. Raji promoted crime prevention and community safety, which is at the forefront of her priorities. I'm not sure whether it is true or not, but one of the roles as a High Sheriff in the past is that the Sheriff can arrest and give permission to hang people. So my advice is for the next chairman, don't cross the High Sheriff. All in all, it's been a wonderful year which my wife and I will cherish in representing the County Council and the residents of Warwickshire. Thank you. Right, we shall move on to Item 3 in the order, the election of Vice-Chair. May I call for nominations for Vice-Chair, please? Yes, Chair, can I congratulate you on your election and can I move Councillor Dale Keeling to be Vice-Chair of the Council? Do we have a second? Congratulations, Councillor Harris, on your election as Chairman and I second Dale Keeling to be Vice-Chair. Are there any other nominations? Councillor Dixon. Thank you, Chair. I would like to propose Councillor Kate Rolfe as Vice-Chair. Councillor Rolfe has recently been re-elected with more votes than any other councillor in the recent elections. She represents the residents and communities of Stratford South. She has over 40 years experience at both town, district and county council and with the forthcoming local government reorganisation and the organisation. I think that experience would be very valuable as Vice-Chair. Do we have a seconder? Yes, I would like to second Kate Rolfe, Councillor Rolfe for that position. There is little I can add to what Councillor Dixon has already said. I think Kate will bring a wealth of experience to that position, which will be very welcome. Thank you. Thank you, Councillor Curtis. Thank you. Are there any other nominations? Councillor? Congratulations, Chair, on your appointment and wishing you a very good year. I would like to nominate as Vice-Chair the most excellent and experienced Councillor Judy Falpe, who sits as an independent and I know she would be very independent and fair as the Chair. We know her as an absolute advocate for Whitnash and I know that she would also do the whole of Warwickshire very proud if she was nominated to this position. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have a seconder? Thank you. Firstly, Chair, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment and I wish you all the best for the first year. I would like to second Councillor Phelps for being Vice-Chair. She brings a wealth of experience and I know she will be a fantastic Chair. Thank you. Thank you. That was Councillor Roberts. Roberts. Yes, that was Councillor Roberts. Mr Chairman, I'd like to call for a recorded vote, please. Cora, yeah. Thank you. So the same format again, where I'll call out your name and you will vote for either Councillor Dale Keeling, Rolf or Phalp. Okay. Or abstain, of course. Thank you. Okay. Councillor Aikenhead. Councillor Keeling. Councillor Albon. Councillor Bannister. Councillor Keeling. Councillor Barker. Councillor Keeling. Councillor Bode. Councillor Rolf. Councillor Briggs. Councillor Brown. Councillor Rolfe. Councillor Cameron. Councillor Keeling. Councillor Carvell. Councillor Keeling. Cheshire. Councillor Keeling. Chilvers. Councillor Falp. Cooper. Councillor Keeling. Coucher. Councillor Rolfe. Crocker. Councillor Keeling. Crump. Councillor Keeling. Curtis. Councillor Rolfe. Darmash. Councillor Keeling. Dixon. Councillor Rolfe. Drew. Councillor Felt. Edwards. Councillor Rolfe. Felp. Councillor Felt. Feeney. Wittnash's sweetheart, Councillor Felt. Finch. Councillor Keeling. Garland. Councillor Keeling. Gisborne. Councillor Keeling. Glover. Councillor Keeling. Golby. Councillor Keeling. Green. Councillor Keeling. Grocott. Councillor Rolfe. Harris. Harris. Councillor Keeling. Holland. Councillor Felt. Jones. Councillor Felt. Carradier. Councillor Phelps. Keeling. Councillor Keeling. Kettle. Councillor Keeling. Condecor. Councillor Phelps. Langer. Councillor Rolfe. Miteshky. Councillor Keeling. McAllister. Councillor Rolfe. Mills. Councillor Keeling. Morris. Councillor Keeling. Norris. Councillor Rolfe. Pim. Councillor Rolfe. Richards. Roberts. Councillor Phelps. Rolfe. Councillor Rolfe. Roodehouse. Councillor Rolfe. Scott. Councillor Judy Phelps. Shaw. Councillor Keeling. Shingler. Shingler. Shingler. Shingler. Councillor Keeling. Stephens. Councillor Judy Phelps. Wayne. Councillor Keeling. Warren. Councillor Keeling. Warwick. Councillor Keeling. So the result is Councillor Keeling 29, Councillor Rolfe 14, Councillor Phelps 11. Councillor Dale Keeling is therefore elected as Vice Chair of the Council. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. May I invite Councillor Keeling to make a short speech on for his acceptance? Yes, thank you. Thank you for this great honour. Thank you very much. Thank you. We shall now move on with the item four on the order of business, which is the general section. Initially, we have apologies for absence from Councillors Dale Bridgewater and Robert Howard. And any other absences that we're aware of? No? No? Okay. We shall move. You will. Thank you. The, any item two, members' disclosures of pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests? Any to declare? Not at this stage. We shall move on. The number, item three is minutes of meetings to confirm the accuracy of the minutes of the following meeting, the 18th of March, 2025, realising fully that majority of members here are, we're not present at that. But for those that were, this is an opportunity to raise any issues. None? Excellent. Are they accurate to everyone's understanding? Agreed. Thank you. Okay. We shall move on. I've lost my place now. Are there any brief announcements to be made? I don't think so. I don't have anything. Does anyone else wish to say anything? No? No. Thank you. We shall move on. That's item four. We're on to item five. Go on the order. It is a county returning officers' return of persons elected on the 1st of May, 2025. I'm inviting the council to note the return of persons elected as county councillors. There is no voting needed on this one, I don't believe. Right. Okay. So item six, we're moving to. We're rapidly going through the order. This is making very good progress. The appointment of the leader of the council. And may I call for nominations for leader, please. I nominate councillor Rob Howard to be leader. And may I have a seconder? Second the nomination of councillor Rob Howard to be the leader. Thank you, councillor Bannister. Are there any other nominations? Councillor Bode. Thank you, Chair. I would like to nominate councillor Gerry Roodhouse as leader of this council. He has more years' service than any other councillor, even though he doesn't look old enough to have, what, 30 years' service. 32, I guess. And he's represented Eastland's division and the council extremely well over that time. He has the experience, the knowledge, and the experience to work with all groups to actually take leadership of this council forward. So I so move. Councillor Curtis, please. Thank you, Chair. I would like to second councillor Roodhouse as leader here. I think, particularly at this time, with so much uncertainty around local government reform, we need someone with experience to lead this council. And I think councillor Roodhouse would provide exactly those qualities we need. Thank you. Councillor Roberts. Thank you, Chair. I would like to nominate councillor Jonathan Chilvers for leader. With the shape of the new council, we need a leader with experience and dedication, someone who has a universal approach and a strong reputation for working cross-party with senior officers to bring constructive and positive change. Today, we're being asked by reform to vote for a leader who's not here. Now, whilst Jonathan might be late a couple of times, not every now and again, he is reliable. He's a dedicated family man who prioritises helping the most vulnerable in society. He does not discriminate. He leads by example and understands the importance of challenging climate change at a local level. Jonathan is the best person to bring this council together and has made our priorities clear for Warwickshire. Investment in children, youth and families, safety for children travelling to school, addressing the SEND crisis, protecting our residents from flooding and other impacts of climate change and financial stability first for all the people of Warwickshire. Whilst reform might have the highest number of councillors, it only gives them a partial mandate and they don't have a majority with only 30% of the vote. Rightly, they should have the first option to put forward someone to lead the council, but they must have the support of a majority which they don't have on their own. As an absent group leader with equally absent policies of how he is going to run things in Warwickshire. How will Warwickshire reform councillors run the council? Will Nigel Farage be pulling the strings, ordering every move with his rhetoric from above, stop the boats, cancel next zero and sack the staff? Or do we believe some of what reform candidates said on the campaign? In Leamington, a reform candidate said he wanted to remove the rainbow crossing we have. Until we know who reform Warwickshire are, we are left in doubt. So I ask you to join me in voting for Councillor Chilvers and a constructive positive change instead of an absent leader, doubt and uncertainty. Thank you. Do we have a seconder? Councillor Condecourt. Councillor Condecourt. Thank you, Chair. I'm back. I would like to second the nomination of Councillor Jonathan Chilvers as for leader. Me and Jonathan were the Green Group at this council for eight years, from 2013 to 2021, and we shared the role of leadership over those eight years, swapping over after four years. Jonathan is a far better leader than I am and would make a marvellous leader of the whole council in these difficult times. We're now a group of seven and we're wise as seven people because Jonathan actually asks us all our opinions and understands we won't all vote together on every issue. That's OK because that's how Jonathan works. We don't have to be a uniform thing. And one of the big challenges Jonathan, or whoever we choose as leader, is going to be, is the budget. Jonathan has done the budget 12 times. Four times as deputy leader and eight times as leader of the Green Group. The budget is really, really complicated and with no overall control, we all have to work together on the spreadsheets to work out what gets cut, what remains, etc. So Jonathan's experience is incredible and I know the Green Group won't actually run the council even if Jonathan was leader. There'd actually have to be some talking between the groups and Jonathan's the ideal person for that and I'd really like people in the other parties to vote for Jonathan. Yeah, obviously I hope the Labour Group will so they don't get ignored. I hope the Lib Dems will. But most importantly, I hope the Conservatives will vote for Jonathan because this council has done a lot of good stuff over the years. We've had stuff we've disagreed on, like the big road project, yeah, the Bridge to Nowhere, Bermuda Bridge, etc. But we've actually achieved a lot of other things as a council because we've had a lot of cross-party working. If you look at scrutiny groups, etc., all the chats between the groups on priorities, we have made Walkshire better as a council because we've worked together. And Jonathan's an ideal person to lead that and obviously we'd have to have a cabinet of military across the parties. So I really do ask, the Conservatives particularly, vote for Jonathan. And yeah, people in reform, vote for Jonathan. You should be terrified. You should be absolutely terrified at running a half-a-billion-pound support network for all the vulnerable people in Walkshire, the old, the young, education, health. This is an absolutely massive job. And with your leader and everything at the moment, isn't it better to vote for Jonathan, an incredibly good diplomat, a really communicator... Jonathan's far nicer than me. He won't tell people what to do. He's the good cop and I'm the bad cop. So please, please vote for Jonathan. We can move forward and have a really nice council that can keep the legacy of what we've achieved, actually look at some of the things going forward, and we'll have a far shorter budget process, hopefully, because... No overall control means a 12-hour budget meeting. Best case. Thank you. Are there any other nominations? No? Then we should proceed with the vote. Here we go. Yes, we're quarrying. That's good. Thank you, councillors. So, the same approach again. All councillors have one vote. When I call your name, you need to indicate whether you are voting for Howard, Roodehouse, Chilvers or abstaining. Councillor Aikenhead. Howard. Councillor Alban. Sorry? Councillor Roodehouse. Councillor Bannister. Councillor Howard. Barker. Howard. Bode. Bode. Roodhouse. Briggs. Councillor Howard. Brown. Councillor Roodhouse. Cameron. Howard. Carvell. Howard. Cheshire. Councillor Howard. Dixon. Councillor. Chilvers. Councillor Chilvers. Cooper. Councillor Howard. Coucher. Councillor Roodhouse. Crocker. Councillor Howard. Crump. Councillor Howard. Curtis. Councillor Roodhouse. Damash. Councillor Howard. Dixon. Dixon. Councillor Roodhouse. Drew. Councillor Chilvers. Edwards. Councillor Roodhouse. Falk. Councillor Roodhouse. Feeney. Chilvers. Chilvers. Chilvers. Finch. I am deeply honoured to vote for Councillor Howard. Garland. Gisborne. Councillor Howard. Glover. Councillor Howard. Golby. Councillor Howard. Green. Councillor Howard. Grocott. Councillor Roodhouse. Harris. Councillor Howard. Holland. Councillor Chilvers. Jones. Who else but the exceptional Councillor Chilvers? Caradier. Councillor Chilvers. Keeling. Councillor Howard. Kettle. Councillor Howard. Condecor. Councillor Jonathan Chilvers. Langer. Councillor Roodhouse. Merteski. McAllister. Councillor Roodhouse. Mills. Abstain. Morris. Councillor Rob Howard. Norris. Councillor Roodhouse. Pim. Councillor Roodhouse. Roberts. Councillor Chilvers. Rolf. Councillor Roodhouse. Roodhouse. Scott. Councillor Roodhouse. Councillor Roodhouse. Scott. Councillor Jonathan Chilvers. Shaw. Councillor Howard. Shingler. Howard. Sonco. Councillor Howard. villains. Stephens. Councillor Jonathan Chilvers. R johnson Chilvers. Wayne. Councillor Howard. Warren. Councillor Howard. Warrick. Warwick. I can confirm the results as follows. Councillor Howard, 28 votes. Councillor Roodehouse, 15. Councillor Chilvers, 10 and 1 abstention. Councillor Howard is therefore appointed, elected as leader of the council. Thank you. I'd like to invite deputy leader of the reform group, Councillor George Finch, to move on with item 7 on the order, appointments to committees and other bodies. Please. Sorry, hang on. I'm just... What is it? Sorry. Councillor George Finch, if you'd like to continue. Yes, sorry, just a small confusion. So, I'd like to move to the recommendations set on page 21. Do we have a seconder? Seconded. Councillor Bannister, thank you. The appendix is being circulated around the chamber that contains the selection for the committees. Does everybody have a copy? Is anybody missing this information? No? No? Good. Are there any amendments? Councillor Fee. Thank you, Chair. On adult social care and health, OSC, Councillor John Holland is the Labour representative. Thank you. Any other amendments? None that I can see? Has everyone had the opportunity to read through? So, then you know, the debate is for debate. Right. For debate. Okay. There's so many, many questions to say anything. We're now here. Yeah. Councillor. I thought I was going to be on the Children and Young People's, but I can't see my name on the list. Which board? Sorry, I didn't quite catch. Children and Young People's. Children and Young People's. Are those amendments accepted? Any objections? Yes. Accepted. Yes. Accepted. Thank you. If anything isn't finalised, they can be adjusted later. Councillor. Just looking at the schedule we have here, is the political balance entitlement for 2025, the Conservative figure, is that correct, at 19? Could you specify the concern, please, councillor? So, the concern is the first table under item number two. The Conservative number at the bottom, the political balance entitlement for 2025, says 19. I don't think that figure is correct. Definitely double-check that and come straight back. It should be 10. Yeah. Well. My maths works. It had a 10. So, we're on the same page there. Thank you. Anything else? So, we go back to Councillor Finch. Right. Yeah. To sum up. May I invite Councillor Finch to sum up, please? Sorry. Could you repeat that? Sorry, I didn't quite hear. Would you like to sum up, please? And move the recommendation? Yes. I accept to move the recommendations. Yes. Thank you. Councillor Condicourt. I think people are just checking a few things. Is it worth taking five minutes just so everyone check all the numbers, or are we all happy? Unless there are any objections, or any other observations, I think we should move on, perhaps? Councillor? Thank you, Chair. There are only nine people listed for communities, O and S. So, I'm not sure. But it says there should be 10 spaces. Please, can we just keep going, sir? These can be adjusted later on, yes. Should it not? Councillor Condicourt. Chair, I don't think they can easily be adjusted, because of the balance. That's why I suggested having just five minutes for the officers to go through and check all the numbers, and we can go to the toilet and come back. We're all sorted. Councillor Condicourt, the names we have at the moment are the ones that have come forward from the groups. We do recognise that they're not all complete. So, for example, Councillor Falpe has come out of communities and now onto children's overview and scrutiny. So, we're still making those adjustments, but we will do that with the respective groups after the meeting to make sure that they're spot on and final. All right, we're going to move to... Oh, sorry, Councillor. Sorry, Chair, but should we not know who is going to be in these committees? For example, adult social care. There are only eight names down. There should be 10. Chair, for ease, can I suggest we take a five-minute adjournment just to get this sorted? Thank you. Five minutes? Okay, that seems a reasonable suggestion since we've made a number of changes, haven't we, while we've been here and observed a few things. Thank you very much, Councillor. We shall take a five-minute recess and we shall be back at five past eleven, please. Welcome back, councillors. Thank you for your patience while we adjusted the necessary bits and pieces here. We're going to restart item seven again, and in doing that, we recognise again that in the absence of the leader, I shall be calling upon Councillor Finch to move the recommendations that are circulated now. I would like to move the recommendations set on page 21. Thank you. Do we have a seconder for that? I second that. Thank you, councillor Banister. Are there any amendments at this stage? No. None? Good. Thank you. And... Back to the leader. Councillor Finch, if you'd like to move the recommendations, please, and we'll call for a vote. Yes. We shall move to the vote, please. All those in favour? All those in favour? Any against? And against? And abstentions? Abstentions. One. One. Thank you. That is carried. That is carried. That is carried. Order. The annual monitor of the use of urgency and call-in procedures, May 2024 to April 2025. Do we have a mover for this? Yes. I would like to move the recommendations. Thank you, councillor. And to be helpful, I will second that. Thank you. Any amendments? Any amendments? None? Would anybody like to debate any of this? In which case, go straight to the vote. Right. We're going to go straight to the vote, then. Those in favour? And those against? Any abstentions? Abstentions? One. That's carried. Thank you. We're moving to item nine. We're going to try and move fairly quickly through this, I suppose. Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2024 to 2025. May I have a mover? Yes, I'm happy to move that, Chair. Thank you, sir. And a seconder? I'd be happy to second that. Having been a chair of one of the Scrutiny Committees, I too am happy to second it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Are there any items to debate there? Councillor Gendicore. Thank you very much, Chair. Although I wasn't a councillor for the last year, I attended a few of these scrutiny things. I did want to make a few comments, particularly because we've got some new members. Firstly, I need to declare a non-peculiar interest in that my wife is the borough councillor for Weddington, on the neat and bed of borough council. And one of the things we did really well was the seven-trent scrutiny on the communities. Not everything this council does is done badly. And we got seven-trent in and we had them on the table and asked them questions. And that worked really well. Well, we actually found out some stuff at that scrutiny meeting they weren't wanting to tell us. So that was the example on this list of things that worked well. What worked really badly was the fire cuts to Nuneaton. That went to scrutiny, unfortunately, around the time of the general election, which made things more problematic in terms of speaking and representation. But it is something we should have scrutinised that the Nuneaton changes a lot better. And we should have actually, because the consultation on the fire cuts didn't actually have a public meeting in Nuneaton. It had one in Bedroof. And the people in the meeting feel really angry about the subject still. And it is a failure of scrutiny to actually look at that properly from the point of view of Nuneaton. And unfortunately, Shire Hall, being here, is very accessible for people from South Warkshire. And we had no public speakers at that scrutiny about the fire cuts, other than myself, who wasn't allowed to speak. So I think we need to recognise that deficiency. And when we have things coming up to scrutiny, which massively affects one town in particular, we should actually have a scrutiny meeting in that town or make arrangements. Because we're still angry about it and we need this thing changed. So I'll just leave that there and hope the members, particularly the new members, will read through this scrutiny report to actually see all the stuff scrutiny does. And know that scrutiny is less political. Quite often it's where, you know, Seven Trent or Buzz Company comes to scrutiny. So I really ask people to get involved and understand what happens and how it works by reading this annual report. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Crump. Thank you, Mr Chairman. I wasn't going to respond, but I think we've got a duty as councillors, whether you've been coming back, whether you're new or whether you're an old one like me, to make sure we get our facts right. We've gone through the process of the resourcing to risk. I went through all parts of the county. Councillor Bode was there from the Lib Dem group. She will attest that I went to there. We did a massive consultation on this. And we must remember, one, they are not cuts to Warwickshire Fire and Rescue. The budget has been increased by £614,000 in the medium-term financial strategy. We're increasing whole-time firefighters by 30. We're reducing response times in many parts of the county. And it is Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, not Non-Eton Fire and Rescue Service. And I'm very disappointed that we are potentially questioning the integrity of Mr Brooke, because he's been a driver behind this. And we must always remember the operational independence of the Chief Fire Officer. So I do feel very strongly against it about this. I wasn't going to stand up and stand up about this. So make sure we get our facts right when we are talking here. So I will shut on there before I say something I regret, but I'm extremely annoyed. Anyone else? Not at this stage. So we go back to the... Councillor Wright, please. Warwick. Sorry, Councillor Warwick, sir. We're moving back to you, sir. Thank you very much, Chair. Yeah. Excellent report. And I thank always the officers for their input into scrutiny and the work that they do for us. And I also take on board and echo the comments from Councillor Crump. So thank you for making those comments. Councillors that served on scrutiny worked really hard during the previous year. And we're grateful to them for their efforts. And obviously, fire and rescue came under my scrutiny, Chair, last year. So can we extend our thanks to Ben Brooks, our fire chief, and all our fire officers, particularly with some news we see elsewhere emerging this morning. And we must never forget the brave work that Warwickshire Fire Service does for us, and we must never underestimate it. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Councillor. We are aware of incidents in other areas. We are aware of incidents in other areas. Thank you. We'd like to move to the vote, please. Are those in favour? Those against? Those abstain? It's carried. It's carried. Thank you. We're moving to item 10 on the order, the amendments to the contract standing orders. May I ask Councillor Yusuf Damash to move the recommendation, please? Thank you, Mr Chairman. Congratulations on your election. Wish you were best for the year ahead. I know this is the most controversial item on the agenda. It's the one we're all here for. There will be extensive debate. However, I'm no longer the portfolio holder, so all of the questions that are stimulated during the debate need to be directed to the new portfolio holder whenever that person's appointed. That's a joke. It shouldn't stimulate any real debate. This is a... Essentially, there's two new acts that have come into force. Procurement Act and the Health Care Services Provider Selection Regime Regulations of 2023. They both came into force last year, one in January and the latter in February. So our contract standing orders needed to be amended to bring them into line with the new legislation. I'm sure you've all diligently looked through the agenda items and looked at this paper. You'll see that 4.1 and 4.2, most of the changes are outlined, and I hope you will support it. Thank you. Do we have a seconder for this? For ease, I'm happy to second that. I reserve my right for required. Thank you. Are there any amendments? Any amendments? Thank you very much. Sorry for coming in again, but we've had some contracts in the last couple of years that have gone badly wrong, where there's actually been an unlimited liability left with this council. I mentioned particularly a project about a couple of bridges. So I do hope whoever techs the portfolio on will actually look to tighten up things so the council's never again in a liability problem with some of these big highway projects. Thank you. Is this an amendment that you wish to make? No, I just wanted to, while we're talking about procurement rules, really make the point that we need to not sign contracts where there's so much uncertainty in them. Thank you. Noted. Are there any amendments? Okay, so back to the seconder, which was Councillor Warwick, who reserved his right to speak. Councillor Warwick, you reserved your right. Yes, I'll be incredibly brief, Chair. As Councillor Damesh pointed out, this is literally a realignment to go with national policy, and it's a tidying up that we have to do. I think any other comments behind that are a little bit pointless today. Thank you. Councillor Damesh? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Nothing more to add. Like I say, it's not controversial. We're realigning our contract standing orders with new legislation. Hope you support it. We're going to move to the vote. We're going to move to the vote. Those in favour? And those against? Any abstentions? Carried. Carried. Motion. Right. We're at the end. Any other business? Any other items of urgent business? None? Then that completes the council meeting. Would you mind remaining in your seats, please? And I'll hand over to Monica at this point. Thank you. Thank you. You finished? Thank you. Thank you.