Agenda and minutes

To sign as a true record the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting and of the Annual Meeting of the Council, both held on 22 May 2013 (attached).

The minutes of the Extraordinary and Annual meetings of the Council held on 22 May 2013 were before the Council for approval.

It was noted that part of the minute for agenda item 9 of the Annual Meeting of the Council should read as follows:

Member Champion for the Armed Forces

Councillor Peter Gardner was declared ELECTED.

The minutes were AGREED without division and it was RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Extraordinary and Annual meetings of the Council held on 22 May 2013 be signed as a correct record subject to the minor amendment above.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To enable a shortened version of the statement by the Leader of the Council to be given at the meeting. 

Note: The full version of the statement has been previously distributed to all Members.

A procedural motion was proposed by the Administration that agenda item 7 (Announcements by the Mayor, by the Leader of the Council or by the Chief Executive) be taken before agenda item 6 (Statement by the Leader of the Council and debate),

The procedural motion was CARRIED without division.

To receive announcements (if any).

The Leader of the Council gave a statement to Council. The text of the statement is set out as Appendix 1 to these minutes.

See attached paper.

Deemed Motion on behalf of the Administration

That the statement by the Leader of the Council be received.

                        Amendment on behalf of the Residents’ Group

                        Amend to read:

Given the ongoing and future financial challenges referred to in the Leader’s Address, this Council agrees to promote a greater degree of involvement of all 54 members in the decision making process of the Council, particularly through the provision of timely and relevant information, and, as suggested in the LGA Peer Review, to improve the effectiveness of the Overview and Scrutiny function.

A2: Amendment on behalf of the Labour Group

Amend to read:

The Council rejects the Leader’s statement as it fails to address the needs of the Borough and its residents.

Following debate, the amendment by the Residents’ Group was LOST by 25 votes to 14 (see division 1) and the Labour Group amendment was LOST by 26 votes to 4 (see division 2).

The deemed motion by the Administration was then CARRIED by 25 votes to 15 (see division 3).

            RESOLVED that:

            The statement by the Leader of the Council be received.

Councillor Georgina Galpin has given notice of an intention to present a petition.

Pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 23, a petition was presented by Councillor Georgina Galpin concerning obstructions at the corner of Savoy Grove and Osborne Road.

It was NOTED that the petition would be passed to Committee Administration for attention with the Council’s Petitions Scheme.

To consider a report of the Governance Committee – attached.

Following a review of the changes to the process for managing Stage Three of the Council’s Corporate Complaints Procedure, the Adjudication and Review Committee had adopted an “assessment” phase to determine whether a complaint should proceed to a full hearing.  Since 2009 this Initial Assessment Panel (IAP) had met with increasing regularity and had reduced the number of costly and time-consuming formal hearings by over 60%. 

Governance Committee, at a meeting held on 29 May, accepted that this was a positive refinement of the process which not only saved the Council cost, but also ensured that both officer and Member time was used efficiently and effectively.  The Committee now invited Council to formally accept the assessment phase as part of the Stage Three process.  This would require amendment of the Council’s “responsibility for functions” section of the Constitution.

The changes to the Constitution would ensure that, in the event of a challenge to any decision to reject a hearings request by a complainant because the IAP was not a formal part of the procedure, the Council had taken steps to eliminate any such charge and thereby eliminated any potential claim for damages or charge of maladministration.

The amendments to the Council “responsibility for functions” section of the Constitution to give authority to these arrangements are set out in Appendix 2 to these minutes.

The recommendations of the Governance Committee were APPROVED without division and it was RESOLVED:

1            That the use of Initial Assessment Panels as a permanent part of the Council’s Corporate Complaints procedure be approved

2            That the changes to the relevant Council responsibility for functions set out in Appendix 2 to these minutes be approved.

To consider a motion on behalf of the Residents’ Group:

That Councillor June Alexander be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Towns and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Amendment by the Administration:

That Councillor Wendy Brice-Thompson be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Towns and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Motion on behalf of the Residents’ Group:

That Councillor June Alexander be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Towns and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

            Amendment by the Administration:

            That Councillor Wendy Brice-Thompson be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Towns and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

            Councillor Wendy Brice-Thompson was declared ELECTED.

Attached.

Fifteen questions were asked and replies given.

The text of the questions, and their answers, are set out in Appendix 3 to these minutes.

See attached paper.

With the agreement of the Council, this motion was withdrawn by the Residents’ Group.

Motion on behalf of the Labour Group

This Council calls upon the Government to introduce a national register of private landlords.   

A1: Amendment on behalf of the Administration

This Council calls upon the Government to consider & investigate a national register of private landlords.

In view of the time, and in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1 (b) the motion and amendment were dealt with by vote only.

The Administration amendment was CARRIED by 34 votes to 4 (see division 5) and it was then CARRIED as the substantive motion without division.

RESOLVED that:

This Council calls upon the Government to consider & investigate a national register of private landlords.

Motion on behalf of the Labour Group

This Council welcomes the Mobile Homes Act 2013 as a first step in legislating to protect residents of park home sites from unscrupulous site owners and will review its internal procedures to ensure that the new laws will be enforced against those owners who attempt to circumvent regulations.

In view of the time, and in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1 (b) the motion was dealt with by vote only.

The Labour Group motion was CARRIED by 44 votes to 0.

RESOLVED that:

This Council welcomes the Mobile Homes Act 2013 as a first step in legislating to protect residents of park home sites from unscrupulous site owners and will review its internal procedures to ensure that the new laws will be enforced against those owners who attempt to circumvent regulations.

The record of voting divisions is attached as Appendix 4.