Agenda and minutes

This meeting is to be webcast. Members are reminded of the need to activate their microphones before speaking. The Democratic and Electoral Services Team Manager will read the following announcement:

“The chairman would like to remind everyone present that this meeting will be broadcast live to the internet (or filmed) and will be capable of repeated viewing (or another use by such third parties).

If you are seated in the lower public seating area it is likely that the recording cameras will capture your image and this will result in the possibility that your image will become part of the broadcast.

This may infringe your human and data protection rights and if you wish to avoid this you should move to the upper public gallery.”

The Democratic & Electoral Services Team Manager reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

The Chairman to welcome the following newly elected (*) or re-elected Members of the Council following the elections held on 4 May 2023.

The Chairman welcomed the newly elected* and re-elected members of the Council at the election held on 4 May 2023.

M Sartin addressed the Council as the outgoing Chairman.

M Sartin advised the Council that she had served her year of office under two monarchs and three Prime Ministers, which was unlikely to be repeated. Whilst the death of Queen Elizabeth II had been a sad occasion, she had been honoured to read the proclamation of the new King, Charles III.

M Sartin had attended 70 events within the District and beyond, and had met some truly wonderful people who contributed enormously to the District. The other highlights of her year in office included:

·       The Civic Carol Service being cancelled due to severe cold weather.

·       The Citizen of The Year event having to change venue at short notice.

·       Abseiling down the Water Tower in Harlow to raise monies for her chosen charities.

·       Raising approximately £2,500 for her chosen charities – St Clare Hospice and the Herts-Essex Air Ambulance.

M Satin thanked Councillors for appointing her as Chairman for a second time, and for their support throughout the municipal year. M Sartin also thanked the Officers for their support as well, and in particular the support of the Chairman’s Secretary, P Seager. The Vice-Chairman of Council, Cllr D Sunger, was thanked for his support throughout the year, and finally M Sartin thanked her family for their support – particularly her husband John.

M Sartin concluded by stating that she had many fond memories from her year as Chairman, and that now was the right time to step down as a Councillor after serving Roydon for 20 years.

Cllr C Whitbread, Cllr J M Whitehouse, Councillor R Brookes, Councillor S Murray, and the Strategic Director, A Small on behalf of the staff, expressed their appreciation for her hard work and dedication throughout her term of office as Chairman and for her service to the Council.

M Sartin then presented Cllr R Morgan with a memento to celebrate his 40 years serving as a District Councillor, and P Seager with flowers.

To elect a Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

The new Chairman will then make a declaration of acceptance of office.

The nomination of Cllr D Sunger for the office of Chairman of the Council was proposed by Cllr C Whitbread and seconded by Cllr D Stocker.

            Resolved:

(1)        That Cllr D Sunger be elected Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Cllr D Sunger thereupon made a Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Chairman of the Council and presented M Sartin with her Past Chairman’s badge.

Cllr D Sunger in the Chair

Cllr D Sunger thanked the Council for the honour, and made special mention of his wife Teri and mother Jaswant who had played such important roles in his life. He was also particularly looking forward to the 50^th anniversary of the founding of Epping Forest District Council on 1 April next year.

To appoint a member to be Vice-Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24. Nominations received will be reported at the meeting.

The new Vice-Chairman will then make a declaration of acceptance of office.

The nomination of Cllr L Burrows for the office of Vice-Chairman of the Council was proposed by Cllr H Whitbread and seconded by Cllr N Bedford.

            Resolved:

(1)        That Cllr L Burrows be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council for the 2023/24 municipal year.

Cllr L Burrows thereupon made a declaration of Acceptance of Office of Vice-Chairman of the Council and was presented with his Vice-Chairman’s chain by the Chairman. Cllr L Burrows thanked the Council for his appointment.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2023 (to follow).

The Democratic & Electoral Services Team Manager reported that the minutes of the last meeting were not ready but would be available for agreement at a future meeting of the Council.

(a)        Chairman’s Announcements

To be announced at the meeting.

(b)       Members not seeking re-election or not re-elected

To note that the following members in 2022/23 had not sought re-election:

To note that the following member in 2022/23 had not been re-elected:

(c)        Long Service Awards

Members who achieve a certain period of service are asked to attend the meeting to receive a Long Service Award in recognition of their service to the Council. The following members are each entitled to receive a Long Service Award:

In addition, former Councillor Brian Rolfe would have been entitled to a Silver Long Service award; this will be presented by the Chairman to his family at a private ceremony on a future date.

(a)        Announcements by the Chairman of the Council

Cllr D Sunger announced that his chosen charity for the year was Chigwell Riding Trust and asked Councillors to give generously throughout the year. In addition, if a Councillor’s mobile phone went off during a Council meeting then that would incur a £10 fine to his charity.

(b)     Members not seeking re-election or not re-elected

The Council noted that N Avey, S Rackham, P Stalker and M Sartin had not sought re-election on 4 May 2023, and J Leppert had not been re-elected.

(c)      Long Service Awards

In recognition of their service to the Council, N Avey received a Bronze Long Service award and M Sartin received a Gold Long Service award. Former Cllr B Rolfe would have been entitled to a Silver Long Service award, and this would be presented by the Chairman to his family at a private ceremony on a future date.

Under Section 44E of the Local Government Act 2000, the Council is obliged to appoint the Leader of Council for a four-year term. The Leader was last appointed in May 2019; therefore, the Council must appoint a Leader of the Council for a new four-year term, expiring on the day of the Annual Council meeting in 2027 or following the normal day of retirement of the Leader as a Councillor.

Recommended:

(1)        That the Council appoints the Leader of the Council for a four-year term of office, as prescribed by Section 44E of the Local Government Act 2000, expiring on the day of the Annual Council meeting in 2027 or following the normal day of retirement of the Leader as a Councillor.

The nomination of Cllr C Whitbread for the office of Leader of the Council for a four-year term was proposed by Cllr J Philip and seconded by Cllr N Bedford.

            Resolved:

            (1)        That Cllr C Whitbread be elected Leader of the Council for a four-year term of office, as prescribed by Section 44E of the Local Government Act 2000,           expiring on the day of the Annual Council meeting in 2027 or following the        normal day of retirement of the Leader as a Councillor.

The Leader of the Council will present the report regarding:

(a)        Notice of Constitution of Political Groups, Group Leaders and Deputies;

(b)        Appointments made by the Leader to the Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and Outside Organisations carrying out Executive Functions;

(c)        Membership, Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanship of Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels (Non-Executive Bodies);

(d)        Appointments to Outside Organisations carrying out Council, regulatory or non-Cabinet Functions.

The Council will need to vote on (c) and (d) where the number of nominations exceed the number of places available.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr C Whitbread, reported on the appointments which he had made to the Cabinet and Outside Organisations carrying out Executive Functions for 2023/24. Furthermore, he also reported the recommendations of the Appointment Panel in relation to the membership, chairmanship and vice-chairmanship of Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels (non-executive bodies), along with the Outside Organisations carrying out Council, Regulatory or non-Cabinet Functions. The Council voted on any appointments where the number of nominations exceeded the number of places available.

Some of the outstanding nominations for committee places from the political groups were made at the meeting, and the Council noted that any outstanding nominations after tonight would be reported at the Council meeting in June. It was also noted that the Appointments Panel was making recommendations on the membership of the Scrutiny Committees for the first time.

The independent Member, S Murray, had requested a seat on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for 2023/24. The Loughton Residents Association was prepared to give up a seat on the Committee to Cllr S Murray if the membership of the Committee was extended to 17. This would represent a departure from the pro rata requirements and such a deviation would require that no Member of the Council voted against the proposal. This proposal was carried without dissent, and Cllr S Murray thanked the Council for allowing him to sit on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee for the forthcoming municipal year.

            Resolved:

            (1)        That, in accordance with Regulation 8 of the Local Government    (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, the constitution of the political groups be agreed as set out in Appendix 1;

            (2)        That details of appointments made by the Leader of the Council for       Cabinet members carrying out Executive functions as set out in Appendix 2 to          this report be received;

            (3)        That the Membership, Chairmanship and Vice-Chairmanship of         Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels (non-Executive bodies) be approved          as set out at Appendix 3 to this report with any outstanding nominations       reported at the meeting;

            (4)        That the group representatives for the purposes of notifying substitute      members for meetings be confirmed as follows:

(a)            Conservative Group:

• Councillor C. Whitbread (Group Leader);

• Councillor N. Bedford (Deputy Group Leader);

• Councillor S. Kane; and

• Councillor A. Patel;

(b)            Green Party Group:

• Councillor S. Heap (Group Leader); and

• Councillor E. Gabbett (Deputy Group Leader);

(c)            Liberal Democrat Group:

• Councillor J. M. Whitehouse (Group Leader); and

• Councillor J. H. Whitehouse (Deputy Group Leader);

(d)            Loughton Residents Association Group:

• Councillor C. P. Pond (Group Leader); and

• Councillor D. Wixley (Deputy Group Leader); and

(e)            Grange Hill Independent Community Group:

• Councillor D Barlow (Group Leader); and

Councillor L Morgan (Deputy Leader);

            (5)        That appointments to outside organisations carrying out Council            regulatory or non-Cabinet functions, as set out at Appendix 4 to this report be   approved;

            (6)        That the appointments to be made by the Leader of the Council to        outside organisations carrying out Executive functions, as set out  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Constitution requires that the Scheme of Delegation should be agreed at the Annual Meeting (report to follow).

The Council’s Constitution required that the scheme of delegations be agreed at the Annual meeting. The current scheme had received no further additions or revisions since the last Annual meeting, and therefore did not need to be agreed at this meeting.

At its meeting on 4 April 2023, the Council adopted the Calendar of Meetings for the period May 2023 to May 2024, which included ordinary meetings of the Council for the year. It is a requirement of the Constitution that a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council be approved at the Annual Meeting of the Council; the dates set out below were those adopted on 4 April 2023.

In addition, there is a need to schedule an additional meeting of the Council in June and the most likely date is Tuesday 20 June 2023, but Members will be advised when this is confirmed.

Recommended:

(1)        That ordinary meetings of the Council be held on the following dates during 2023/24:

            (a)        25 July 2023;

            (b)        3 October 2023;

            (c)        19 December 2023;

            (d)        20 February 2024;

            (e)        9 April 2024; and

            (f)         23 May 2024.

On 4 April 2023, the Council had adopted the calendar of meetings for the municipal year May 2023 to May 2024. It was required within the Council’s Constitution that the programme of ordinary meetings of the Council for the year were approved at the Annual meeting.

It was highlighted that the Council meeting scheduled for 3 October 2023 clashed with the Conservative Party Conference, and it was noted that this would be discussed with the Group Leaders.

The Leader of Council, Cllr C Whitbread, also took the opportunity to inform the Council of the successful appointment of J Gould as the new Chief Operating Officer.

            Resolved:

(1)        That ordinary meetings of the Council be held on the following dates during 2023/24:

·       25 July 2023;

·       3 October 2023;

·       19 December 2023;

·       20 February 2024;

·       9 April 2024; and

·       23 May 2024 (Annual meeting).

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers

Article 17 of the Constitution (Access to Information) define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers.

The Council noted that there were no items of business which necessitated the exclusion of the public and press from the meeting.