Agenda

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

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.

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.

To be announced at the meeting.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

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

(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.

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

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.

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.