Agenda and minutes

No apologies were received.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2014.

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2014 were signed as a correct record by the Vice Chair.

Members are asked to declare at this stage any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  If any member is unsure whether or not they should declare an interest on a particular matter, they are requested to seek advice from the Head of Legal Services before the meeting. 

 

No interests were declared.

There were no public questions.

The Civic Affairs Committee is asked to note the proposed Constitutional Amendments and the appointments of Executive Councillors/changes to portfolios.

 

 

 

The committee received a report from the Head of Legal Services regarding proposed changes to Executive portfolios and Scrutiny Committees. An amended version of Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 to the report was circulated (see attached).

 

The following proposed changes to the Labour Group Executive were noted:

 

-        Leader & Executive Councillor for Strategy & Transformation – Lewis Herbert

 

-        Deputy Leader & Executive Councillor for City Centre & Public Places – Carina O’Reilly

 

-        Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources – George Owers

 

-        Executive Councillor for Housing – Kevin Price

 

-        Executive Councillor for Environment, Waste and Health – Peter Roberts

 

-        Executive Councillor for Planning Policy & Transport – Kevin Blencowe

 

-        Executive Councillor for Community, Arts & Recreation – Richard Johnson

 

Councillor Herbert proposed the following additional recommendation:

 

       i.          In light of the change of political balance, the Council is recommended to end Councillor Bick’s term of office as Leader and to conduct an election for a successor.

 

The committee endorsed this unanimously.

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

     ii.          In light of the change of political balance, to recommend that the Council end Councillor Bick’s term of office as Leader and to conduct an election for a successor.

 

   iii.          To note the proposed Executive Councillor portfolios set out in the amended Appendix 1 of the officer’s report. 

 

   iv.          To recommend to Council the revised scrutiny arrangements set out in the amended Appendix 2 and the amendments to the Constitution set out in Appendix 3.

 

 

The rules on political balance set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 will be applied to both scrutiny and regulatory committee composition so that, once the size of committees has been determined, the division of seats among the political groups on the Council will be automatic and the Council must appoint those members which each political group puts forward for its seats.

 

In considering the allocation of committee places to political groups, the Council is legally required to take into account the following principles:

 

(1)  That the controlling group should have a majority of seats on each committee

 

(2)  That the total number of committee places allocated to each political group must be in proportion to the number of members of that group on the Council.

 

(3)  That on each committee the number of places allocated to each political group must be in proportion to the number of members of that group on the Council.

 

The order of precedence of these principles is the order in which they are given - i.e. (1) takes highest priority, then (2) then (3).

 

 

 

 

The committee considered a paper setting out the proposed size of committees, the allocations by party and the nominations received.  The Committee considered the rules on political balance set out in the Local Government & Housing Act 1989 in developing the recommendations set out below.

 

Councillor Pitt updated the committee on Liberal Democrat Group’s nominations. 

 

Councillor Hipkin updated the committee on the Independent/Conservative Group’s nominations.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Pitt the Head of Legal Services confirmed that arrangements for filming and photography at the Area Joint Committee (AJC) would be governed by the County Council’s protocol.

 

Councillor Herbert spoke in support of a smaller AJC committee and agreed to raise this at future meetings of the AJC.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

       i.          Recommend to Council to agree to the number and size of committees and to note the nominations as listed below:

 

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE	NOMINATION(S)	NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
Community Services (Currently meets: Thursdays at 1.30pm)	Liberal Democrats     Labour	3 (1)       5 (1)       8 Total	Reiner, Reid, Austin (Alt: tbc)     Moghadas, Sarris, Bird, Sinnott, Ratcliffe (Alt: Robertson)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE	NOMINATION(S)	NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
Environment (Currently meets: Tuesdays at 5pm)	Liberal Democrats     Labour	3 (1)       5 (1)     8 Total	Pitt, Smart, Moore (Alt: tbc)     Gawthrope, Robertson, Ratcliffe, Perry, Smart (Alt: Sinnott)

 

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE	NOMINATION(S)	NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
Strategy & Resources (Currently meets: Mondays at 5pm)	Liberal Democrats   Labour	3 (1)     5 (1)     8 Total	Bick, Smith, Cantrill (Alt: tbc)   Robertson, Benstead, Sinnott, Smart, Baigent (Alt: Sarris)

 

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEE	NOMINATION(S)	NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
Housing (Currently meets: Tuesdays at 5.30pm)	Liberal Democrats   Labour           Indep/Cons	2 (1)     5 (1)           1 (1)     8 Total	Blackhurst, Avery (Alt: tbc)   Todd-Jones, Birtles, Bird, Baigent, Robertson (Alt: Gawthrope)   Holland (Alt: Hipkin)

 

 

REGULATORY COMMITTEES

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
PLANNING (Currently meets: Wednesdays at 9.30am)	Liberal Democrat     Labour         Indep/Cons	3 (1)       4 (1)         1 (1)   8 Total	Avery, Smart, Tunnicliffe (Alt: tbc)   Blencowe, Gawthrope, Dryden, Hart (Alt: Bird)   Hipkin (Alt: Holland)

 

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
JOINT DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE (Currently meets: Tuesdays/Wednesdays or Thursdays at 10am)	Liberal Democrat   Labour	2 (2)     4 (2)   6 Total	Avery, Smart (Alt: tbc)   Blencowe, Robertson, Dryden, Price, (Alts: Gawthrope and Herbert)

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBER (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
LICENSING (Currently meets: Mondays at 10am)	Liberal Democrat     Labour             Indep/Cons	4 (1)       7 (1)             1 (1)     12 Total	Austin, Bick, Pippas, Smith (Alt: tbc)   Benstead, Owers, Sinnott, Gawthrope, McPherson, O’Reilly, Bird (Alt: Baigent)   Meftah (Alt:Holland)

 

OTHER COMMITTEES

 

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBER (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
CIVIC AFFAIRS	Liberal Democrat   Labour	2(1)     4 (1)     6 Total	Cantrill, Pitt (Alt: Bick)   Benstead, Hart, McPherson, Robertson (Alt: Moghadas)

 

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
EMPLOYMENT APPEALS SUB	Liberal Democrat   Labour         Indep/Cons	2     5         1   8 Total	Pippas, Smart     Birtles, Gawthrope, Price, Bird, Blencowe   Hipkin

 

 

COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
AREA JOINT COMMITTEE (AJC)	Liberal Democrat   Labour	2     4   6 Total	Smart + 1 tbc     Blencowe, Robertson, O’Reilly, Ratcliffe

 

 

 

 

The Civic Affairs Committee is requested to make nominations for the positions listed below for the consideration of Council on 12 June.

 

Scrutiny Committees

 

• Strategy & Resources

• Community Services

• Environment

• Housing Management Board (for either role the holder need not be a Councillor)

 

Regulatory Committees

 

• Civic Affairs

• Employment Appeals Sub

• Licensing

• Planning

• Joint Development Control Committee (Spokesperson)

 

The committee received nominations for Chairs and Vice Chairs of Scrutiny and Regulatory Committees.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

       i.          Note the nominations for Chairs and Vice Chairs of Scrutiny and Regulatory Committees as follows:

 

Committee	Labour Nominations		Liberal Democrat Nominations		Opposition Spokes
	Chair	Vice Chair	Chair	Vice Chair
Community Services	Moghadas	Ratcliffe			Reid, Reiner
Environment	Gawthrope	Perry			Pitt, Smart
Strategy and Resources	Robertson	Sinnott			Bick, Smith,
HMB	Todd-Jones	Part 1: Tenant/ Leaseholder   Part 2: Birtles			Blackhurst, Holland
Planning	Dryden	Blencowe
JDCC	Blencowe (City Lead)
Licensing	Benstead			Smith
Civic Affairs	McPherson	Benstead
Employment Appeal Sub Committee	Price				Smart, Hipkin

 

 

 

Council is requested to confirm the appointment of Mr Sean Brady as the Council’s Independent Person and Mr Robert Bennett as the Council’s Deputy Independent Person for the Municipal Year 2014/15.

The Head of Legal Services introduced the item.

 

Councillor Herbert confirmed that the Labour Group had nominated two members to sit on any future conduct hearings and suggested that training would be beneficial. The Head of Legal Services agreed to progress this with members outside of the meeting.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

       i.          Recommend that Council confirm the appointment of Mr Sean Brady as the Council’s Independent Person and Mr Robert Bennett as the Council’s Deputy Independent Person for the Municipal Year 2014/15.

 

The Council appoints three City Councillors to the Conservators of the River Cam for a three year term ending 31 December 2015.

 

Following the City Council elections on 22 May, one of those appointees (Tim Ward) is no longer a City Councillor. 

 

Civic Affairs Committee can either:

 

1.    retain former Councillor Ward for the duration of the term

 

2.    recommend to Council a new appointment to take the place of former Councillor Ward

 

 

 

The Chair ruled that under 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972 agenda item 9: Appointments to Conservators of the River Cam - be considered despite not being made publicly available for this Committee five clear days prior to the meeting.  The reason that these documents could not be deferred is that they would form part of the Annual Council meeting on 12 June 2014

 

The Head of Legal Service introduced the item.

 

Councillor Herbert proposed that in line with political balance, Tim Ward should be replaced with a Labour Councillor.

 

The committee expressed thanks to Tim Ward on behalf of the Council for his work on the Conservators of the River Cam. 

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

       i.          Recommend to Council that Councillor O’Reilly take the place of former Councillor Ward on the Conservators of the River Cam.