Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Rob Bennett (Deputy Independent Person).

No declarations were made.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 February 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 17 February 2016 were approved and signed as a correct record.

There were no public questions.

The Committee will consider any updates (if required) following the elections on 5 May.

 

Report to follow week commencing 9 May 2016 (if required).

The Committee noted the Leaders approval of the following Councillors to the Executive and noted the revisions made to the Executive Councillor Portfolios. The Opposition Spokes were noted.

 

 

The Executive		Opposition Spokes
Leader & Exec Cllr for Strategy & Transformation	Lewis Herbert	Bick
Exec Cllr for City Centre & Public Places	Carina O’Reilly	Austin
Exec Cllr for Finance and Resources	Richard Robertson	Cantrill
Exec Cllr for Housing and Deputy Leader	Kevin Price	Avery
Exec Cllr for Environment & Waste	Peter Roberts	Gehring
Exec Cllr for Planning Policy & Transport	Kevin Blencowe	Bick
Exec Cllr for Communities	Richard Johnson	O’Connell

 

Changes to Executive Councillor Responsibilities

The Leader of the Council made the following changes to portfolios for 2016/17. 

1)   From Executive Councillor for Strategy & Transformation (Leader of the Council) to Executive Councillor for Finance & Resources:

The development, implementation and monitoring of the Council’s plans, policies and strategies relating to:

·        corporate implementation of improvements and efficiency reviews within the City Council, and the development and monitoring of core performance indicators and targets

 

The exercise of the Council’s functions and the delivery of services including

·        Business Transformation – internal service reviews

The development, implementation and monitoring of the Council’s plans, policies and strategies relating to:

·        Corporate and support services under “Functions and Services” below.

·        Procurement (at a strategic level - oversight of individual procurement exercises will remain with the portfolio-holder for the relevant service area).

 

Corporate and Other Services

·        The main Guildhall Reception and switchboard services [deleted as repeats previous bullet]

·        Council strategy to expand trading activities and additional income generation opportunities, including responsibility for those which do not fall within the remit of another Executive Councillor.

 

Customer Services and ICT

·        Delivery of quality customer services and the customer access centre

·        Corporate telephony and IT systems to support joined up customer service delivery.

·        The corporate delivery of front line services to Council customers through the Council’s reception areas and telephone services

[also clarification of the Leader’s responsibilities for transformation.  Now reads:

·        Leading Business Transformation, working with the Executive Councillor for Finance and Resources; specific responsibility for leading externally-facing shared services, trusts, service reviews and joint projects involving other councils and organisations or which involve the responsibilities of more than one other Executive Councillor]

[also minor heading changes e.g. “Customer Services” under Exec Cllr for Finance and Resources clarified to “Customer Services and ICT”; and addition of discrete heading to cover “Trading Services” – actual wording, transferred from Leader’s portfolio, remains unchanged]

2)   From Executive Councillor for Finance & Resources to the Executive Councillor for Communities

·        The Sharing Prosperity Fund and the Anti-Poverty Strategy, including the powers and duties of the Council in respect of issues of welfare, disadvantage and provision of opportunities for individuals and communities in the City, including provision of advice relating to citizens’ legal rights and responsibilities, welfare benefits, money advice, employment and immigration.

 

3)   From the Executive Councillor for City Centre & Public Places to the Executive Councillor for Housing (as a Deputy Leader function)

·        Council communications and consultation strategy and delivery, including the Council’s website.

4)   From the Executive Councillor for City Centre & Public Places to the Executive Councillor for Environment & Waste

The exercise of the Council’s functions and the delivery of services including

·        Policy and management of moorings

 

Resolved (unanimously):

 

i.     To note the changes to the Executive portfolios. (A clean set of the Executive portfolios is attached for information).<AI1>

 

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).

 

16/62/CIVjksfhjksfhjksaThe Committee considered a paper setting out the proposed Committee allocations by party and the nominations received. The Committee considered the rules on political balance set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in developing the recommendations set out below.

 

The Committee noted the nominations.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

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

 

SCRUTINY COMMITTEES

 

COMMUNITY SERVICES	NOMINATION(S)	CURRENT NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour         LD     Independent & Green	4 (1)         2 (1)     1       7 Total	Sinnott, Ratcliffe, Smart, Bird Barnett (Alt)   Austin, O’Connell   Nethsingha (Alt)     Gillespie

 

ENVIRONMENT	NOMINATION(S)	CURRENT NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour         LD	4 (1)         2 (1)     6 Total	Gawthrope, Perry, Ratcliffe, Sargeant Smart (Alt)   Bick, Gehring Adey (Alt)

 

HOUSING	NOMINATION(S)	CURRENT NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour         LD       Independent & Green	5 (1)         2 (1)       1 (1)     8 Total	Todd-Jones, Bird, Gawthrope, Moore, Smart Perry (Alt)   Avery, Page-Croft Moore (Alt)   Holland

 

 

 

 

 

STRATEGY & RESOURCES	NOMINATION(S)	CURRENT NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour       LD	4 (1)       2(1)     6 Total	Sarris, Barnett, Baigent, Sinnott Abbott (Alt)   Cantrill, Bick Gehring (Alt)

 

REGULATORY COMMITTEES

*Council will need to agree a departure from proportionality rules

PLANNING	NOMINATIONS(S)	CURRENT NUMBERS (1) =Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour         LD       Independent & Green	4 (1)         3 (1)       1 (1)   8 Total	Blencowe, Gawthrope, Hart, Smart Bird (Alt)   Pippas, Tunnacliffe, Nethsingha Holt (Alt)   Hipkin

 

 

JOINT DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS (2)= Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINEES TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour         LD	4 (2)         2 (2)     6 Total	Blencowe, Baigent, Bird, Price, Gawthrope (Alt) Smart (Alt)   Holt, Tunnacliffe T.Moore (Alt)

 

LICENSING	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED NAMES OF NOMINEES TO THE COMMITTEE
	Labour             LD       Independent & Green	7 (1)             4 (1)       1     12 Total	Benstead, Bird, Ratcliffe, Gawthrope, McPherson, O’Reilly, Sinnott TBC (Alt)   Adey, Holt, T.Moore, Pippas Page-Croft (Alt)   TBC

 

OTHER COMMITTEES

 

CIVIC AFFAIRS	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
	Labour           LD	4 (1)           2 (1)   6 Total	McPherson, Benstead, Gawthrope, Robertson Ratcliffe (Alt)   Holt, Cantrill Adey (Alt)

 

 

EMPLOYMENT APPEALS SUB	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
EMPLOYMENT APPEALS SUB	Labour     LD	5     3   8 Total	Price, Gawthrope, Bird, Blencowe   Holt, T.Moore, Adey
COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS (1)= Alternate	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
JOINT AREA COMMITTEE (with County Council)	Labour       LD	4(1)       2(1)     6 Total	Blencowe, Baigent, Bird, Robertson TBC (Alt)   Tunnacliffe, Adey Cantrill (Alt)
COMMITTEE/SUB COMMITTEE	NOMINATIONS	CURRENT NUMBERS	PROPOSED CHANGES AND NOMINATIONS
CITY DEAL ASSEMBLY	Labour LD	2 1	Price, Baigent Bick

 

 

 

 

 

The Civic Affairs Committee is requested to make nominations for the positions listed below for the consideration of Council on 26 May.

 

Scrutiny Committees

·        Strategy & Resources

·        Community Services

·        Environment

·        Housing Scrutiny (Chair is a Councillor, the Vice Chair is a tenant/leaseholder)

 

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. It was noted that there were 2 nominations for Vice-Chair of Licensing Committee.

 

Resolved (unanimously) to:

 

     i.        Agree the nominations for Chairs and Vice Chairs of Scrutiny and Regulatory Committees as below:

Committee	Labour Nominations		Liberal Democrat Nominations
	Chair	Vice Chair	Chair	Vice
Community Services	Sinnott	Ratcliffe
Environment	Perry	Gawthrope
Housing	Todd-Jones	Bird
Strategy & Resources	Sarris	Barnett
Planning	Hipkin	Blencowe
Joint Development Control (City Lead)	Blencowe
Licensing	Bird	Benstead		Pippas
Civic Affairs	McPherson	Benstead
Employment Appeals Sub	Price
Development Plan Scrutiny Committee	Sarris	Gawthrope

 

 

 

<AI1>

 

The Committee will consider any nominations if put. The requirements to be satisfied are set out below:

 

1)   No person shall be eligible normally for election as an Honorary Councillor unless s/he has served as a Councillor at least 10 years (or a person who has been Mayor, for 8 years) whether continuously or not.

2)   Application for election as an Honorary Councillor shall be made either by the applicant him/herself or by some member of the Council on his/her behalf. Such application shall be submitted to the Chief Executive for consideration by the Civic Affairs Committee of the Council. It shall be in the discretion of the Civic Affairs Committee to make or withhold a recommendation to the Council. The names of those applicants who are not recommended by the Civic Affairs Committee shall not be recorded in the report of that Committee to the Council.

3)   Election to the position of Honorary Councillor shall be by a resolution of the Council passed on the recommendation of the Civic Affairs Committee by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting thereon at a meeting of the Council, the summons to which contains special notice that included in the business to be transacted is the election of an Honorary Councillor.

4)   An Honorary Councillor shall be entitled to the following rights and privileges –

a)   In civic processions, Honorary Councillors shall take precedence immediately after serving Councillors and shall have precedence amongst themselves according to the number of years service on the Council.

b)   On request to receive a copy of the Council summons, together with Council and Committee minutes.

c)   At each meeting of the Council to have a seat in a block reserved for the use of Honorary Councillors.

d)   The use, in common with members of the Council, of the Members’ Rooms in the Guildhall.

e)   To be invited, where circumstances permit, to those civic functions to which all members of the Council are invited.

f)    To receive a copy of the Diary and Year Book issued by the Council.

g)   On death, to have a flag flown above the Guildhall at half-mast.

 

Resolved: (unanimously) to recommend to Council the appointment of the following former Councillors as Honorary Councillors.

·        Catherine Smart

·        Sian Reid

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 2016/17.

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.