Agenda and minutes

Venue: Held by remote video conference

Contact: Democratic Services 

Link: YouTube Live Stream

Items
No. Item

MAYOR'S INTRODUCTION

The Mayor announced that as the meeting was to be held as a remote conference on Zoom, any Member participating by remote link who declared an interest in any item of business in terms which required them to leave the room must ensure that they cannot be seen or heard during the agenda item.

 

He explained the process for connection failure and that  should the link not be re-established before the end of the meeting then the presumption would be that the meeting should continue to deal with the item providing the meeting remains quorate. Should the meeting no longer be quorate the meeting shall be adjourned and any remaining items of business would be deferred. Any Member who had been absent from the debate on a particular item due to connection failure must abstain from the vote on that item.

 

The Mayor explained that Members would use the functionality of the software to speak and each Member would be asked in turn for their vote at the appropriate time.

 

Should the meeting not have ended by 8 pm all those present may take part in the Clap for our Carers campaign to applaud and recognise NHS staff on the frontline against coronavirus.

 

He advised that the meeting would be recorded and live-streamed on You Tube.

CO1

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

CO2

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 51 KB

Members to declare any interest as appropriate in respect of items to be considered at this meeting.

Minutes:

The Mayor reminded Members that they were not required to declare an interest in item 12, Review of Members’ Allowance Scheme as there was an exemption in place that enabled them to take part in this item.

 

Councillors Orson, Pearson and Posnett each declared a personal interest in any matters relating to the Leicestershire County Council due to their roles as County Councillors.

 

Councillor Holmes reported that she would abstain from voting on the Chairs and Vice Chairs roles as she was related to one of the Councillors nominated.

 

CO3

ELECTION OF MAYOR AND DEPUTY MAYOR

To Approve that the current arrangements for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor should remain in place until such time as current national restrictions in relation to the Coronavirus Pandemic are lifted or until the expiry of a period of 6 months, whichever occurs sooner.

Minutes:

The Mayor handed over the Chair to the Chief Executive who explained :

 

‘In light of the current national pandemic and restrictions in relation to social distancing, consultation has taken place with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor on arrangements for the coming municipal year. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are in agreement that due to the majority of Civic Events having been cancelled at present and uncertainty about when the Civic Calendar will be able to resume, along with the restrictions on meetings in person and therefore the inability to proceed with the ceremonial aspect of the Mayor making, it would be prudent to retain the current arrangements for the time being if Council were agreeable with this proposal.’

 

Councillor Orson proposed that Council approves the current arrangements for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor should remain in place until such time as current national restrictions in relation to the Coronavirus Pandemic are lifted or until the expiry of a period of 6 months, whichever occurs sooner.

 

Councillor Higgins seconded the motion.

 

RESOLVED That Council approves the current arrangements for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor should remain in place until such time as current national restrictions in relation to the Coronavirus Pandemic are lifted or until the expiry of a period of 6 months, whichever occurs sooner.

 

(Unanimous)

 

(The Mayor in the Chair.)

CO4

MAYOR'S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Minutes:

The Mayor

 

·         thanked Members for their support in allowing him to continue as Mayor for the time being

·         welcomed Members and Officers to the first virtual Council Meeting

·         acknowledged the NHS and all those involved in supporting the community during the current coronavirus pandemic and advised that the meeting would recognise this by pausing at 8 pm to applaud their good work

·         paid tribute to the groups and organisations within the Borough, officers and the waste collection service who had all continued to support individuals and the community during the pandemic

·         expressed his sadness for not being able to represent the Borough for the VE celebrations that were due to have been held on 8 May 2020

·         thanked Keith Aubrey for his service to the Council and for requesting donations to Rainbows instead of a leaving gift and was grateful to those who had donated

·         advised it had been a great honour to be Mayor for the past year and he had met so many people during that time and he hoped to resume normal service as soon as possible

·         thanked Councillor Faulkner for his support as Deputy Mayor throughout the year

CO5

ELECTION OF LEADER

To elect the Leader of the Council for the period until the Annual Meeting in 2023.

 

Note:  This decision will normalise the decision made at the Annual Meeting on 16 May 2019 where the Leader should have been elected for a period of 4 years.

Minutes:

The Monitoring explained that the Council’s Constitution included provision that a Leader of the Council should be elected for a 4 year term. At the Annual Meeting in May 2019, the Leader had been elected for one year only and she now requested that the Council regularise the arrangement and elect a Leader with a term of office until 2023. 

 

Councillor Browne proposed that Councillor Joe Orson be elected Leader until 2023 and paid tribute to his previous term as Leader and added that he believed that he was the right person to lead the Council over the next 3 years. Councillor Faulkner seconded the nomination. 

 

There were no other nominations.

 

RESOLVED that Councillor Joe Orson be elected Leader of the Council until the Annual Meeting in 2023.

 

(22 in favour, 6 against)

CO6

NOTIFICATION BY THE LEADER OF THE APPOINTMENT TO THE EXECUTIVE pdf icon PDF 186 KB

The Council is requested to note the appointment of the Deputy Leader as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the appointment of members of the Executive as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the Executive Portfolios as may be announced by the Leader.

 

The Council is requested to note the Leaders Scheme of Delegation

(To follow).

 

The Leader to provide a verbal review of the last municipal year and to report on the proposed policies of the Council for the forthcoming year.

Minutes:

The Leader thanked Members for his appointment and congratulated Councillor Evans on taking up the leadership of the Opposition Group and added that he looked forward to working with him for the mutual benefit of the Council. He expressed his thoughts and condolences to those who had lost loved ones and friends to the coronavirus pandemic. He thanked all involved at the Council in supporting residents and responding to the many queries and calls and felt proud of the NHS, volunteers, key workers, factory workers, neighbours and friends who were supporting people throughout the pandemic and adhering to the government guidelines to keep people safe.

 

The Leader stated

 

‘This time last year we had just emerged from the local election and were commencing for the first time with a new form of Cabinet governance. We approved a new brand new constitution and adopted an entirely new set of procedure rules. I would hope members would agree with me that for the most part these have served us well and have allowed us to conduct our business efficiently and effectively.

 

It is, though, always prudent to keep things under review and mindful of the clarification the Monitoring Officer has just made in relation to the term of appointment for the Leader, I would like to confirm that I have asked for a report to be presented to the next Council meeting which will seek to establish a Constitutional Review working group and associated terms of reference. This will allow us to reflect on our experience over the last year and make any further necessary amendments.

 

Operating with a Cabinet system for the first time we have seen good progress in a number of areas. We have focussed on improving customer services, undertaking a number of service design reviews and procured new customer engagement technology through IEG4. Despite the current challenges, implementation of this new system is progressing well and we expect the first phase to launch to the public in June as planned.

 

We have fully gripped the long-standing housing challenge and last November agreed a comprehensive Housing Improvement Plan; representing an ambitious commitment to reinvest in our housing stock and landlord services. Whilst we cannot be complacent, the huge amount of work done on compliance since then has paid dividends both in terms of improving health and safety for our tenants whilst also receiving positive validation from the Regulator. There is much more to be done before we are satisfied and we look forward to the Portfolio Holder and new Director continuing to lead improvements in this important priority area.

 

We introduced the first public spaces protection order and are taking more action now to tackle environmental crime and became the first Council in the East Midlands to secure Disability Confident Status. We have reviewed our Community Grants scheme and ensured the funding we provide better meets our local priorities and can demonstrate good value for money. We have adopted a new Debt Management Policy to ensure we get the  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO6

CO7

POLITICAL BALANCE AND ALLOCATION OF SEATS TO POLITICAL GROUPS pdf icon PDF 158 KB

To receive a report from the Monitoring Officer to consider:

 

a)    The Appointment of the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees of the Council for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

b)    Approval of the terms of reference and number of voting places on the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees of the Council for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

c)    Approval of the political balance calculation.

d)    Approval of the allocation of committee seats to political groups and membership of each committee for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

e)    Election of Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report which requested that Members  approve the political balance for the Council, elect Chairs and Vice Chairs and appoint Members to committees as well as retain the existing scrutiny arrangements. She explained that the recommendations had been split into 3 groups of recommendations as set out below for Members’ consideration.

 

Recommendations 2.1 and 2.2

Councillor Orson proposed recommendations 2.1 and 2.2 and Councillor Higgins seconded.

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)       To APPOINT the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees as set out in paragraph 5 of the report for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

(2)       To AGREE the terms of reference and number of voting places on the Scrutiny Committee and Standing Committees as detailed at paragraph 5.1 of the report for the Municipal Year 2020/21.

 

(Unanimous)

 

Recommendations 2.3 and 2.4

Councillor Orson proposed revised recommendations to those in the report as there had been dissent from Members outside of the Conservative Group with regard to the proposal to include the non-aligned Member in the political balance calculation.  As the report clearly set out, there must be unanimity in order to depart from the usual rules on political balance as set out in Section 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and include non-aligned Members in the calculation. The calculations set out in the report (at paragraph 5.2) represented the status quo and showed the position if all Members agreed that the non-aligned Member was included in the political balance calculation. As he was aware that not all Members were in agreement with this proposal, then the motion in its current version would fail due to lack of unanimous consensus.

 

As a result he presented a revision to the calculations on political balance (paragraph 5.2 of the report) which reflected the statutory calculation regarding political balance, and did not include the non-aligned Member in the calculations and which could be approved through simple majority. He therefore proposed the following revised recommendations :

 

2.3 Approves the political balance calculation set out at revised paragraph 5.2 (as presented to Members at the meeting);

 

2.4 Approves the allocation of committee seats to political groups as set out in revised paragraph 5.2 and notes the membership of each committee as set out in revised Appendix A;

 

As mentioned these recommendations complied with s.15 and s.16 of the 1989 Act and therefore required a simple majority to be carried.

 

Councillor Higgins seconded.

 

RESOLVED

 

(3)       To APPROVE the political balance calculation set out at the revised paragraph 5.2 of the report as follows :

 

Group Name

or Non-aligned

No of Cllrs

Percentage across

the Council

Allocation of Seats

over 4 Committees

38 seats

 

 

 

Decimal

Rounded no

Conservative

21

77.78%

29.56

30

Opposition

6

22.22%

8.44

8

Totals

27

100%

38 seats

38 seats

 

(4)       To APPROVE the allocation of committee seats to political groups as set out in revised paragraph 5.2 of the report (as shown in the below table) and notes the membership of each committee as set out in revised  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO7

CO8

MELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

To confirm the Constitution (including the Council’s Officer Scheme of Delegation at Chapter 2 – Part4).

 

Please find link to the current version of the Council’s Constitution below:

 

Melton Borough Council Constitution

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on the Constitution and advised that she was able to and had made minor amendments throughout the year particular around officer structures. During the pandemic she referred to use of the emergency delegated powers which had resulted from the new Coronavirus Act. She advised that a Constitutional Working Group would meet over the coming months to work on updating the Constitution further.

 

Councillor Orson said that in addition to confirming the Constitution he would like to add a further proposal to the published recommendation in relation to the public speaking rules. In order to balance the importance of providing an opportunity for interested parties to make representations at the Planning Committee, with the requirement to ensure that meetings are able to progress efficiently and to maximise the decision-making capacity of the Committee, he  proposed the following recommendations :

 

1.    That Council confirms the Constitution (including the Council’s Officer Scheme of Delegation at Chapter 2 – Part 4); and

 

2.    That Council approves an amendment to the Public Speaking Rules (Chapter 2 – Part 9, Section 2.8 – 2.28 MBC Constitution) to reduce the time allowed for public speaking from four minutes to three minutes.

 

Councillor Higgins seconded.

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)       To CONFIRM the Constitution (including the Council’s Officer Scheme of Delegation at Chapter 2 – Part4);

 

(2)       To APPROVE an amendment to the Public Speaking Rules (Chapter 2 – Part 9, Section 2.8 – 2.28 MBC Constitution) to reduce the time allowed for public speaking from four minutes to three minutes.

 

(Unanimous)

CO9

PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 146 KB

The Director for Governance and Regulatory Services (and Monitoring Officer) to submit a report on a proposed Calendar of Meetings for 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on a Programme of Meetings for 2020/21 and advised that any changes would be made in consultation with the Mayor, Leader or relevant Committee Chair.

 

Councillor Orson proposed the programme of meetings and Councillor Higgins seconded. 

 

It was noted that additional Planning Committee meetings may be required to accommodate the current workload of applications. 

 

RESOLVED

 

To APPROVE the programme of meetings for the Municipal Year 2020-2021 (Appendix A).

 

(Unanimous)

CO10

APPOINTMENT OF REPRESENTATIVES ON OUTSIDE BODIES AND WORKING GROUPS pdf icon PDF 142 KB

The Director for Governance and Regulatory Services (and Monitoring Officer) to submit a report which asks Members to consider nominations for representatives to serve on outside bodies and working groups.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on appointment of representatives to outside bodies and working groups for 2020/21.

 

Councillor Orson proposed the recommendations with an amendment at 2.2 to include reference at Appendix A at column B and to approve the appointments to the Joint Staff Working Group as presented to Members.  Councillor Higgins seconded. 

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)       To APPROVE the appointments in Column A of Appendix A should be designated according to the role/portfolio holder/ward member as indicated.

 

(2)       To APPOINT representatives to serve on the outside bodies and working groups listed at Appendix A, Column B and approves the appointments to the Joint Staff Working Group.

 

(Unanimous)

CO11

INDEPENDENT PERSONS APPOINTMENT pdf icon PDF 154 KB

The Monitoring Officer to submit a report on the Independent Person Panel.

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on the appointment of Independent Persons and explained that it was a requirement of the Localism Act 2011 that the Council appoints at least one Independent Person who must be consulted before decisions in respect of complaints were taken and who may be consulted by Councillors who are complained about. The report sought authority to appoint named individuals as Independent Persons who formed  a pool of Independent Persons that had been through a recruitment exercise by Leicestershire District Authorities.

 

Councillor Orson proposed the recommendations and Councillor Higgins seconded. 

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)       To APPOINT the following people as Independent Persons to perform the roles set out in section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011 with effect from 15th May 2020 until the end of the 2020/21 Council Year:

 

(a)       Mrs Christine Howell

(b)       Mr Michael Pearson

(c)       Mr Richard Gough

(d)       Mr Mark Shaw

 

(2)       To NOTE that the appointment for Gordon Grimes will remain in place.

 

(Unanimous)

 

CO12

REVIEW OF MEMBERS' ALLOWANCE SCHEME pdf icon PDF 167 KB

The Director for Governance and Regulatory Services (and Monitoring Officer) to submit a report on the Review of Members’ Remuneration undertaken by the Welland Independent Remuneration Panel.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented her report which advised that it was a legal requirement to appoint an Independent Remuneration Panel and seek its advice before making any changes or amendments to the Member Allowances Scheme. The Member Allowances Scheme was last reviewed in February 2019 in preparation for the change of governance to the Cabinet Model. In that review the Welland Independent Remuneration Panel (the Panel) recommended that a further review was undertaken in January 2020 in order to evaluate the impact of the changes on the new governance arrangements. This review was undertaken in February 2020 and the Panel’s findings and recommendations were contained in the Panel’s report at Appendix A.

 

John Cade, the Chair of the Welland Independent Remuneration Panel, was in attendance at the meeting and presented the Panel’s findings as set out at Appendix A. He advised that he had consulted and offered meetings with all Members and received evidence which had helped to shape the recommendations. He thanked the Democratic Services Manager for her support to the Panel.

 

-oOo-

 

At 8 pm, the Mayor invited Members to applaud the NHS and all those who were supporting us throughout the coronavirus pandemic

 

-oOo-

 

Councillor Orson supported the Panel’s report and proposed the recommendations in the report. He advised that he would not accept any amendments to his proposal. He explained that the allowances scheme supported equality and helped to encourage people of walks of life to stand for election knowing that their commitment involved a structured level of  recognition of their time as well as recovery of expenses. He said the Panel was independent and had been asked to review the scheme following last year’s change in governance arrangements which had given more responsibility to the Cabinet and increased the time and commitment of their involvement. He thanked all those who had contributed to the review.

 

Councillor Higgins seconded and explained that the scheme encouraged younger people to stand for election and Melton had a good track record in attracting Members of all ages. He considered that ward work could take up to 18 hours per week and referred to the increased responsibility on Portfolio Holders in listening to the community and being proactive in understanding issues.

 

Councillor Evans proposed to withdraw the report as he felt uncomfortable considering an increase in allowances at a time when thousands of people were losing their jobs  due to the current pandemic. He recognised that Members held an important role but it was not vital for them to receive an increase at this time.

 

Councillor Holmes seconded the proposal to withdraw and reserved her right to speak.

 

Councillor Orson responded that sometimes Members had to take uncomfortable decisions and a professional review had been undertaken which included comparisons with other Councils who received more than those at Melton and he therefore could not support a withdrawal.

 

Councillor Holmes felt that although Councillors deserved a pay rise, especially those who were not Chairs or Vice Chairs,  ...  view the full minutes text for item CO12

CLOSING REMARKS

Councillor Orson

 

·         thanked the Mayor for chairing the Annual Meeting and the Chief Executive and Democratic Services for providing support at the meeting;

 

·         announced that it had been tweeted the previous evening that Galliford Try had been appointed to the £16.3m contract for the Melton Mowbray Distributor Road which meant that the north east section would be constructed and completed. He referred to the Council’s ongoing commitment and plans for the southern by pass.

 

At this point, the Mayor declared a personal interest due to his role with the Sir John Sedley Educational Foundation which owned land included in the distributor road proposals.

 

 

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