Agenda, decisions and minutes

The Chairman presented a 25 year Long Service Award to Dawn Graham who reached this milestone on the same day as the meeting.

The Chairman presented the Municipal Journal 2012 Excellence in Democratic Services award, for which the District Council had been highly commended, to the Environmental Services Portfolio Holder.

There were no declarations of interest. 

To authorise the Chairman to sign the Minutes of the meeting held on the 24 May 2012 and the Minutes of the LDF Council meeting on 29 June 2012 as correct records.

The minutes of the meeting of Annual Council on 24 May 2012 were agreed as a correct record, subject to the following amendments:

·         The first word under minute 8 be amended to read “Council”.

·         In the first paragraph under minute 19(b) the word “program” was corrected to “programme”. 

The minutes of the meeting of LDF Council on 28 June 2012 were agreed as a correct record, subject to the following amendments:

·         The inclusion of Councillor Tricia Bear’s apologies.

·         The inclusion of Councillor Cicely Murfitt’s declaration of a personal interest in the Bourn airfield site.

·         In the first paragraph under minute 6 the date be amended to 12 July.

·         Under the heading Windfall development in minute 6 the end of the second sentence be amended to read “… which could largely negate the need for new developments.”

To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader, the executive or the head of paid service.

The Chief Executive announced that Councillor Lynda Harford had resigned from the Liberal Democrats and joined the Conservatives and Councillor Edd Stonham had resigned from the Liberal Democrats and joined the Independent Group. She explained that as this altered the political membership of the Council the membership of the committees would have to be amended to reflect this. The Chairman agreed to accept an urgent item on the agenda to resolve this matter.

To note that a petition in support of a public swimming pool at Cambourne has received over 200 signatures and will be received at the next meeting of Council.

It was noted that an e-petition in support of a public swimming pool in Cambourne had received over 200 signatures and would be formally accepted at the next meeting of Council. 

This item has been discussed by the Council’s Standards Committee and the Constitution Review Working Group. Their recommendations have been incorporated in the attached report.

The report

RECOMMENDS TO COUNCIL       that

(a)          A Civic Affairs Committee of 13 members be established and its terms of reference agreed;

(b)          That the Constitution Review Working Group, Electoral Arrangements Committee and Standards Committee be disestablished;

(c)          That the Constitution be updated accordingly to reflect the changes outlined in the appendices to this report; and

(d)          Council agrees the membership of the committee and appoints a Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Sebastian Kindersley seconded the establishment of a Civic Affairs Committee. A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        that

a)    A Civic Affairs Committee of 13 members be established and its terms of reference be agreed;

b)    The Constitution Review Working Group, Electoral Arrangements Committee and Standards Committee be disestablished;

c)    The Constitution be updated accordingly to reflect the changes outlined in the appendices to this report.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Sebastian Kindersley seconded the establishment of a Civic Affairs Committee. Members of Council made the following comments in favour of the proposals:

·         Merging three Committees into one would save on resources.

·         Making the Committee open to the public would ensure transparency of decision making.

·         New legislation meant that the membership of the Standards Committee had to change, making this a sensible time to establish a new Committee.

Members of Council expressed the following concerns:

·         The conduct of councillors should not be a political issue and a guarantee should be given that a party whip will never apply to its members.

·         Members would be required to discuss matters relating to the Code of Conduct, the Constitution and electoral arrangements, but might only have one area of expertise or interest.

A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        that

a)    A Civic Affairs Committee of 13 members be established and its terms of reference be agreed;

b)    The Constitution Review Working Group, Electoral Arrangements Committee and Standards Committee be disestablished;

c)    The Constitution be updated accordingly to reflect the changes outlined in the appendices to this report.

Following a change in the political balance of the Council and request by the Leader of the Conservative Group in accordance with Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Chairman agreed to allow this item onto the agenda, as an urgent item.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor James Hockney seconded the following changes in the political membership of the authority and Council unanimously

AGREED        the membership of the Civic Affairs Committee and alterations to the following Committees.

Council AGREED to appoint to the above Committees the following members and substitute members as nominated by the political groups.

Civic Affairs Committee

Conservatives                      Liberal Democrats                Independent Group

Mick Martin (Chairman)           Jose Hales                              Douglas de Lacey

Alison Elcox (Vice-Chairman)Janet Lockwood                      Edd Stonham

Simon Edwards                      Jim Stewart

Ray Manning

Raymond Matthews

Tony Orgee

Robert Turner

Bunty Waters

Substitutes in hierarchical list:

Conservatives          Liberal Democrats                Independent Group

1) Roger Hall               Hazel Smith                            Remaining five members

2) Tim Wotherspoon

3) Mark Howell

4) Richard Barrett

5) Charlie Nightingale

Planning

Following the resignation of Councillor Mervyn Loynes from this Committee Councillor Lynda Harford was appointed by the Conservative Group as his replacement. The Independent Group appointed Councillor Sally Hatton as its additional member to this Committee and appointed Councillor Edd Stonham as its first substitute.

Scrutiny and Overview Committee

Councillor Lynda Harford to remain on the Committee, but as a Conservative member.

Joint Development Control: Cambridge Fringes

Councillor Lynda Harford to be replaced by Councillor Douglas de Lacey.Councillor Neil Scarr to serve as the Independent Group substitute on this Committee.

Following a change in the political balance of the Council and request by the Leader of the Conservative Group in accordance with Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Chairman agreed to allow this matter onto the agenda, as an urgent item.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor James Hockney seconded the following changes in the political membership of the authority. A vote was taken and Council unanimously

AGREED        the membership of the Civic Affairs Committee and alterations to the following Committees.

Council AGREED to appoint to the above Committees the following members and substitute members as nominated by the political groups.

Civic Affairs Committee

Conservatives                       Liberal Democrats                Independent Group

Mick Martin (Chairman)         Jose Hales                              Douglas de Lacey

Alison Elcox (Vice-Chairman)            Janet Lockwood                     Edd Stonham

Simon Edwards                      Jim Stewart

Ray Manning

Raymond Matthews

Tony Orgee

Robert Turner

Bunty Waters

Substitutes in hierarchical list:

Conservatives           Liberal Democrats                Independent Group

1) Roger Hall               Hazel Smith                            Remaining five members

2) Tim Wotherspoon

3) Mark Howell

4) Richard Barrett

5) Charlie Nightingale

Planning

Following the resignation of Councillor Mervyn Loynes from this Committee, Councillor Lynda Harford was appointed by the Conservative Group as his replacement. The Independent Group appointed Councillor Sally Hatton as its additional member to this Committee and appointed Councillor Edd Stonham as its first substitute.

Scrutiny and Overview Committee

Councillor Lynda Harford to remain on the Committee, but as a Conservative member.

Joint Development Control: Cambridge Fringes

Councillor Lynda Harford to be replaced by Councillor Douglas de Lacey.Councillor Neil Scarr to serve as the Independent Group substitute on this Committee.

The recommended code has been considered by Standards Committee and an amended version was approved and recommended to Council by the Constitution Review Working Party. The attached report:

RECOMMENDS        that the Council

(a)          adopts the Code of Conduct attached as Appendix A.

(b)          approves the Complaints Procedure Flowchart attached as Appendix B

(c)          approves the Code of Conduct Complaints procedure attached as Appendix C

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Mark Howell seconded the revised Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure, a vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        to

a)    Adopt the Code of Conduct as attached in Appendix A

b)    Approve the Complaints Procedure Flowchart attached in Appendix B

c)    Approve the Code of Conduct Complaints Procedure attached in Appendix C.

On the suggestion of the Chairman, Council

AGREED        to instruct the Chairman to write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, outlining the Council’s concerns with the requirements of the Government’s new Standards regime.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Mark Howell seconded the revised Code of Conduct and Complaints Procedure. Members of Council expressed the following concerns:

·         Reliance on criminal law made the sanctions to be imposed on errant Councillors unclear.

·         The Chief Constable had indicated that such matters would not be a priority for the Police.

·         The requirement to publish all interests on the Council’s website was too onerous on parish councillors, who are essentially volunteers.

Members also noted that the new system gave the opportunity for both sides of a complaint to be heard by the Monitoring Officer before any decision was taken to progress a complaint which was a welcome improvement on the previous statutory process and that opportunities for alternative resolution of complaints had been built into every stage of the complaints handling process, which should mean less formal hearings were needed.

In response to questioning, the Monitoring Officer stated that parish councils would be expected to handle complaints about their parish councillors using a parish complaints system in the first instance and it had been suggested they might wish to consider drafting in parish councillors from neighbouring parish councils to hear complaints. It was hoped that this would be welcomed by parish councils giving them the opportunity to resolve complaints at a local level and should mean less use of resources for the District Council’s complaints handling system, as up until now the majority of standards investigations had involved parish councillors. It was noted that following Council’s decision, a copy of the new Code of Conduct would be sent to all parish councils with a recommendation that parishes adopt the same code to give consistency across the District.

A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        to

a)    Adopt the Code of Conduct as attached in Appendix A

b)    Approve the Complaints Procedure Flowchart attached in Appendix B

c)    Approve the Code of Conduct Complaints Procedure attached in Appendix C.

On the suggestion of the Chairman, Council

AGREED        to instruct the Chairman to write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, outlining the Council’s concerns with the requirements of the Government’s new Standards regime.

The attached report RECOMMENDS that Council:

(a)           delegates the power to grant a dispensation to the Monitoring Officer (in consultation with the Chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee and the Independent Person) with all dispensations granted to be reported back to the Civic Affairs Committee; and

(b)          Approves the dispensations procedure attached at Appendix A

Councillor Tony Orgee proposed and Councillor David Bard seconded this proposal regarding the dispensation procedure and Council overwhelmingly AGREED to

a)    Delegate the power to grant a dispensation to the Monitoring Officer (in consultation with the Chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee and the Independent Person) with all dispensations granted to be reported back to the Civic Affairs Committee; and

b)    Approve the dispensations procedure attached at Appendix A.

Councillor Tony Orgee proposed and Councillor David Bard seconded this proposal regarding the dispensation procedure. The Monitoring Officer explained that Gary Duthie, Senior Lawyer was the Council’s Deputy Monitoring Officer and could deputise when the Monitoring Officer was unavailable. The Monitoring Officer added that parish councils would be responsible for granting their own dispensations and guidance had been sent to all parishes advising them of their new powers.

Council overwhelmingly AGREED to

a)    Delegate the power to grant a dispensation to the Monitoring Officer (in consultation with the Chairman of the Civic Affairs Committee and the Independent Person) with all dispensations granted to be reported back to the Civic Affairs Committee; and

b)    Approve the dispensations procedure attached at Appendix A.

The attached report RECOMMENDS that Council

(a)          appoint one Independent Person and one Deputy Independent Person as per the recommendations made by the interviewing panel to Council; and

(b)          agree an annual allowance of £1000 for the lead Independent Person and an annual allowance of £500 for the deputy Independent Person, in addition to travelling expenses

(NB. the nominations will be distributed to members shortly before the council meeting once interviews have been completed).

Councillor Tony Orgee proposed and Councillor David Bard seconded the appointment of Kathleen English as the Council’s Independent Person, with Eric Revell as her deputy. A vote was taken and Council unanimously

AGREED        To

a)    Appoint Kathleen English to the position of lead Independent Person until the end of June 2013.

b)    Appoint Eric Revell to the position of deputy Independent Person until the end of June 2013.

Councillor Tony Orgee proposed and Councillor David Bard seconded the appointment of Kathleen English as the Council’s lead Independent Person, with Eric Revell as the deputy Independent Person. A vote was taken and Council unanimously

AGREED        To

a)    Appoint Kathleen English to the position of lead Independent Person until the end of June 2013.

b)    Appoint Eric Revell to the position of deputy Independent Person until the end of June 2013.

The Constitution Review Working Party

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL     That Executive Procedure Rule 3.1 be amended as follows, in order to allow greater flexibility in terms of scheduling formal meetings:

Individual Portfolio Holders will normally hold meetings in accordance with schedules which co-ordinate with the work programme for that Portfolio. Dates for such meetings should, wherever possible, be agreed in advance for the Civic Year. Portfolio Holder meetings shall be held in public, in accordance with the provisions of procedure rules 1.3 and 1.6 above, DELETE at least on a quarterly basis.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Tim Wotherspoon seconded that the Executive Procedure Rules be amended, as proposed by the Constitution Review Working Group. A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        That Executive Procedure Rule 3.1 be amended as follows, in order to allow greater flexibility in terms of scheduling formal meetings:

Individual Portfolio Holders will normally hold meetings in accordance with schedules which co-ordinate with the work programme for that Portfolio. Dates for such meetings should, wherever possible, be agreed in advance for the Civic Year. Portfolio Holder meetings shall be held in public, in accordance with the provisions of procedure rules 1.3 and 1.6 above, DELETE at least on a quarterly basis.

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Tim Wotherspoon seconded the amendments to the Executive Procedure Rules, as proposed by the Constitution Review Working Group.

In response to the suggestion that frequent portfolio holder meetings provided more transparency of the decision making process, Councillor Ray Manning stated that the aim was for portfolio holder decisions to continue to be made in public, but to avoid having unnecessary portfolio holder meetings where no decisions were taken. It was noted that at most Councils decisions made by portfolio holders were not taken in public.

A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        That Executive Procedure Rule 3.1 be amended as follows, in order to allow greater flexibility in terms of scheduling formal meetings:

Individual Portfolio Holders will normally hold meetings in accordance with schedules which co-ordinate with the work programme for that Portfolio. Dates for such meetings should, wherever possible, be agreed in advance for the Civic Year. Portfolio Holder meetings shall be held in public, in accordance with the provisions of procedure rules 1.3 and 1.6 above, DELETE at least on a quarterly basis.

The Constitution Review Working Group

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL     That the changes to Contract Regulations set out in Appendix A in the report be approved, subject to the replacement of “shall” with “must” in sections 5.3-5.4.

Councillor Nick Wright proposed and Councillor James Hockney seconded the amendments to the Contract Regulations, as laid out in the agenda. On the proposal of the Chairman, this recommendation was amended to allow Councillors Douglas de Lacey and Tim Wotherspoon to agree minor amendments to the verbs included in the Contract Regulations. A vote was taken and Council overwhelming

AGREED        The changes to Contract Regulations recommended by the Constitution Review Working Group, subject to the amendment of modal verbs in the Regulations, to be jointly agreed by Councillors de Lacey and Wotherspoon.

Councillor Nick Wright proposed and Councillor James Hockney seconded the amendments to the Contract Regulations, as laid out in the agenda. On the proposal of the Chairman, this recommendation was amended to delegate to Councillors Douglas de Lacey and Tim Wotherspoon the task of agreeing minor amendments to the verbs included in the Contract Regulations. A vote was taken and Council overwhelming

AGREED        The changes to Contract Regulations recommended by the Constitution Review Working Group, subject to the amendment of modal verbs in the Regulations, to be jointly agreed by Councillors de Lacey and Wotherspoon.

The Constitution Review Working Group

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL     That the following changes to the Council Standing Orders be agreed.

Annual Council Meeting

(a)  1.1(b) (vi) Receive any announcements from the Chairman, (add) Leader of the Council and / or Head of Paid Service

(b)  1.1(b) (viii) appoint up to five (delete four) substitute members per committee from each political group in a hierarchical list to all committees and sub-committees other than the standards committee (this reference to the Standards Committee will be deleted, subject to agreement of the recommendations in respect of the Civic Affairs Committee set out above)

(c)  1.1(b) (xii) receive the Leader of Major Opposition Group’s written Annual Statement on his/her Group’s priorities for action and objectives for the forthcoming municipal year

Selection of Councillors on Committees and Outside Bodies

(d)  1.2 (vi) (the council meeting will) appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the committees established under Standing Order 1.2(a)(i) above.

Notice of Motions

(e)  12.1(a) (Notices of Motion)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

(f)   12.1(b) (Motions for the removal of the Leader from office etc)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

Point of Order, Point of information, Personal explanation

(g)  14.12 A member may raise a point of order at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Order’.

(h)  14.13 A member may raise a point of information at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Information’.

(i)    14.14 A member may make a personal explanation at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Personal explanation’

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Mark Howell seconded the amendments to the Standing Orders, as recommended by the Constitution Review Working Group. A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        That the following changes to the Council Standing Orders be agreed:

Annual Council Meeting

(a)  1.1(b) (vi) Receive any announcements from the Chairman, (add) Leader of the Council and / or Head of Paid Service

(b)  1.1(b) (viii) appoint up to five (delete four) substitute members per committee from each political group in a hierarchical list to all committees and sub-committees other than the standards committee (this reference to the Standards Committee will be deleted, subject to agreement of the recommendations in respect of the Civic Affairs Committee set out above)

(c)  1.1(b) (xii) receive the Leader of Major Opposition Group’s written Annual Statement on his/her Group’s priorities for action and objectives for the forthcoming municipal year

Selection of Councillors on Committees and Outside Bodies

(d)  1.2 (vi) (the council meeting will) appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the committees established under Standing Order 1.2(a)(i) above.

Notice of Motions

(e)  12.1(a) (Notices of Motion)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

(f)    12.1(b) (Motions for the removal of the Leader from office etc)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

Point of Order, Point of information, Personal explanation

(g)  14.12 A member may raise a point of order at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Order’.

(h)  14.13 A member may raise a point of information at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Information’.

(i)    14.14 A member may make a personal explanation at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Personal explanation’

Councillor Ray Manning proposed and Councillor Roger Hall seconded the amendments to the Standing Orders, as recommended by the Constitution Review Working Group.

Concerns were raised regarding the proposal for Council to appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of its committees as it was likely to lead to political appointments approved by the ruling group.

A vote was taken and Council overwhelmingly

AGREED        the following changes to the Council Standing Orders:

Annual Council Meeting

(a)  1.1(b) (vi) Receive any announcements from the Chairman, (add) Leader of the Council and / or Head of Paid Service

(b)  1.1(b) (viii) appoint up to five (delete four) substitute members per committee from each political group in a hierarchical list to all committees and sub-committees other than the standards committee (this reference to the Standards Committee will be deleted, subject to agreement of the recommendations in respect of the Civic Affairs Committee set out above)

(c)  1.1(b) (xii) receive the Leader of Major Opposition Group’s written Annual Statement on his/her Group’s priorities for action and objectives for the forthcoming municipal year

Selection of Councillors on Committees and Outside Bodies

(d)  1.2 (vi) (the council meeting will) appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the committees established under Standing Order 1.2(a)(i) above.

Notice of Motions

(e)  12.1(a) (Notices of Motion)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

(f)   12.1(b) (Motions for the removal of the Leader from office etc)…must be delivered to the proper officer not later than seven (delete six) working days before the date of the meeting.

Point of Order, Point of information, Personal explanation

(g)  14.12 A member may raise a point of order at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Order’.

(h)  14.13 A member may raise a point of information at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Point of Information’.

(i)    14.14 A member may make a personal explanation at any time (add) by standing and stating ‘Personal explanation’

The Corporate Governance Committee

RECOMMENDED THAT COUNCIL            Endorse the Risk Management Strategy and note the Strategic Risk Register.

Please find a link to the Risk Management report of the Corporate Governance Committee on 29 June 2012.

Councillor David McCraith proposed and Councillor Ted Ridgway Watt seconded the endorsement of the Risk Management Strategy. A vote was taken and Council unanimously

AGREED        to endorse the Risk Management Strategy and to note the Strategic Risk Register.

Councillor David McCraith proposed and Councillor Ted Ridgway Watt seconded the endorsement of the Risk Management Strategy. A vote was taken and Council unanimously

AGREED        to endorse the Risk Management Strategy and to note the Strategic Risk Register.

The Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder

RECOMMENDED     The proposed changes to Contract Regulations, as set out in Appendix C of the report.

Please find a link to the contract regulations, appendix C to the Procurement Strategy report, which went to the Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda, as it was a repetition of the item on “Amendments to Contract Regulations”, which had been discussed earlier in the meeting.

Council is invited to receive the nomination of the Conservative Group to the Planning Committee following the resignation of Councillor Mervyn Loynes.

This item was withdrawn from the agenda as it had been discussed under the urgent item: “Review of Political Group Representations on Committees and Joint Committees.”

The Chairman’s engagements since the last Council meeting will be circulated at the meeting.

These were circulated at the meeting and noted. The Chairman thanked all officers involved in the Park Life event at Milton Country Park.