Agenda and minutes

To elect a chairman of Council for the municipal year 2014/15.

Mrs Brown reviewed her year as Chairman of the council, thanked councillors for all their support and her escort and Mr Hewer for their assistance during the year. She wished Matt Prosser well in his new role as Chief Executive of Weymouth and Portland and West Dorset councils.

Mrs Ducker and Mr Turner paid tribute to Mrs Brown in recognition of her work as Chairman of the council during the past year.

Mrs A Midwinter was nominated as Chairman.

RESOLVED:  to appoint Mrs A Midwinter as Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

Mrs Brown presented Mrs Midwinter with the chain of office. 

Mrs Midwinter signed her declaration of acceptance of office, presented Mrs Brown with the past Chairman’s badge, Mr Midwinter with the escort’s badge and made an acceptance speech.

Mrs Midwinter in the chair.

To appoint a vice-chairman of Council for the municipal year 2014/15.

Mrs M Turner was nominated as Vice-Chairman.

RESOLVED:  to appoint Mrs M Turner as Vice-Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

The Chairman presented Mrs Turner with the chain of office.

Mrs Turner signed her declaration of acceptance of office, made an acceptance speech and presented Mr Turner with the escort’s badge.

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were submitted as recorded on page one of these minutes.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2014 (attached).

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2014 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

None.

The Chairman advised Council of her chosen charities for her year of office – SeeSaw and the Royal British Legion. She gave advance notice of her dinner/dance on 27 March 2015.

She added her best wishes to Matt Prosser in his new role as Chief Executive of Weymouth and Portland and West Dorset councils.

None.

The Leader of Council will report on any changes to Cabinet membership, allocation of portfolios or the executive scheme of delegation and outside body appointments.

The Leader of Council advised Council that she had appointed Mrs Anna Badcock as Deputy Leader and Ms Lynn Lloyd as an additional Cabinet member with responsibility for IT and technical services. She thanked Rev’d Angie Paterson for her hard work and commitment during her time as deputy leader and advised of the following portfolio responsibilities:

Mrs Ducker - HR, customer services, legal and democratic (except community safety), Didcot, corporate strategy (except waste and parks and grants)

Mrs Badcock - deputy leader, health and housing

Rev’dPaterson – planning (including building control)

Mr Dodds - finance, waste and parks

Ms Lynn Lloyd – IT and technical services

Mrs Nimmo-Smith - economic development and property

Mr Service – leisure, grants and community safety

Cabinet, at its meeting on 8 May 2014, will consider a report on making the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan part of the Development Plan for South Oxfordshire.

The report of the Head of Planning, which Cabinet will consider on 8 May 2014 was circulated to all councillors. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendation of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 9 May.

Mr C Quinton made a statement that he had been involved with the development of the plan and did not therefore consider it appropriate to take part in the discussion or voting on the item. However, as he had no disclosable pecuniary interest in the item he remained in the room.

Council considered the recommendation of Cabinet, made at its meeting on 8 May 2014, to make the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan part of the Development Plan for South Oxfordshire.

RESOLVED: to make the Woodcote Neighbourhood Plan part of the Development Plan for South Oxfordshire

On 7 May the Leader of Council took a decision to pay Taylor Wimpey UK Ltd £140,000 towards the construction costs of the Northern Neighbourhood Community Centre at Great WesternPark in Didcot subject to Council agreeing to transfer funds to a new budget in the approved capital programme. The Leader also delegated authority to the Head of Corporate Strategy to approve payments relating to the fit out costs up to the budget of £60,000

The decision notice was circulated to all councillors.

RECOMMENDATION to Council:

To transfer £200,000 from the New Homes Bonus Community Projects fund to a new budget for Great Western Park Community facilities in the approved capital programme.

Council considered the recommendation of the Leader of council, made on 7 May 2014, to transfer funds to a new budget in the approved capital programme towards the construction costs of the Northern Neighbourhood Community Centre at Great Western Park in Didcot and the fit out costs.

RESOLVED: to transfer £200,000 from the New Homes Bonus Community Projects fund to a new budget for Great Western Park Community facilities in the approved capital programme. 

To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (report attached).

Council considered the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on the appointment of those committees which are required to be politically balanced together with the Communities Capital Grant Scheme and Licensing Acts Committee and appointments to joint bodies.

The Chairman referred to the following recommendation tabled at the meeting covering these appointments to reflect the allocation of an additional Planning Committee seat to the Conservative group, a NNDR Appeals Panel seat to the Liberal Democrat group and a Housing Appeals Panel seat to each of the Independent and Labour groups to reflect their membership on the council. The recommendation reflected the Independent group’s offer of its seats on the Audit and Governance Committee and the Housing Appeals Panel and the Conservative group’s offer of one of its seats on the NNDR Panel to Mr Neville Harris.

That for the 2014/15 municipal year Council:

1.      appoints the committees and panels for the 2014/15 year and allocate seats to each political group as set in the schedule circulated at the meeting subject to 10 seats being allocated to the Conservative Group on the Planning Committee, one seat on the NNDR Appeals Panel being allocated to the Liberal Democrat group and one seat each on the Housing Appeals Panel being allocated to the Independent and Labour groups;

2. appoints councillors and substitutes to sit on the committees and panels as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

3.      appoints councillors to the Licensing Acts Committee as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;

4. appoints councillors and substitutes to the Communities Capital Grant Scheme Panel as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;
5. appoints committee chairmen and vice-chairmen as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;
6. appoints Mr N Harris to the Independent group’s seat on the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee and Housing Appeals Panel and one of the Conservative group's seats on the NNDR Panel;
7. appoints Dr C Hood as the council’s representative on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Mrs E Gillespie as substitute;
8. appoints Mr B Service as the council’s representative and Mr J Cotton as an observer substitute on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;
9. appoints Mrs A Ducker, as the Leader of Council, Mrs A Badcock, as the Conservative member, and Mrs E Hodgkin, as the representative from the opposition groups, to the Joint Staff Committee;
10. authorises the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader

Prior to the vote on the above motion Mrs Hards advised that the schedule circulated at the meeting wrongly showed her as the Labour member on the Communities Capital Grant Scheme Panel rather than Mr B Cooper.

RESOLVED to:

1.      appoint the following committees and panels for the 2014/15 year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairmen and vice-chairmen as indicated to sit on them: 

To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on proposed changes to the council’s constitution (report attached)

Council considered the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services on proposed changes to the council’s constitution.

RESOLVED: to

1.                  agree the revised officer employment procedure rules attached to the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 15 May 2014;

2.                  agree to amend the council procedure rules to reflect The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 as set out in paragraph 7 of the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 15 May 2014;

3.                  authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make the necessary amendments to the constitution to reflect the Crime and Policing Act 2014;

4.                  note the changes to the management structure set out in paragraphs 12 to 15 of the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 15 May 2014;

5.                  authorise the head of legal and democratic services to amend the constitution to reflect the changes to the Community Investment  Fund set out in paragraph 18 of to the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to Council on 15 May 2014;

6.                  authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make the necessary changes to the council’s constitution to reflect the changes set out in this report;

7.         authorise the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to make any minor or   consequential amendments to the constitution required for clarification, consistency and compliance with the council’s style guide.

To consider whether to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

(i)                  it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

(ii)                the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED: to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

i.         it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

ii.       the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

Cabinet, at its meeting on 8 May 2014, will consider a report on the awarding of the joint leisure management contract.

The report of the Head of Economy, Leisure and Property, which Cabinet will consider on 8 May 2014, was circulated to all councillors. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendation of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 9 May.

Cabinet considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 8 May 2014, on the awarding of the joint leisure management contract. In awarding the contract Cabinet recommended Council agree the capital and revenue budgets for the next ten years.

RESOLVED: to agree the revenue and capital budgets for the next ten years as set out in the report of the Head of Economy, Leisure and Property to Cabinet on 8 May 2014.