Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Fountain Conference Centre, Howbery Park, Crowmarsh Gifford

Contact: Steven Corrigan  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

1.

Election of chairman

To elect a chairman of Council for the municipal year 2016/17.

 

Minutes:

Mrs Turner reviewed her year as chairman of the council, thanked councillors for all their support and her escort, vice-chairman and officers for their assistance during the year.

Mrs Murphy and Mr Turner paid tribute to Mrs Turner in recognition of her work as chairman of the council during the past year.

 

RESOLVED:  to appoint Mr P Harrison as Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

 

Mrs Turner presented Mr Harrison with the chain of office. 

Mr Harrison read out the oath of office, signed his declaration of acceptance of office, presented Mrs Turner with the past Chairman’s badge and made an acceptance speech. He provided details of his charities for the forthcoming year - Ministry Aviation Fellowship, British Heart Foundation and British Liver Trust.

Mr Harrison in the chair.

 

 

2.

Appointment of vice-chairman

To appoint a vice-chairman of Council for the municipal year 2016/17.

 

 

Minutes:

 

 

Mrs Matelot was nominated as Vice-Chairman.

 

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

The chairman presented Mrs Matleot with the vice-chairman’s chain of office.

Mrs Matelot read out the oath of office, presented the escort’s badge to Mr Green, signed her declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.

 

3.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 131 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 14 April 2016 (attached).

 

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2016 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

 

4.

Declaration of disclosable pecuniary interest

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

Minutes:

None.

5.

Chairman's announcements

To receive any announcements from the chairman.

 

Minutes:

The chairman provided housekeeping information.

 

Council agreed to suspend council procedure rule 80 insofar as it requires councillors to stand when speaking at Council meetings.

 

6.

South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2032 - vision, objectives and housing supply target pdf icon PDF 276 KB

On 4 May 2016 John Cotton, Leader and Cabinet member for strategic policy (including the local plan) took a decision on the underlying vision and objectives and the proposed housing provision figures for the purposes of consultation. A copy of the decision notice is attached.

RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: that

(a) the plan period be amended to 2011 – 2032, to allow the Local Plan to operate for 15 years after the currently forecast adoption date, and the plan be retitled the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2032;

(b) the Vision and Objectives set out in Appendix A of the individual Cabinet member decision dated 4 May 2016 are endorsed for the purposes of consultation (Regulation 18) on the Preferred Options for the Local Plan 2032; and

(c) the target of 19,500 homes over the plan period 2011-32 and the proposed housing distribution as set out in paragraph 18 of the individual Cabinet member decision dated 4 May 2016 are endorsed for the purposes of the consultation (Regulation 18) on the Preferred Options for the Local Plan 2032. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In the absence of John Cotton, Leader of the council and Cabinet member for planning policy, Elizabeth Gillespie advised that John Cotton took a decision on 3 May 2016 to provide a working assumption on housing numbers and to clarify the direction, through the vision and objectives, of the emerging Local Plan 2032.  This decision would provide the basis for the next stage of public consultation on the emerging plan, known as the draft Preferred Options, which is scheduled for June 2016.

 

She drew councillors’ attention to a briefing note, circulated prior to the meeting and attached to these minutes, which explained changes to Appendix B and paragraph 18 of the background paper to the decision made by John Cotton, Cabinet member for planning policy.  These changes and the revised recommendation had been considered and agreed by John Cotton.

 

Council agreed to remove reference to Didcot as a market town in Appendix A.

 

Whilst the majority of councillors supported the revised recommendations a number expressed the view that they could not do so without details of the proposed major strategic housing allocation site for 3,500 houses referred to in Appendix B. A motion moved by David Turner and seconded by Margaret Davies, to refer the matter back to Cabinet for further consideration and inclusion of the proposed site in the document, on being put, was declared lost. 

 

 

RESOLVED: to

i)   retitle the council’s emerging Local Plan as Local Plan 2032;

ii)  endorse the vision and objectives set out at Appendix A of the report attached to the Council agenda for the meeting on 12 May 2016 subject to the deletion of references to Didcot as a market town; and

iii) endorse the housing supply target of 19,500 homes over the plan period 2011-2032 as set out in the revised Appendix B, and the distribution of housing as set out under revised paragraph 18 attached to the minutes of the Council meeting held on 12 May 2016.

 

7.

Appointments to committees, panels and joint committees for 2016/17 pdf icon PDF 115 KB

 

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services on the appointment to those committees required to be politically balanced together with the Licensing Acts Committee and joint committees and to authorise any consequential changes to the constitution(attached). 

 

 

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic services on the appointment of those committees and joint committees which are required to be politically balanced together with the Communities Capital Grant Scheme Panel, the Licensing Acts Committee and appointments to joint bodies.

RESOLVED: to

1.    appoint the following committees, joint committees and panels for the 2016/17 year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairmen as indicated to sit on them:

Names

Planning Committee, 11 Members

Conservative (9)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Joan Bland

Margaret Davies

Felix Bloomfield

(Chairman)

David Turner

Anthony Dearlove

 

Toby Newman

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Jeannette Matelot

 

Richard Pullen

 

Margaret Turner

 

Ian White

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (9)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Charles Bailey

Stefan Gawrysiak

Paul Harrison

 

Stephen Harrod

 

Lorraine Hillier

 

 Elaine Hornsby

 

 Sue Lawson

 

 Imran Lokhon

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

Names

Scrutiny Committee, 9 Members

Conservative (8)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Paul Harrison

David Turner

Elaine Hornsby

 

Sue Lawson

 

Jeannette Matelot

 

Richard Pullen (Chairman)

 

Toby Newman

 

John Walsh

 

Ian White

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (8)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Joan Bland

Margaret Davies

Steve Connel

Stefan Gawrysiak

 Pat Dawe

 

 Imran Lokhon

 

 Anthony Nash

 

 David Nimmo-Smith

 

 Bill Service

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

Names

Joint Scrutiny Committee, 5 Members

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

David Dodds

 

Richard Pullen (Co-Chairman)

 

Toby Newman

 

John Walsh

 

Ian White

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

Pat Dawe

 

Sue Lawson

 

Jeannette Matelot

 

Bill Service

 

Alan Thompson

 

 

 


 

Names

Corporate Services Joint Scrutiny Committee, 2 Members

Conservative (1)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

VACANCY

Stefan Gawrysiak

SUBSTITUTES: All other councillors from the relevant political group.

 

Names

Joint Audit and Governance Committee, 4 Members

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (0))

Charles Bailey

 

Kevin Bulmer (Co-Chairman)

 

Alan Thompson

 

John Walsh

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

David Dodds

 

Paul Harrison

 

Toby Newman

 

Richard Pullen

 

 

 

Names

Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee, 6 Members

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Anthony Dearlove

Margaret Davies

Paul Harrison

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Bill Service

 

Vacancy

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Charles Bailey

Stefan Gawrysiak

Felix Bloomfield

David Turner

Elaine Hornsby

 

Toby Newman

 

John Walsh

 

 

 

Names

 Joint Staff Committee, 3 Members

Conservative (3)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

John Cotton

 

Lynn Lloyd

 

Anthony Nash

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative

Opposition Forum Group (0)

The Leader may be substituted by another Cabinet member.  Other members of the Committee may be substituted by any member of that Council’s political group (executive or non-executive).

 

 

 

 


Names

General Licensing Committee, 12 Members

Conservative (11)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Joan Bland

Stefan Gawrysiak

Kevin Bulmer

 

Nigel Champken-Woods

 

Pat Dawe

 

David Dodds (Chairman)

 

Lorraine Hillier

 

Sue Lawson

 

Anthony Nash

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Bill Service

 

Ian White

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (10)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Toby Newman

Margaret Davies

Vacancy

David Turner

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

 

 

Names

Licensing Acts Committee, 12 Members

Conservative (11)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Joan Bland

Stefan Gawrysiak

Kevin Bulmer

 

Nigel Champken-Woods

 

Pat Dawe

 

David Dodds (Chairman)

 

Lorraine Hillier

 

Sue Lawson

 

Anthony Nash

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Bill Service

 

Ian White

 

 


Names

 Appeals Panel (NNDR and Housing), 5 Members

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 - proposal to appoint a joint Independent Remuneration Panel pdf icon PDF 106 KB

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic services (attached).

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic services on a proposal to appoint a joint independent remuneration panel.

 

RESOLVED: to:

1.         dissolve the existing independent remuneration panel with effect from the appointment of a joint independent remuneration panel;

2.         appoint a joint independent remuneration panel with Vale of White Horse District Council to carry out reviews of the councillors’ allowances schemes at both councils and make recommendations on any changes to the schemes to the relevant Council;

3.         make the appointment of the joint independent remuneration panel effective until May 2020, one year after the 2019 district council elections; 

4.         authorise the head of legal and democratic services to make appointments to the joint independent remuneration panel, and advise councillors in due course of the outcome of the appointments process. 

 

9.

Appointment of chief executive pdf icon PDF 130 KB

To consider the report of the head of HR, IT & technical services on the appointment of a chief executive and head of paid service (attached).

 

The Joint Staff Committee will meet on 10 May 2016 to consider the appointment of a chief executive. The recommendations of the committee will be reported at the Council meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of HR, IT and technical services and the recommendation of the joint Staff Committee on the appointment of a chief executive.

 

Lynn Lloyd, Chairman of the Joint Staff Committee, advised that 25 applications were received for the post of chief executive. Eight of these were selected for initial interviews with council leaders and four were then shortlisted for final interview. The final assessment took place on Tuesday 10 May with candidates seeing three different panels in the morning and having their final interviews in the afternoon. All four candidates gave a strong performance and the Joint Staff Committee reached a unanimous conclusion to offer the position to David Hill.

 

She thanked Andrew Down, Head of HR, IT and technical services, and Penna (HR consultants) for their work during the recruitment process.

 

RESOLVED: to

1.         appoint David Hill shared chief executive of South Oxfordshire District Council and Vale of White Horse District Council on a salary of £140,000 per annum;

2.         agree that the chief executive will be employed by South Oxfordshire District Council and placed at the disposal of Vale of White Horse District Council in accordance with the existing agreement between the two councils under section 113 of the Local Government Act 1972;

3.         appoint the chief executive as each council’s head of paid service with effect from the commencement of his employment;

4.         authorise the head of HR, IT & technical services to finalise the terms and conditions of the contract of employment of the chief executive in accordance with the recommendations of the Joint Staff Committee;

5.         authorise the head of HR, IT & technical services to make any necessary amendments to the councils’ published pay policy statement arising from the agreed terms and conditions of appointment of the chief executive.

 

10.

Appointment of independent person to advise on code of conduct complaints

The Localism Act created a category of independent person who the monitoring officer consults at various stages of the process when dealing with allegations of misconduct by councillors. There must be at least one independent person.

In order to provide flexibility, cover and to avoid potential conflicts of interest, the council has two people appointed to this role.

Following the resignation of Carole Burchett, officers have taken steps to appoint another person to fill the role and have duly advertised the post, in consultation with Jane Murphy, the Cabinet member for Legal and Democratic Services. The only applicant was Chris Smith. He is currently an Independent Person at Vale of White Horse District Council.

The monitoring officer recommends that Council appoints Chris Smith, as an Independent Person, until 30 September 2019; and also that Council authorises the monitoring officer, in consultation with the Cabinet member for Legal and Democratic Services, to confirm the appointment subject to receipt of satisfactory references. (This is a voluntary role and attracts no remuneration other than expenses.)

 

Minutes:

Council considered the recommendation of the monitoring officer to appoint a person to fill the role of independent person following the resignation of Carole Burchett. The only applicant was Chris Smith, currently an Independent Person at Vale of White Horse District Council.

RESOLVED: to

1.         appoint Chris Smith, as an Independent Person, until 30 September 2019;

2.         authorise the monitoring officer, in consultation with the Cabinet member for Legal and Democratic Services, to confirm the appointment subject to receipt of satisfactory references.

 

11.

Report of the leader of council

To receive any updates from the Leader of the council.

 

 

Minutes:

In the absence of the Leader of the council Jane Murphy, Deputy Leader, welcomed the appointment of the new chief executive and the potential savings arising from the anticipated management restructure.

12.

Questions under Council procedure rule 34

None.

Minutes:

None.

13.

Motions under Council procedure rule 41

None.

Minutes:

None.

14.

Application for voluntary redundancy

The Joint Staff Committee will meet on 10 May 2016 to consider the report of the chief executive on a request for voluntary redundancy. The recommendation of the committee will be reported at the Council meeting.

 

Minutes:

Council considered the confidential report of the chief executive on a request for voluntary redundancy.  The report and recommendation of the Joint Staff Committee were circulated to all councillors on 11 May. 

 

Lynn Lloyd, Chairman of the Joint Staff Committee, advised that in light of plans to implement a slimmer and flatter management structure and in the expectation that the role of strategic director is highly unlikely to remain in the revised structure, Anna Robinson had asked that she be made redundant as of 30 September. As required by the council’s officer employment procedure rules, all Cabinet members had been consulted about the recommendation. No objection was received. Vale of White Horse District Council had agreed the request at its annual meeting of Council on 11 May 2016.

 

At the request of the chairman Council formally put on record its thanks to Anna Robinson for her hard work over the last 11 years and wished her well for the future.  She had made an important contribution to South Oxfordshire in her time with the council, particularly in promoting economic growth and securing significant funds to assist in the regeneration of Didcot.

 

RESOLVED:

To agree to the voluntary redundancy of Anna Robinson effective from 30 September 2016.

 

 

Contact us - Democratic services

Phone icon

01235 422520
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)

Address icon

South Oxfordshire District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon
OX14 3JE