Meeting documents

            Meeting: County Council (County Hall, Durham - Council Chamber - 06/02/2008 10:00:00 AM)

                  Item: A1 Minutes

         

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At a meeting of the County Council held at the County Hall, Durham on Wednesday 6 February 2008 at 10.00 a.m.

Present

Councillors Armstrong, Barker, Bell, Burlison, C Carr, R Carr, Chaplow, Chapman, Coates, Cox, Davies, Douthwaite, Ebbatson, Fergus, Forster, Foster NC, Freeman, Hodgson, Holroyd, Lethbridge, Maddison, Magee, Manton, Marshall, Martin, Morgan, Myers, Nicholls, Nugent, O’Donnell, Ord, Pendlebury, Porter, Pye, Robson, Shuttleworth, Southwell, Stelling, Stradling, Tennant, Walker and Williams.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bowman, Carroll, Iveson, Meir, Robinson, Simmons, Vasey, Wade, Wright and Young.

A1 Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 November 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

A2. Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest from Members in relation to the business on the agenda.

A3. Chairman’s Announcements

(a) Bearpark, Framwellgate Moor and Witton Gilbert Primary Schools

The Chairman extended a warm welcome to the children from Bearpark, Framwellgate Moor and Witton Gilbert primary schools who were attending the meeting as part of the County Council’s Local Democracy Programme.

(b) Cassop Primary School

The Chairman also extended a warm welcome to the Headteacher and children from Cassop Primary School who were attending the meeting to present on their achievements for receiving the Department for Children, Schools and Families award for the most sustainable school.

(c) New Year Honours

The Chairman reported that Dr Michael Grainger, Headteacher of Green Lane Church of England School, Barnard Castle had been awarded an OBE for services to Education and Mr Norman Cornish, who painted the mural to coincide with the opening of County Hall in 1962, had been awarded the MBE for services to Art in the North East.

Resolved:
That the Council place on record its congratulations to Dr Grainger and Mr Cornish.

(d) Adult Placement Service

The Chairman also reported that Durham’s Adult Placement Scheme had retained their Chartermark award for customer service excellence following a recent assessment.

Resolved:
That the Council place on record its congratulations to all staff concerned in retaining the Chartermark award.

(e) Alan Richards

Finally, the Chairman reported that Alan Richards, Head of Scientific Services had been presented with two awards following his recent visit to China and Hong Kong where he provided the Chinese Government with advice on food enforcement methods in the UK.

Resolved:
That the Council place on record its congratulations to Alan and his Service on these achievements.

A4. Local Government Reorganisation in County Durham - Transitional Arrangements

The Council considered a report of the Acting Director of Corporate Services proposing additions to the County Council’s executive arrangements and joint overview and scrutiny arrangements during the transitional period of the Local Government Review process (for copy see file of Minutes).
It was Moved by Councillor Lethbridge, Seconded by Cllr Douthwaite and

Resolved:
1. That subject to the implementation of the Durham (Structural Change) Order, the Council amend its executive arrangements and establish an Implementation Executive with the following County Council members:

2. That each District / Borough Council be invited to nominate one member to serve on the Implementation Executive.

3. That a Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee be established consisting of 18 members including the Chair and Vice-Chair of Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Chair of each of its Sub-Committees, the Chair or Lead Member for Overview and Scrutiny from each District / Borough Council together with Councillors Bell, Martin and Shuttleworth from the County Council’s Minority Groups.

A5. Electoral Issues

The Council noted a report from the Acting Director of Corporate Services advising on recent developments in the Government’s Electoral Modernisation Programme. This included the new powers given to local authorities following the introduction of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, most notably the powers given to district councils and unitary county councils to undertake community governance reviews for which guidance would be issued to local authorities in due course (for copy see file of Minutes).

Members would be kept appraised of developments in all of the relevant areas as they emerged.

A6. Chairman of Audit Committee - Confirmation of Appointment

The Acting Director of Corporate Services reported that Councillor Young had been unable to take up his position as Chairman of the Audit Committee due to other time constraints. In accordance with the Constitution and in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council, Councillor Pye had been appointed as Chairman in readiness for the inaugural meeting of the Committee.

Resolved:
The Council endorsed the action taken.

A7. Presentation of Awards

The Council celebrated the achievement of the following awards and the relevant Cabinet Members made presentations to representative groups of staff:-

(a) The Highways Magazine - Passive Safety Award

(b) The Traveller Achievement Service

(c) Cassop Primary School

(for further background to the awards see file of Minutes).

Resolved:
That the Council place on record its congratulations and appreciation to everyone concerned for their efforts and achievements.

A7 Questions from Members

There were no questions received from Members for the meeting.

A8 Questions received from the Public

Three questions had been received from two members of the public, briefly summarised as follows:-

· The choice of date for the ‘Do it Different Day’
· The route of the proposed Durham City Northern Relief Road
· The evaluation process of the fish oil initiative in County Durham schools

Responses were then provided to the questions by the relevant Cabinet Member. (NB detailed written responses were subsequently provided to each questioner and published on the Council’s website).

On behalf of the Council, the Chairman thanked the members of the public for taking the time and effort to submit their questions.


 Minutes 06.02.08.pdf