Meeting: County Council (County Hall, Durham - Council Chamber - 23/05/2008 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A4 Minutes
At the Annual Meeting of the County Council held at the County Hall, Durham on Friday 23 May 2008 at 10.00 a.m.
Present:
Councillor E Hunter in the Chair.
Councillors Alderson, Armstrong, Avery, Bailey, A Bainbridge, B Bainbridge, Barnett, A Bell, E Bell, R Bell, Bleasdale, Boyes, Bowman, Brown, Brunskill, Burn, Burnip, Carr, Charlton, Chaplow, Cordon, Crooks, Davidson, Docherty, Farry, Fergus, Foster, Freeman, Graham, Gray, Gittins, Hancock, Harrison, Henig, Hodgson, Holland, Holroyd, Hopgood, Hovvels, Hugill, E Hunter, J Hunter, G Huntington, Iveson, Johnson, Jopling, Laing, Lee, Lethbridge, Liddle, Maddison, C Marshall, D Marshall, L Marshall, Magee, Martin, Mavin, P May, Moran, Morgan, Murphy, B Myers, D Myers, Napier, Naylor, Nicholls, Nicholson, O’Donnell, B Ord, R Ord, Paylor, Plews, C Potts, M Potts, G Richardson, S Robinson, Robson, Rodgers, Savory, Shiell, Shuttleworth, Simmons, Sloan, Southwell, Stelling, Stephens, P Taylor, Temple, Thompson, Thomson, Todd, Tomlinson, Vasey, Walker, Wilkes, Wilkinson, Williams, Willis, B Wilson, J Wilson, M Wood, Woods, Wright, Yorke, B Young, R Young and Zair.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stoker, Stradling and
T Taylor.
A1 Election of Chairman
Moved by Councillor D Marshall, Seconded by Councillor Armstrong and
Resolved:
That Councillor O’Donnell be elected Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.
Councillor O’Donnell subscribed the Statutory Declaration accepting the Office.
Councillor E Hunter vacated the Chair.
Councillor O’Donnell in the Chair
A2 Presentation to Retiring Chairman The Chairman paid tribute to the great dignity and warmth Councillor Hunter had brought to the Office of Chairman of the County Council and the exemplary manner in which she had carried out her duties which had enhanced the County Council’s reputation in many countries and in many walks of life.
The Chairman then presented a Past Chairman’s Badge to Councillor Hunter, incorporating the Council’s Coat of Arms, as a token of the Council’s appreciation of her services during her period of Office.
The Chairman also presented Councillor Hunter with the Chairman’s Medal in recognition of her personal achievements.
Further tributes to Councillor Hunter’s excellent ambassadorial service as Chairman of the Council and her 11 years service to local government were given by Councillor Henig (Leader of the Labour Group), Councillor Martin (Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group), Councillor Shuttleworth (Co-ordinator for the Durham County Council Independent Group), Councillor W Stelling (Co-ordinator for the Durham Independent Group) and Councillor Mrs Fergus (Leader of the Conservative Group).
In response, Councillor Hunter thanked the Council for the presentations and expressed her appreciation to all those who had supported and assisted her during her Term of Office.
It was Resolved Unanimously: That the Council place on record its appreciation of the valuable services rendered by Councillor Hunter during her periods of office as a Member of the Authority and as Chairman of the Council.
A3. Election of Vice-Chairman Moved by Councillor Shuttleworth,
Seconded by Councillor D Marshall and
Resolved: That Councillor B Myers be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.
Councillor B Myers subscribed the Statutory Declaration accepting the Office.
A4. Minutes The Minutes of the meetings held on 6 and 26 February were confirmed by the Council and signed as a correct record by the Chairman.
A5. Declaration of Interest Councillor Docherty declared an personal interest in relation to Item 13 (Local Area Agreement).
A6. Election Return The following Statement of the County Returning Officer showing the names of the persons elected at the Elections on 1 May 2008 was received.
A7. Chairman’s Announcements (a) New Members The Chairman welcomed the Members who had been elected for the first time on 1 May 2008 and wished them a successful and enjoyable period of Office.
(b) Former Members The Chairman also paid tribute to those former Members who either retired or were unsuccessful at the Elections.
Resolved: That the Council place on record its appreciation of the valuable services of the 27 former Members who either retired or were unsuccessful at the Elections on 1 May 2008 and its best wishes for the future be sent to them.
A8. Interim Constitution The Council considered a report from the Acting Director of Corporate Services which presented proposals for revision of the County Council’s Constitution. This would enable the Council to perform effectively in the transition period.
A complete revision would be required for Vesting Day in April 2009 to reflect the new governance arrangements for the Unitary Authority as well as a new organisational structure and service responsibilities (for report see file of Minutes).
Moved by Councillor Henig and
Seconded by Councillor Robson and
Resolved:- (i) That the Interim Constitution be approved.
(ii) That the Acting Director of Corporate Services be authorised to make future changes to reflect decisions of the Council or a Council Body or to comply with legal requirements.
A9. Appointment of Leader and Deputy Leader and Other Cabinet Members Moved by Councillor D Marshall,
Seconded by Councillor J Brown and
Resolved: 1. That Councillor Henig be appointed Leader of the Council and Councillor Robson be appointed Deputy Leader.
2. That the following eight Members be appointed to form a Cabinet with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council:
Councillors Foster, Hodgson, Hovvels, E Huntington, Nicholls, Stephens, Vasey and B Young.
An
Amendment was
Moved by Councillor Temple and
Seconded by Councillor Simmons that each appointment be voted on separately.
On a vote being taken, the
Amendment was
Lost.
A further Amendment was
Moved by Councillor Temple and
Seconded by Councillor Simmons:
That Councillor Martin be appointed Leader of the Council and Councillor Stelling be appointed Deputy Leader and the following eight Members be appointed to form a Cabinet with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council:
Councillors N Harrison, Hopgood, G Huntington, B Ord, Southwell, Wilkes, Woods and Zair.
On a vote being taken the
Amendment was
lost. On a further vote being taken the Motion was
Carried.
Resolved: 1. That Councillor Henig be appointed Leader of the Council and Councillor Robson be appointed Deputy Leader.
2. That the following eight Members be appointed to form a Cabinet with the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council:
Councillors Foster, Hodgson, Hovvels, E Huntington, Nicholls, Stephens, Vasey and B Young.
Councillor Henig expressed his appreciation and thanks to Councillor Nugent for all of his work and effort during his time as Leader of the Council and also acknowledged the work of the Implementation Executive during the first transitional phase.
A10. Appointment of Council Bodies and Allocation of Seats to Political Groups under Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 The Council considered a report from the Acting Director of Corporate Services dealing with the apportionment of Committees and the Corporate Parenting Panel and the determination of allocations amongst political groups represented on the Council of seats on such Committees under the provisions of Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (for report see file of Minutes).
Moved by Councillor Henig,
Seconded by Councillor Robson and
Resolved: 1. That the Council formally appoint the following Committees in accordance with the Constitution and the terms of reference set out therein and determines the number of seats on such Committees to each political group (please refer to pdf attachment)
2. That the Acting Director of Corporate Services be authorised :-
(a) to determine any adjustments to be made to individual Committee allocations in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 in consultation with the relevant Group Leader
(b) to allocate seats to political groups in respect of any Sub-Committee which may be established from time to time, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and
3. That the Council appoint the Corporate Parenting Panel with the allocation of seats outlined in the report and with the terms of reference set out in the Constitution and that such seats be filled in accordance with the wishes of the relevant political group.
A11. Appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees Moved by Councillor D Marshall,
Seconded by Councillor Williams,
That the following Members be appointed as Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Committee’s shown, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution:
| (A) Non-Executive/Regulatory Committees | Chairman | Vice-Chairman |
| (i) Audit | Cllr E Bell | Cllr Temple |
| (ii) Appeals and Complaints | Cllr Bleasdale | Cllr Cordon |
| (iii) Chief Officer Appointments | Cllr Henig | Cllr Robson |
| (iv) Highways | Cllr Morgan | Cllr Magee |
| (v) Human Resources | Cllr J Brown | Cllr Iveson |
| (vi) Licensing, Registration and General Purposes | Cllr Carr | Cllr L Marshall |
| (vii) Planning | Cllr Rodgers | Cllr Davidson |
| (b) Standards | Mr E Marchant | Cllr Shiell |
| (c) Pension Fund | Cllr A H Turner | Cllr Martin |
| (d) Corporate Parenting Panel | Cllr Bowman | Cllr Plews |
(B) Overview and Scrutiny Committees | (i) Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee | Cllr Armstrong | Cllr Stradling |
| (ii) Promoting Strong Healthy and Safe Communities Scrutiny Committee | Cllr Boyes | Cllr Maddison |
| (iii) Building a Strong Economy Scrutiny Committee | Cllr Moran | Cllr Arthur |
| (iv) Looking After the Environment Scrutiny Committee | Cllr D Myers | Cllr Tennant |
| (v) Developing Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee | Cllr Blakey | Cllr C Potts |
| (vi) Corporate Management Scrutiny Committee | Cllr Avery | Cllr Murphy |
| (vii) Health Scrutiny Committee | Cllr Chaplow | Cllr Burnip |
An
Amendment was
Moved by Councilllor Temple and Seconded by Councillor Simmons that each appointment be voted-on separately.
On a vote being take the Amendment was
Lost Resolved: That the Motion be approved.
A12. Appointments to Joint and Other Bodies 2008/2009 The Council considered a report from the Acting Director of Corporate Services which set out those Joint Bodies requiring seats to be allocated in accordance to political proportionality and together with those other bodies and local authority associations where both Majority and Minority Parties traditionally had representation (for report see file of Minutes)
An amendment to the Appendix of the report was circulated at the meeting in relation to additional seats on the Joint Committee for the North of England Open Air Museum.
It was
Moved by Councillor Cordon,
Seconded by Councillor Williams and
Resolved: 1. That the allocation of seats on the joint bodies detailed in Section 1 of the Appendix as amended be agreed and that the Liberal Democrat Group be allocated the remaining seat on the Fire and Rescue Authority.
2. That the memberships of the other bodies and local authority associations for 2008/09 as set out in Section 2 of the Appendix be agreed.
3. That the Chief Executive and Acting Director of Corporate Services be authorised to make appointments to other outside bodies to which the Council are invited to nominate as well as any subsequent changes to memberships of main outside bodies which may become necessary during the course of 2008/09, in consultation with the appropriate Group Leader(s).
A13. Corporate Plan 2008/09 The Council considered a report from the Acting Chief Executive presenting the Corporate Plan for 2008/09 which set out the Council’s priorities for improvement during the transitional year between two-tier and unitary status (for report see file of Minutes).
Moved by Councillor Henig,
Seconded by Councillor Robson and
Resolved: That the Council’s Corporate Plan 2008/09 be approved.
A14. Local Area Agreement The Council considered a report from the Acting Chief Executive presenting the Local Area Agreement (LAA) for County Durham for the period 2008 to 2011 (for report see file of Minutes).
Councillor Henig commented that it was unfortunate that the timescale for submission of the LAA to Government Office North East in May and subsequent sign off by Ministers in June left no scope for scrutiny by the newly elected Members of the Council. Councillors Martin and Woods echoed similar concerns. However, it was hoped that appropriate scrutiny could be achieved prior to its review in November.
Moved by Councillor Henig,
Seconded by Councillor Robson and
Resolved: That the Local Area Agreement and ‘Story of Place’ be agreed for submission to Ministers in order to comply with statutory requirements.
A15. Overview and Scrutiny Year End Report 2007/08 The Council considered a report of the Head of Overview and Scrutiny which provided Members with details of the work undertaken by Overview and Scrutiny in 2007/2008 (for copy report see file of Minutes). Councillor Armstrong praised the varied work undertaken by Non-Executive Members and placed on record his personal thanks to those members who had not returned in the recent elections as well as all relevant staff for their continued efforts.
Moved by Councillor Armstrong,
Seconded by Councillor Wright
Resolved: That the report be noted and the Council place on record its appreciation of the progress and efforts made.
A16. Dates of Ordinary Council Meetings 2008/09 Resolved: That the dates of Ordinary meetings of the County Council for 2008/09 be as follows:
Wednesday 6 August 2008
Wednesday 5 November 2008
Wednesday 4 February 2009
Wednesday 6 May 2009 (Annual)
Attachments
Minutes 23.05.08.pdf