Minutes of the annual meeting of the Council |
held on Wednesday 17 May 2023at 7.00 pm
at The Ridgeway, The Beacon, Portway, Wantage, OX12 9BX
Present: |
Councillors: Paul Barrow, Ron Batstone, Kiera Bentley, Cheryl Briggs, Sue Caul, Robert Clegg, Mark Coleman, Andy Cooke, James Cox, Andy Crawford, Eric de la Harpe, Debra Dewhurst, Amos Duveen, Lucy Edwards, Neil Fawcett, Oliver Forder, Andy Foulsham, Katherine Foxhall, Hayleigh Gascoigne, Debby Hallett, Jenny Hannaby, Scott Houghton, Sarah James, Diana Lugova, Robert Maddison, Patrick O'Leary, Viral Patel, Helen Pighills, Mike Pighills, Sally Povolotsky, Jill Rayner, Judy Roberts, Val Shaw, Andrew Skinner, Emily Smith, Bethia Thomas and Max Thompson |
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Officers: Officers: Patrick Arran, Head of Legal & Democratic and Monitoring Officer, Emily Barry, Democratic Services Officer, Steven Corrigan, Democratic Services Manager, and Mark Stone, Chief Executive
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1. Apologies for absence
An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Webber.
2. Election of Chair
Margaret Crick in the Chair for item 1, as the current Chair of council, to preside over the election of the Chair for the 2023/24 municipal year.
Margaret Crick thanked officers and councillors for their support during her time as Chair of council for the past four years and highlighted some of the events she had attended. Councillors Briggs and Thomas made statements in support of Margaret Crick’s role of Chair of the council.
Councillor Povolotsky was nominated as chair for the 2023/24 municipal year. Councillor Thomas as proposer and Councillor Cooke as seconder spoke in support of the nomination.
RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Povolotsky as Chair of the council for the 2023/24 municipal year, until the next annual meeting of the Council in May 2024.
Margaret Crick presented Councillor Povolotsky with the chain of office.
Councillor Povolotsky signed her declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech thanking those councillors who had either stood down or were not re-elected at the May election for their service to the council.
Councillor Povolotsky presented Margaret Crick with the past chair’s badge.
Councillor Povolotsky in the chair.
3. Appointment of Vice-Chair
Councillor Bentley was nominated as vice-chair for the 2023/24 municipal year.
Councillor Thomas as proposer and Councillor Cooke as seconder spoke in support of the nomination.
RESOLVED: to appoint Councillor Bentley as Vice-Chair of the council for the 2023/24 municipal year, until the next annual meeting of the Council in May 2024.
Councillor Bentley signed her declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.
4. Minutes
RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15 February 2023 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign them as such.
5. Declarations of interest
None.
6. Urgent business and chair's announcements
There were no items of urgent business.
Councillor Povolotsky advised that she would not designate any Chair’s charities for the forthcoming year. However, she would, with the assistance of the Vice-Chair, generate funds via a number of Chair’s charitable events towards a chair’s community fund from which local charities could bid for funds.
7. Appointment to committees, panels and joint committees for 2023/24
Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic on the appointment of those committees and joint committees which are required to be politically balanced; together with the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, Licensing Acts Committee, the area committees and appointments to joint bodies.
The chair referred to the following recommendation, circulated at the meeting, covering these appointments and to reflect the allocation of the vacant committee position:
That for the 2023/24 municipal year Council
1. appoints the committees and panels for the 2023/24 year and allocate seats to each political group as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
2. appoints councillors and substitutes to sit on the committees and panels as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting:
3. appoints councillors to the Licensing Acts Committee as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
4. appoints councillors to the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
5. appoints chairs and vice-chairs as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
6. appoints all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees to those committees for the 2023/24 municipal year – Abingdon and North East, Faringdon and Wantage;
7. appoints Paul Barrow as the council’s representative and Diana Lugova as substitute on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
8. appoints Neil Fawcett as the council’s representative and Helen Pighills as substitute on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;
9. appoints Emily Smith, Judy Roberts and Andy Cooke to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel;
10. authorises the head of legal and democratic to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel seat and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader.
RESOLVED:
That for the 2023/24 municipal year to:
1. appoint the following committees and panels for the 2023/24 municipal year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairs and vice-chairs as indicated to sit on them (see table below);
Planning Committee, 9 Members |
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Green (1) |
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Ron Batstone |
Cheryl Briggs |
Jenny Hannaby |
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Diana Lugova |
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Rob Maddison |
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Mike Pighills |
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Jill Rayner |
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Val Shaw (Vice-Chair) |
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Max Thompson (Chair) |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (8) |
Green (3) |
Paul Barrow |
Katherine Foxhall |
Robert Clegg |
Sarah James |
Andy Cooke |
Viral Patel |
Lucy Edwards |
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Oliver Forder |
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Hayleigh Gascoigne |
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Scott Houghton |
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Emily Smith |
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Green (1) |
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Ron Batstone |
Katherine Foxhall (Chair) |
James Cox |
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Amos Duveen |
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Oliver Forder |
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Hayleigh Gascoigne |
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Rob Maddison |
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Sally Povolotsky |
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Judy Roberts (Vice-Chair) |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (8) |
Green (3) |
Paul Barrow |
Viral Patel |
Kiera Bentley |
Sarah James |
Eric de la Harpe |
Cheryl Briggs |
Lucy Edwards |
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Diana Lugova |
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Emily Smith |
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Max Thompson |
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Joint Scrutiny Committee, 5 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (4) |
Green (1) |
Andy Cooke |
Katherine Foxhall (Co-Chair) |
Lucy Edwards |
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Judy Roberts |
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Andrew Skinner |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (4) |
Green (3) |
Kiera Bentley |
Sarah James |
Diana Lugova |
Viral Patel |
Patrick O’Leary |
Cheryl Briggs |
Max Thompson |
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Joint Audit and Governance Committee, 4 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (4) |
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Oliver Forder |
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Judy Roberts |
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Andrew Skinner |
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Emily Smith (Co-Chair) |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (4) |
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Andy Cooke |
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Eric de la Harpe |
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Jenny Hannaby |
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Mike Pighills |
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Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee, 6 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (5) |
Green (1) |
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Sally Povolotsky |
Cheryl Briggs |
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Diana Lugova (Vice-Chair) |
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Oliver Forder (Chair) |
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Eric de la Harpe |
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Max Thompson |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (5) |
Green (3) |
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Ron Batstone |
Katherine Foxhall |
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Scott Houghton |
Sarah James |
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Rob Maddison |
Viral Patel |
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Patrick O’Leary |
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Mike Pighills |
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Joint Staff Committee, 5 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (4) |
Green (1) |
Sue Caul |
Viral Patel |
Neil Fawcett |
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Debby Hallett |
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Bethia Thomas |
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Substitutes |
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The Leader may be substituted by another Cabinet member. Other members of the committee may be substituted by any other member of the council. |
General Licensing Committee, 12 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (11) |
Green (1) |
Paul Barrow |
Cheryl Briggs |
Ron Batstone (Chair) |
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Kiera Bentley |
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Oliver Forder |
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Jenny Hannaby |
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Diana Lugova |
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Patrick O’Leary (Vice-Chair) |
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Judy Roberts |
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Val Shaw |
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Andrew Skinner |
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Richard Webber |
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NO SUBSTITUTES |
Licensing Acts Committee, 12 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (11) |
Green (1) |
Paul Barrow |
Cheryl Briggs |
Ron Batstone (Chair) |
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Kiera Bentley |
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Oliver Forder |
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Jenny Hannaby |
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Diana Lugova |
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Patrick O’Leary (Vice-Chair) |
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Judy Roberts |
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Val Shaw |
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Andrew Skinner |
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Richard Webber |
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NO SUBSTITUTES |
Appeals Panel, 3 Members |
Liberal Democrat (3) |
Paul Barrow |
Rob Clegg (Chair) |
Jill Rayner |
PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES |
Liberal Democrat (3) |
Debby Hallett |
Val Shaw |
Richard Webber |
Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, 7 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (6) |
Green (1) |
Robert Clegg |
Sarah James |
James Cox |
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Eric de la Harpe (Vice Chair) |
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Hayleigh Gascoigne (Chair) |
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Scott Houghton |
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Sally Povolotsky |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (6) |
Green (3) |
Ron Batstone |
Cheryl Briggs |
Amos Duveen |
Katherine Foxhall |
Lucy Edwards |
Viral Patel |
Rob Maddison |
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Mike Pighills |
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Jill Rayner |
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2. appoint all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees to those committees for the 2023/24 municipal year – Abingdon and North East, Faringdon and Wantage;
3. appoint Paul Barrow as the council’s representative and Diana Lugova as substitute on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
4. appoint Neil Fawcett as the council’s representative and Helen Pighills as substitute on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;
5. appoint Emily Smith, Judy Roberts and Andy Cooke to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel;
6. authorise the head of legal and democratic to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel seat and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader.
8. Election of leader of the council
RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Thomas as leader of the council for a four-year period ending on the day of the next post-election annual meeting in 2027.
Councillor Thomas invited each of the Cabinet members to introduce themselves and give details of their portfolios as set out below:
Councillor Fawcett: Deputy Council Leader and strategic partnerships and place
Councillor Caul: Affordable housing, development and infrastructure
Councillor Coleman: Environmental services and waste
Councillor Crawford: Finance and property
Councillor Dewhurst: Leisure centres and community buildings
Councillor Foulsham: Planning and development management
Councillor Hallett: Corporate services, governance, policy and transformation
Councillor Helen Pighills: Community health and wellbeing
9. Allowances for Independent Persons
Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic covering the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel on the payment of an allowance to the Independent Person on the Joint Audit and Governance Committee and those Independent Persons who assist the monitoring officer with code of conduct matters.
RESOLVED: to
1. agree that an allowance of £1,768 per annum be paid to the independent member of the Joint Audit and Governance Committee with effect from the date of the appointment, the cost shared equally with Vale of White Horse District Council;
2. agree that an allowance of £583 per annum be paid to each independent person appointed by the head of legal and democratic to assist in dealing with code of conduct matters, the cost shared equally with Vale of White Horse District Council, and to be backdated to 1 April 2023;
3. agree that the allowances above be subject to annual increases in line with the increase in allowances paid to councillors; and
4. authorise the head of legal and democratic to update the councillors’ allowances scheme to make reference to the allowances to independent persons set out above.
The meeting closed at 7:45pm |
Chair: Date: