Agenda and minutes

Reverend SokHaan Yong of St Helen’s Church, Abingdon offered prayers.

To elect a chairman of Council for the municipal year 2011/12. 

RESOLVED:  to appoint Councillor Alison Thomson as Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

Beth Fleming presented Councillor Alison Thomson with the chain of office. 

Councillor Alison Thomson read out the oath of office, signed her declaration of acceptance of office, presented Beth Fleming with the past Chairman’s badge and made an acceptance speech.

Beth Fleming reviewed her time as Chair of the Council and thanked councillors, her family and Mark Hewer for their support.

Councillor Alison Thomson in the chair.

To elect a vice-chairman of Council for the municipal year 2011/12. 

RESOLVED:  to appoint Councillor Sue Marchant as Vice-Chairman of the council for the ensuing year.

The Chairman presented Councillor Sue Marchant with the Vice-Chairman’s chain of office.

Councillor Sue Marchant read out the oath of office, signed her declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of councillors Andrew Crawford and Jane Hanna

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 23 February 2011 (previously published). 

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2011.

To receive any declarations of personal or personal and prejudicial interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting. 

None.

To receive notification of any matters which the chair determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chair.

The Chairman advised Council that her chosen charities for her year of office are Help for Heroes and South and Vale Carers.

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Any non exempt urgent business will be considered at this point in the meeting. 

None.

To receive petitions from members of the council under standing order 13 (if any).

None.

To elect a Leader of Council, in accordance with the council’s new executive arrangements agreed at the special council meeting on 8 December 2010, for a four year period ending on the day of the next post election annual meeting.

The Leader of Council will report on:

• The appointment of the Deputy leader of Council
• The membership of the cabinet and the allocation of portfolios

RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Matthew Barber as leader of Council for a four year period ending on the day of the next post election annual meeting.

Councillor Matthew Barber appointed Councillor Roger Cox as the deputy leader of Council and Councillors Yvonne Constance, Reg Waite and Elaine Ware as Cabinet members with portfolios as follows:

Councillor Matthew Barber    -    Leader, Corporate Strategy, Finance
Councillor Roger Cox    -    Deputy Leader, Planning and Housing
Councillor Yvonne Constance    -    Legal and Democratic, HR, IT & Customer Services
Councillor Reg Waite    -    Commercial Services
Councillor Elaine Ware    -    Economy and Leisure and Property.

Councillor Matthew Barber advised Council that he would make appointments to the following executive joint committees shortly and did not propose any changes to the current executive scheme of delegation as set out in the council’s constitution:

Oxfordshire Waste Partnership

Oxfordshire Supporting People

Ridgeway Shared Service Partnership Strategic Board

Joint Senior Management Board to be renamed the Joint Cabinet Board

To consider report x/11 of the head of legal and democratic services (to follow). 

The Council is asked to agree the terms of reference of the Council’s committees, appoint councillors to be committee members, substitutes, chairman and vice-chairman, and appoint councillors to outside bodies.  A separately stapled paper entitled ‘membership of meetings and representatives on outside bodies’ will be circulated at the Council meeting.  This document will set out the detailed proposals. 

Council considered report no 1/11 of the head of legal and democratic services on the appointment of those committees required to be politically balanced together with the Licensing Acts Committee and the Standards Committee.

RESOLVED to:

8.  authorise the head of legal and democratic services to make  appointments to the vacant committee positions in the "membership of meetings and representation on outside bodies  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The chairman to move:

“to adjourn the meeting of the Council to permit meetings to take place of the Licensing Acts Committee, and the General Licensing Committee in the order set out below to allow them to appoint sub-committees and their members, substitutes, chairman and vice-chairman where indicated, and the terms of reference of the various meetings.

(1)               Licensing Acts Committee

(2)               General Licensing Committee”

The Council will then reconvene. 

The Council is asked to note that the Standards Committee will be appointing its panels at its first meeting in the municipal year. 

RESOLVED

To adjourn the meeting of the Council  to permit meetings to take place of the  Licensing Acts Committee and the General Licensing Committee, to allow them to appoint sub-committees, their members and agree their terms of reference.

The Council adjourned at 7.35pm.

The Council reconvened at 7.38pm.

None.

In accordance with the virement policy, all virements of £10,000 and over and virements across service areas require prior authorisation of the executive and must be reported to the council.  This information will be reported at the meeting (if any). 

None.

(1)       Urgent executive decisions

In accordance with the overview and scrutiny procedure rules, an executive decision can be taken as a matter of urgency, if any delay by the call-in process would seriously prejudice the council’s or the public’s interest.  Treating the decision as a matter of urgency must be agreed by the chairman of the Scrutiny Committee and must be reported to the next meeting of the council, together with the reasons for urgency.

To receive any details of urgent cabinet decisions taken since the last ordinary meeting of the council, (if any).

(2)       Delegation of executive functions

To receive details of the Leader of Council’s executive scheme of delegation. 

(3)       Matters affecting the authority arising from meetings of joint committees, partnerships and other meetings

To receive the report of the leader (if any).

See minute Co.10

To remind councillors that they must complete their register of interests form and register any gifts and hospitality. 

Under the terms of the council’s code of conduct, there is a requirement to register interests.  All councillors must complete their registration forms within 28 days of your election as a councillor (by 3 June 2011).  Once completed, councillors must return the form to the Monitoring Officer, Margaret Reed.  Your register is a public document and will be on the council’s website. 

If councillors have any changes to their registered interests, they must give written notice of the changes to the Monitoring Officer within 28 days by using an amendment form.  This is particularly relevant if councillors are appointed to an outside body.  A copy of the amendment form is available from Democratic Services. 

Councillors must note that under the code, they have an obligation to register any gifts or hospitality over the value of £25, received in their capacity as a councillor.  These should be included on the amendment form and registered within 28 days.  

Recommendation: to note the reminder of a councillor’s requirements to register interests under the code of conduct. 

Members received and noted an agenda item which reminded them to complete their register of interests form by 3 June 2011 and register any amendments gifts and hospitality within 28 days.

None.

None.