Agenda and minutes

Venue: Park Suite, Parkside, Chart Way, Horsham

Contact: Email: CommitteeServices@horsham.gov.uk  Direct Line: 01403 215465

Items
No. Item

CO/74

Election of Chairman of the meeting for the next item

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor David Coldwell and seconded by Councillor Ray Dawe that Councillor Christian Mitchell be elected Chairman of the meeting for the next item.

 

There being no other nominations, Councillor Mitchell was declared elected as Chairman for the next item.

 

CO/75

Election of Chairman of Council for the remainder of the Council year

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor Claire Vickers and seconded by Councillor Michael Willett that Councillor Peter Burgess be elected Chairman of the Council for the remainder of the Council year.

 

There being no other nominations, Councillor Peter Burgess was declared elected as Chairman of the Council for the remainder of the Council year.  He then signed a declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the chain of office.

 

CO/76

Appointment of Vice-Chairman of Council for the remainder of the Council year

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor Karen Burgess and seconded by Councillor Gordon Lindsay that Councillor Kate Rowbottom be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Council for the remainder of the Council year.

 

There being no other nominations, Councillor Kate Rowbottom was declared appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Council for the remainder of the Council year.  She then signed a declaration of acceptance of office and was invested with the badge of office.

 

CO/77

Minutes pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To approve as correct the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on:

(Note: If any Member wishes to propose an amendment to the minutes they should submit this in writing to committeeservices@horsham.gov.uk at least 24 hours before the meeting.  Where applicable, the audio recording of the meeting will be checked to ensure the accuracy of the proposed amendment.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings of the ordinary meeting of the Council held on 21st February 2018 and the Extraordinary meeting of 22nd March 2018 were approved as correct records and signed by the Chairman.

CO/78

Declarations of Members' Interests

To receive any declarations of interest from Members

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer advised that it could be considered that all Members had a personal and pecuniary interest in the item on the agenda concerning the interim report of the Independent Remuneration Panel through the receipt of allowances (Minute No. CO/82 below refers).  Therefore, in line with the Constitution and in accordance with Section 33 of the Localism Act 2011, the Monitoring Officer had granted all Members dispensation to enable them to consider, discuss and participate in any vote on this matter.  This dispensation would remain in force until 2nd May 2019.

 

There were no other declarations of interest.

CO/79

Announcements

To receive any announcements from the Chairman of the Council, the Leader, Members of the Cabinet or the Chief Executive

Minutes:

The Chairman of Council thanked all officers, including Sue Weston, Sarah Attfield and Chris O’Leary, who had been involved in the organisation of the memorial service for the immediate past Chairman, Roger Clarke, which had taken place the day before the Council meeting.  He expressed particular thanks to his PA, Tracey Robbins who had only been in post for a short while during which time she had had to deal with the ramifications of the long illness and subsequent death of the serving Chairman and had then taken on responsibility for the organisation of the memorial service.  All Members joined the Chairman in expressing their gratitude.

 

The Leader advised that Councillor Kate Rowbottom had, on 24th April 2018, resigned from her position as Cabinet Member for Housing and Public Protection in order to take on the role of Vice-Chairman of the Council.  He thanked Councillor Rowbottom for her invaluable contribution to Cabinet over the last three years.  The Leader also reported that the Community & Wellbeing and Housing & Public Protection portfolios would be combined, with Councillor Tricia Youtan, the current Cabinet Member for Community & Wellbeing, taking on responsibility for those functions.

 

The Cabinet Member for Waste, Recycling and Cleansing advised Members that the roll-out of the new waste service, which was now almost complete, had been very successful.  Early indications were that there had been less contamination of recyclables than had been expected and that there had been a significant increase in recycling levels.  He expressed his thanks to all those involved in the introduction and operation of the service.

CO/80

Questions from the Public

To receive questions from the public under Rules 4a.2(f) and 4a.8-18

 

Minutes:

No questions relevant to the business of the meeting had been received.

CO/81

Members' Questions on Notice

To receive questions from Members under Rules 4a.20(b)-25

Minutes:

No questions had been received.

CO/82

Independent Remuneration Panel: Interim Report of the Panel and Appointment of Panel from November 2018 pdf icon PDF 112 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Executive

Additional documents:

Minutes:

One member of the public addressed the Council on this item, suggesting that the recommendation of the Independent Remuneration Panel in respect of a reduction in the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should not be approved.

 

The Independent Remuneration Panel had undertaken an interim review following the Council’s recent Governance and Constitution Reviews and their findings and recommendations were submitted for consideration.

 

In addition, Members were advised that the current Panel had been appointed for a four-year term of office from 3rd November 2014.  As that period would expire later in the year, approval was sought to advertise for applications from persons interested in serving on the Panel.  The existing Panel members had all expressed an interest in continuing in post and would be considered alongside any new applicants.

 

It was moved by Councillor Philip Circus and seconded by Councillor Stuart Ritchie that the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel should be accepted; the Members’ Allowance Scheme for Horsham District Council amended accordingly and the changes implemented with immediate effect and that the recommendations in the covering report should be approved.

 

During the debate on the motion the Leader indicated that, while he supported the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel, if approved he would not be taking the proposed increased in his Special Responsibility Allowance.

 

It was then moved by Councillor Andrew Baldwin and seconded by Councillor Christine Costin that the proposed reduction in the Special Responsibility Allowances for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should not be implemented.

 

On being put, the amendment was declared LOST.

 

Following further debate, the substantive motion was put, declared CARRIED and it was:

 

            RESOLVED

 

(i)         That the interim report and recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel be noted.

 

(ii)        That the Members’ Allowance Scheme for Horsham District Council be amended in accordance with the recommendations of the Independent Remuneration Panel with immediate effect and that Part 6 of the Constitution be amended accordingly.

 

(iii)       That vacancies for the Independent Remuneration Panel be advertised and interested stakeholders also be invited to put forward candidates.

 

(iv)       That the short listing and interviewing of candidates be carried out by a panel comprising the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman and the Leader of the Council, who shall then make recommendations to appoint the Independent Remuneration Panel to the Council.

 

REASONS

 

(i)         It is a legal requirement that the Council has regard to the recommendations of an Independent Remuneration Panel when agreeing the level of Allowances paid to Members.

 

(ii)        It is a function of Full Council to agree the level of Member Allowances.

 

(iii)       The Local Authorities (Members Allowances) Regulations 2003 require the Council to appoint an Independent Remuneration Panel at least every four years to review Members’ allowances.

CO/83

Urgent Business

To consider matters certified by the Chairman as urgent

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.