prayers

The Mayor welcomed his Chaplain, Reverend Jacky Davis. The Mayor's Chaplain said Prayers.

welcome

The Mayor welcomed new and returning Members to the Meeting. The Mayor also invited Councillor Alan Willicombe to say a few words to encourage Members to support a sponsored event.

minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 23rd February 2011 (Minute Nos. 680 - 695) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

borough council elections - 5th may 2011

The Council was asked to note the results of the recent Borough Council Elections.

appointment of council leader

Councillor Gerry Lewin proposed and Councillor Mike Cosgrove seconded that Councillor Bowles be elected as the Leader. The Corporate Services Director clarified that as the Council was now operating under the Strong Leader Model, the term of appointment was for four years.

The Leader responded, outlining the arrangements for the Cabinet as circulated at the meeting, which included Cabinet Members, Deputy Cabinet Members which would be non-voting members with a number of responsibilities and Lead Members who would also be non-voting Members with responsibility for providing support to Cabinet and Deputy Cabinet Members. He also drew attention to the proposed changes to the Special Responsibility Allowances which would result in a saving, however this would need to be considered by the Independent Remuneration Panel.

The Leader of the Labour Group explained the changes to the way in which the Labour Group would operate as a shadow cabinet. In doing so, the Leader of the Labour Group paid tribute and thanks to the work of the previous Leader of the Group who would now be the Chief Whip. He also explained that the Labour Group would operate as a shadow cabinet as follows:-
Councillor Mike Haywood - Deputy Leader of the Labour Group, Chairman of Policy Overview Committee, and Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainable Development
Councillor Adam Tolhurst - Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee and Shadow Cabinet Member for Community and Culture
Councillor Harrison - Chief Whip and Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment and Health
Councillor Roger Truelove - Leader of Labour Group and Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance and Economic Development.

He also explained the proposed changes to the Special Responsibility Allowances which would change the way the total current sum allocated to the Labour Group was distributed.

The Leader also thanked the former Leader of the Labour Group.

Thanks were also given to the Chief Executive, Director of Corporate Services, interim Head of Legal and interim Head of Finance for their support and help in developing the new arrangements.

establishment of committees and their terms of reference

The report set out details of the Committees to be established and asked the Council to agree their terms of reference, which had previously been reported to the Council as part of the review of the Constitution.

The Leader also reminded Members that there would be a cross party working group established regarding the broadcasting of Council meetings (as agreed by Council Minute No. 686/2/11 refers) and that he had asked Officers to prepare terms of reference.

allocation of committee seats and committee appointments for 2011/12

The Leader drew attention to the tabled paper which set out the nominations from Group Leaders. The Leader of the Independent Group advised that he wished to be a member of the Member Development Working Group, which was agreed.

borough council representation on outside bodies, trusts administered by swale borough council and statutory bodies

The Leader introduced the report, drawing attention to the tabled papers which set out an updated version of the appendix, which included all nominations that had been put forward by Group Leaders. He referred to the review of appointments and explained the colour coding on the chart and that some appointments would be made by the Cabinet. Those that were shaded in grey would no longer be Council appointments and so attendance would not be deemed to be an official duty; however Democratic Services would advise those bodies where Members were interested to be involved. Those shaded in blue were where the Leader considered an appointment should be made.

In respect of those appointments where there were the same number of nominations as seats, the Leader proposed and the Deputy Leader seconded that these were agreed. This was put to the vote and agreed.

The Meeting then considered those appointments where there were more nominations than seats and Members were given the opportunity to put forward reasons for their nominations.

The Director of Corporate Services explained the procedure for voting in respect of those outside bodies where there were more nominations than seats, and a vote was taken where necessary. During the discussion attention was drawn to the protocol agreed by the Council regarding the requirement for Members to submit a report to be eligible for appointment to that particular body in the subsequent year.

The nomination for Councillor Prescott on the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) was withdrawn. Subsequently the nomination for Councillor Monique Bonney on the Mid Kent Downs AONB was also withdrawn.

There was debate concerning the appointments to the Queenborough Fisheries Trust and the Swale Recreation Trust, in particular regarding the submission of reports; the legal position regarding this; and the composition of the Trust. There was also discussion about the need to produce reports in cases where minutes were available to view.

In respect of the Locality Board, the Leader advised that he had appointed Councillors Gerry Lewin, John Wright, Mike Cosgrove, Duncan Dewar-Whalley and David Simmons.

adoption of timetable of meetings for 2011/12

The Leader presented the timetable of meetings for 2011/12.

There was some discussion regarding the need for an additional Council meeting in late April/early May 2011; attention drawn to the increased number of Policy Overview Committee meetings; and whether additional meetings of the Sittingbourne and Sheppey Local Engagement Fora could be added.

It was acknowledged that an additional Council meeting could be added if there was business to be considered.

corporate plan refresh

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance introduced the report which set out a series of proposed amendments to the Corporate Plan priority actions and activity areas for 2011/12. In response to comments and questions, the Cabinet Member acknowledged that there was a need to look at economic opportunities and road infrastructure in more detail; agreed that it was important for Ward Members to be kept informed of developments; and explained that the reason that quarterly reporting was proposed was because of the dramatic improvement in performance. The Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy (including Learning and Skills and Culture) explained the reason for the change in approach regarding learning and skills; the reason why it had not been possible to give information about the proposed wind turbine development; and the importance of making local jobs available to local people.

adoption of the corporate equality scheme

The Cabinet Member for Communities and Localism introduced the report, which provided an update on the key elements of the general and specific equality duties as set out in the Equalities Act 2010, and made recommendations for implementing the specific duties including a Corporate Equality Scheme.

adoption of recommendations

(a) swale rural forum

(b) cabinet

The recommendations had been considered earlier in the meeting as part of the reports on the Corporate Plan and Corporate Equality Scheme.