Meeting documents

CDC Council
Tuesday, 26th June, 2001

2001.06.26 - Council, Minutes

	CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL

	MINUTES of the Meeting of the CHILTERN DISTRICT COUNCIL

	held on 26 June 2001

PRESENT:

Councillor

I T Gomm -

Chairman of the Council

Mrs L M Smith -

Vice-Chairman of the Council

Councillor

R Abraham

Councillor

L A Hodgkinson

Mrs D I Allen

Sir John Horsbrugh-Porter

Miss P A Appleby

P M Jones

R J Arthy

Mrs P Lindsley

J A Banham

P T Lole

Mrs B D Barker

D G Meacock

Mrs J Barratt

Mrs J Ottaway

Mrs L M Bateman

M Peters

M Z Bhatti

D W Phillips

Mrs D Brackley

D Ponting

Ms J E Bramwell

P Priestley

N Brentnall

AH Reed

N L Brown

N M Rose

A Campbell

D C Scholfield

Mrs G A Cotterell

C Spruytenburg

B M Curson

Mrs E P Stacey

T Dodd

J F Warder

J E Ford

Miss M J White

Mrs M A Hamilton

R T Young

Mrs M Harker

Mrs V Head




	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Councillors M J Batt, A Dibbo, D J Lacey, Mrs H Matthews, G Sussum and A W Walters.



	10. CONGRATULATIONS

	The Chairman welcomed Councillor Roy Abraham to his first meeting since re-election. Councillors Mrs P Lindsley and D G Meacock were also congratulated on their recent election to Buckinghamshire County Council.


	11. MINUTES

	The Minutes of the meeting of the Council, and of the annual meeting of the Council, both held on 22 May 2001, copies of which had been previously circulated, were both signed by the Chairman as correct records.


	12. ANNOUNCEMENTS

	The Chairman of the Council drew attention to the diary dates of matters attended by himself and the Vice-Chairman since the last Council meeting.

	The Executive Leader wished the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Council success in the forthcoming municipal year.

	The Head of the Paid Service had no announcements to make.


	13. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

	Councillors Ms J E Bramwell and Mrs P Lindsley declared their respective interests in Minute 16.2 of the Executive Committee concerning the Agency Funding Panel.

	Councillor M Z Bhatti declared his interest in Licensing and Regulation Committee Minutes 6 and 7 concerning Private Hire Operator Conditions and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing.


	14. RETURNING OFFICER’S REPORT, GROUP MEMBERSHIP AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

	Alan Goodrum, in his capacity as Returning Officer, reported that at the By-Election for the Townsend Ward held on the 7 June 2001, Councillor Roy Abraham had been elected.

	The Chief Executive also reported on the notification received from the Liberal Democrat Group Leader, Councillor Mrs Vera Head, that Councillor Abraham had joined the Liberal Democrat Group.

	The Liberal Democrat Leader indicated that it was the Group’s wish that Councillor Abraham should be appointed to serve on the Planning Committee. It was accordingly

	RESOLVED -

	That Councillor Roy Abraham be appointed to serve on the Planning Committee for the remainder of the Council Year.


	15. PRESENTATION OF COMMITTEE MINUTES AND REPORTS

	Prior to consideration of Committee minutes and reports, Councillor Peter Jones asked Members to consider whether it was necessary to formally move every minute, resolution and recommendation of each Committee, or whether a more modern method would be for the Chairman of each Committee to move the Committee Minutes as a whole.


	16. LICENSING AND REGULATION COMMITTEE

	It was proposed by Councillor D Schofield, seconded by Councillor N Brentnall and

	RESOLVED –

	That the Minutes and Recommendations of the meeting of the Licensing and Regulation Committee held on 31 May 2001, be received and adopted.

	17. PLANNING COMMITTEE

	It was proposed by Councillor N Rose, seconded by Councillor Mrs M Harker and

	RESOLVED –

	That the Minutes and Resolutions of the meeting of the Planning Committee, held on 5 June 2001, be received and adopted.
	18. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

	It was proposed by Councillor A Campbell, seconded by Councillor P Priestley and

	RESOLVED –

	That the Minutes and Recommendations of the Meetings of the Scrutiny Committee held on 13 June and 22 June, be received and adopted, subject to Minute 1 becoming a Recommendation, and subject as below.


	19. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMITTEE

	It was agreed that Resolution 2 of Minute 8 of the Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 13 June 2001, should be amended to read “That Councillors visit other Councils to observe Scrutiny meetings”.


	20. APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES

	Arising on Minute 20 of Scrutiny Committee, it was noted that nominations for membership of the Best Value Sub-Committee and the ad hoc Scrutiny Sub-Committee, had been referred to this meeting.

	RESOLVED –

That the Conservative nominations to the Best Value Sub-Committee be Councillors M J Batt, P T Lole, M Peters, P T Priestley and Mrs E P Stacey, and the Liberal Democrat nominees be Councillors Ms J E Bramwell, Mrs V Head, A Reed and R T Young.

That the Conservative Group nominations to the ad hoc Scrutiny Sub-Committee be Councillors Sir John Horsbrugh-Porter, P T Lole, D G Meacock, M Peters and P T Priestley.

That nominations from the Liberal Democrat Group to the ad hoc Scrutiny Sub-Committee be deferred to the next Council meeting.




	21. EXECUTIVE MINUTES

	It was proposed by Councillor D W Phillips, seconded by Councillor T Dodd, and

	RESOLVED –

	That the Minutes and Recommendations of the meeting of the Executive, held on 6 June 2001, be received and adopted subject as below.


	22. OFFICE ACCOMMODATION

	Councillor Ms J E Bramwell, seconded by Councillor C Spruytenburg, moved the procedural motion that Minute 9 be referred back to the Executive for further consideration. Following discussion it was noted that the decisions in Minute 9 had been taken under delegated powers and the proposed motion was accordingly amended to be a request to the Group Leader to agree to take this Minute back for further consideration. A vote was taken on this request, which was duly lost.




	23. THE GLEBE, ASHLEY GREEN

	Arising on the Recommendation on Minute 15 of the Executive concerning the removal of a hedge at The Glebe, Ashley Green, at the request of Councillor P M Jones, the Executive Leader agreed to take the matter back to the Executive for further consideration.


	24. EXECUTIVE QUESTION TIME

	In accordance with Rule 9.1 of the Procedural Rules, the Council considered reports and received questions without notice from Members.

(a)

Councillor A Reed enquired whether it was worth spending £22,000 on Member facilities and why was the decision taken. The Executive Leader advised that the matter had been aired on a number of occasions and diverse Member reactions to the proposals had been received. The original plans had been amended so that the Executive Leader’s office had been changed to become an additional Committee room. The matter had been considered at a meeting with the Staff Side on 17 March 2001. Comment had been made that the proposals would result in detriment to staff facilities. In fact, the area available for each member of staff would only be slightly reduced from 11.5 to 11.4 square metres, and additional space had been created by disposing of paperwork and removing individual reception areas.

The area formerly occupied by the Leisure Department had been released when the Chiltern Leisure Trust moved. However, it had been necessary to let this area to the Primary Care Trust, otherwise overhead costs for individual directorates would have increased significantly.

(b)

Onyx Contract

Councillor Miss Appleby requested Councillor Warder to comment on deficiencies by the Council’s Waste Collection Contractors, Messrs Onyx. She understood that five roads had recently not had a collection on the due date.

Councillor J Warder advised that there had been a vehicle breakdown, as a result of which he had requested Messrs Onyx to consider their current maintenance schedule. He agreed to advise Councillor Appleby when a response from the Company had been received.

(c)

Local Democracy Week

Councillor P Jones asked the Executive Leader to consider whether it was possible to link the Electoral Registration system in with the Council Tax system to allow electors to be placed at the same time as being registered for Council Tax purposes. The Executive Leader agreed that the Executive would consider this matter.

(d)

Councillor P Jones requested the Executive to consider whether it was possible to link the Electoral Registration system in with the Council Tax system to allow electors to be placed at the same time as being registered for Council Tax purposes. The Executive Leader agreed that the Executive would consider this matter.

(e)

Onyx Ltd

Councillor Ms J E Bramwell drew attention to an advertising feature by Messrs Onyx placed in the Chiltern Chronicle mentioning training carried out by this Council. Councillor J warder advised that this Council had participated in training of Onyx personnel and was right to do so.

(f)

Paper Sorting Facility

Councillor J Warder gave a report on the proposal for a paper sorting facility at the Depot. He was proposing to set up a PAG to look at the detail of this matter. Councillor Mrs D Allen advised that some local disquiet had been expressed at additional vehicle movements which would be generated. Councillor Warder advised that vehicle movements from the Depot had reduced considerably over the last few years. If the paper sorting facility was proceeded with, there wuld be some additional traffic movements.

(g)

Appointment – ACTVaR and SEERA

Councillor P Jones asked if the Executive Leader had anything to report from recent meetings of ACTVaR and SEERA. Councillor Phillips advised that ACTVaR had received a useful paper on abandoned motor vehicles. A meeting with the Police had taken place and this would be a matter, which the Executive would be discussing in due course.

In response to further enquiry from Councillor Jones, Councillor Phillips advised that he would be pleased to offer congratulations to Councillor David Shakespeare at the next SEERA meeting on the award of an OBE.

(h)

Grants and Grant Resources

Councillor T Dodd advised that he was seeking advice and input from Members on the current operation of the Citizens’ Advice Bureau. CAB currently received over 50% of the Council’s Grant resources and it would assist in deliberations of a PAG, which he intended to set up. Members were asked to advise Councillor Dodd of information on the work carried out by the Chesham and Amersham CAB. Councillor Mrs V Head advised that the CAB analysed all calls received and she was sure that the local CAB would have information that would be of assistance.

(i)

Policy Issues – Community Plan

Councillor Phillips raised the subject of the Community Plan and the need to constantly update the Policy issues which were raised. A number of matters were raised by Members, particularly concerning the financial implications of Policy decisions.

Councillor Phillips cited a number of examples of additional expenditure which would mean the Council should take care in its financial dealings. These included:-

Pay award to staff being 3.5 % instead of the budgeted figure of 2.5%. This would add an additional £50,000.

An income shortfall on summonses of £30,000.

A call of possibly £100,000 for the Superannuation Fund.

Onyx waste Disposal having an indexed contract and a possible increased fee of £80,000.

A full report on these matters would be considered at the next Executive meeting.



	25. APPOINTMENTS TO OUTSIDE BODIES

	At the Annual Meeting on 22 May (Minute 7 refers) the appointment of Members to outside bodies had been deferred to enable the Executive to consider which appointments it wished to reserve to itself. The Council accordingly had before it a schedule of appointments indicating those reserved by the Executive and these which the Council itself should make. Wycombe Rape Crisis had made a request for an appointment to its Management Committee.

	RESOLVED -

	That the appointments to outside bodies be made as indicated in the officers’ report, with the following amendments:-


	Amersham-on-the-Hill Development and Marketing Group – Vacancy filled by Councillor Mrs M Harker.

	Buckinghamshire Association for Mental Health – Delete Councillor Mrs D Allen, leaving a vacancy.

	Buckinghamshire County Council Children’s Services Plan Panel and Early Years District Forum, Chiltern/South Bucks – Delete the name of Mrs B D Barker and check whether these bodies are still in being.

	Chesham, Amersham and District Citizen’s Advice Bureau – Delete Councillor K A Campbell and substitute Councillor N l Brown.

	Chiltern District Local Committee – Delete Councillor N M Rose and substitute Councillor N L Brown.

	Chiltern District Housing Forum – Delete Councillor Mrs M Hamilton and substitute Councillor Mrs E P Stacey.

	Chiltern Hundreds Housing Association Ltd – Committee of Management – Councillor M Peters to fill the vacancy.

	Denham Aerodrome Consultative Committee – Delete Councillor D W Phillips, leaving a vacancy.

	Local Government Association Rural Commission – Delete Councillor N M Rose and substitute Councillor Mrs S M Howkins.

	Local Government Association Urban Commission – Delete Councillor N M Rose, leaving a vacancy.

	Wycombe Rape Crisis Management Committee – Councillor Mrs M Harker.


	During discussion Councillor Mrs D Brackley indicated that she would wish consideration to be given to her continuing as a co-optee on the Chilterns Crematorium Joint Committee. The present proposed pattern of membership did not allow this to happen but consideration would be given at a future date.

26.	PERIODIC ELECTORAL REVIEW – BOUNDARIES AND ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS COMMITTEE

The Council was reminded that the Local Government Commission had published its draft recommendations following the periodic Electoral Review of District Ward Boundaries. The original response date of 2 July had been extended to 6 August 2001 and Members were asked how they wished to respond to the draft recommendations. The suggestion was for the setting up of a Boundaries and Electoral Arrangements Committee, with terms of reference as indicated in the officers’ report.

Councillor P Jones advised that the Liberal Democrat Group was not minded to support the setting up of a Boundaries and Electoral Arrangements Committee as the Group felt that much valuable work which had been carried out by the previous Sub-Committee had been overthrown for party political reasons. He then moved that the Council makes no further submission to the Local Government Commission. The motion was seconded by Councillor Reed.

Before the motion could be voted upon, it was noted that the three hour limit for Council meetings had been exceeded and Councillor Jones then moved the procedural motion, seconded by Councillor D W Phillips, that the Rule 8 of the Procedural Rules be implemented and the Meeting continue. On a vote being taken, the procedural motion was declared to have been carried.

The vote on Councillor Jones’ original motion was then taken and declared to have been lost. It was accordingly then

RESOLVED -

That a Boundaries and Electoral Arrangements Committee be set up with nine members, and with terms of reference as indicated in the officers’ report.

That nominations from the Conservative Group comprise Councillors J A Banham, N L Brown, A Dibbo, T Dodd and D W Phillips, with four vacancies of Members to be nominated by the Liberal Democrat Group.




	27. CONSTITUTION REVIEW COMMITTEE

	Members were reminded that Article 14 of the new Constitution required the Council to set up a Constitution Review Committee to take responsibility for monitoring and reviewing the operation of the Constitution. The Draft Terms of Reference were attached to the officers’ report and it was recommended that a Committee of nine be appointed.

	RESOLVED –

That a Constitution Review Committee be set up with the Terms of Reference as indicated in the officers’ report.

That the Terms of Reference be included in the Constitution.

That the appointment of Members from the Conservative Group be Councillors J A Banham, A Campbell, T Dodd, Mrs H Matthews and D W Phillips, and from the Liberal Democrat Group, Councillors Miss P Appleby, Ms J E Bramwell, P M Jones and A H Reed.




	The Meeting ended at 9.42 pm

Meeting documents

CDC CouncilTuesday, 26th June, 2001

CDC Council
Tuesday, 26th June, 2001