Agenda and minutes

Councillor Z Mohammed, the outgoing Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting, extending a warm welcome to Lady Howe, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Ms D Brock, High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and the new Honorary Aldermen of Buckinghamshire, who prior to the meeting received certificates during a presentation which recognised the work and service they had given to the residents of the county in their time as local Wycombe and Chiltern District Councillors.

The outgoing Chairman reported that he had the pleasure of having been involved in the design and unveiling of the new Coat of Arms for Buckinghamshire Council at the Chairman’s reception held the week prior to this meeting and thanked all legacy council leaders for their input and support.

A commemorative booklet to mark the first year anniversary of the new Buckinghamshire Council had been prepared and was left on each members’ desk to take with them to serve as a memory of the new council. 

The outgoing Chairman spoke of the honour and privilege he felt for having served as the Chairman of the Council over the previous year which had started off during Covid restrictions and he expressed his gratitude to the communities and volunteers across Buckinghamshire for their continued hard work which he had had the pleasure of having seen first-hand throughout his time as Chairman. The outgoing Chairman thanked his wife for her ongoing support, as well as officers for their support over the past year.

It was proposed by Councillor B Chapple OBE that Councillor D Dhillon be elected as Chairman of the Council for the 2022/23 municipal year.

The proposer put on record his thanks to the Chairman and the Chairman’s wife for their work and dedication over the past year and gave a brief history of Councillor Dhillon’s background, recognising both his great charity work and his 33 years of experience as a Councillor, in which time he undertook various Chairman roles, having served as both a South Bucks District Councillor and Buckinghamshire County Councillor.

The nomination was seconded by Councillor D Anthony.

There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED –

That Councillor D Dhillon be elected as Chairman of the Council for the 2022/23 municipal year.

Councillor Dhillon thereupon accepted office, made the necessary declaration and was presented with the Chairman`s chain.

Councillor Dhillon in the Chair

The Chairman addressed the meeting and took the opportunity to pay tribute to the work of the outgoing Chairman and to thank the proposer for his kind words. The Chairman spoke of it being a privilege to serve as the Chairman of the Council, a role which he would perform to the best of his ability. The Chairman acknowledged the outstanding work of the community and Council partners in coming together through difficult times which included the Covid pandemic, welcoming Afghan refugees and more recently welcoming Ukrainian refugees and hoped that the communities of Buckinghamshire would continue to work together to support one another.  

Councillor S Bowles rose to propose that Councillor P Birchley be appointed as Vice- Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2022/23, acknowledging her vast experience in serving residents and her extensive knowledge of Council services. The proposer recognised Councillor Birchley’s high level of commitment and noted that she would be an excellent advocate for the Council. 

The nomination was seconded by Councillor T Butcher, who echoed the proposer’s views and spoke of Councillor Birchley’s kind, welcoming nature, adding that she would be a great ambassador for the Council. 

There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED –

That Councillor P Birchley be appointed as Vice-Chairman for the municipal year 2022/23.

Councillor Birchley thereupon accepted office, made the necessary declaration and was presented with the Vice- Chairman`s chains of office.

The Vice-Chairman rose to thank her proposer and seconder and spoke of her appreciation at having been appointed. Further, the Vice-Chairman thanked Members for the confidence that had been placed in her and said that she was honoured and delighted to accept this office.

Apologies were received from Councillors D Barnes, A Baughan, D Blamires, N Brown, R Carington, A Collingwood, E Culverhouse, M Dormer, R Gaffney, E Gemmell, S Guy, C Harriss, D Hayday, O Hayday, G Hollis, Majid Hussain, P Irwin, J Jordan, S Kayani, W Matthews, J Ng, A Poland-Goodyer, J Rush, G Sandy and D Thompson.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 April 2022 be approved as a correct record.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman reported that he had attended a number of events including a Buckinghamshire Scouts annual dinner, a British Empire Medal presentation at Penn House, citizenship ceremonies and the Pub in the Park event at Marlow. The Chairman recognised the outstanding work of all those involved at each of the respective events in coming together and supporting their communities.

On behalf of the Council, the Chairman sent best wishes to HM the Queen for her Platinum Jubilee celebration and encouraged Members to attend and enjoy themselves at various local events taking place.

There were none.

The following appointments to the Cabinet were confirmed by the Leader and noted:

The following appointments to Deputy Cabinet Member positions were also confirmed by the Leader and noted:

RESOLVED –

That the appointments made by the Leader for the municipal year 2022/23 to Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member positions be noted.

Members’ attention was drawn to the appendices tabled at the meeting and published online which listed the allocated committee appointments for the ensuing year.

Council received a report on the proposed structure and remit for Select Committees for the municipal year 2022/23.  It was proposed to appoint six Select Committees to discharge the Council’s statutory overview and scrutiny functions, each of which would comprise 15 Members. These would be known as:

(i)                  Children’s and Education Select Committee

(ii)                Communities and Localism Select Committee

(iii)              Finance and Resources Select Committee

(iv)              Growth, Infrastructure and Housing Select Committee

(v)                Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee

(vi)              Transport, Environment and Climate Change Select Committee

It was anticipated that each Select Committee would meet at least five times a year, in accordance with current practice.

The Deputy Chief Executive advised of one correction to the report which was that the responsibility for scrutinising issues in relation to HS2 and East West Rail would belong to the Transport, Environment and Climate Change Select Committee rather than the Growth, Infrastructure and Housing Select Committee.

RESOLVED –

That the proposed structure and remit for Select Committees for the municipal year 2022/23 be agreed, subject to the above correction.

The Leader presented the annual report which noted the achievements of the organisation against the objectives set out in the Buckinghamshire Corporate Plan 2020-25.

The Annual Report highlighted achievements across the authority which contributed to the delivery of key priorities outlined in the Corporate Plan:

-          Strengthening our communities

-          Protecting the vulnerable

-          Improving our environment

-          Increasing prosperity

The draft Buckinghamshire Council Annual Report 2021-22 could be seen attached to the agenda pack as Appendix 1.

The Leader gave a presentation to Council and highlighted key pieces of work the Council had delivered on. Issues covered by the Leader included:

• The significant change in landscape from this time one year ago, at which time the Covid-19 vaccination was still being rolled out, restrictions on socialising were in place, high streets were financially struggling, and schools had not long re-opened.
• The increased demand on children’s social care with safeguarding issues having arisen throughout the lockdown period.
• Suppressed demand within the health sector throughout Covid, health waiting lists had increased, and similarly in Adult Social Care there was increased volume and complexity of need.
• The Council’s fast response to the crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, welcoming refugees warmly. Communities and Members had provided excellent support to these individuals.
• The need to remain focused on the areas that matter to residents, which were the day to day services such as waste collection, whilst not losing sight of the overall strategic priorities.
• Partnership working with voluntary and community sector, health colleagues, Police and Fire services which remained Key for the Council to deliver its priorities.
• Achievements over the past year:
  • Delivered carriageway, footway, drainage and structures programme
  • Invested in drains and gullies work
  • Additional investment in litter clearance, with a future focus on clearing roadside verges
  • Zero tolerance on fly tipping, the Council was one of the highest in the country with prosecutions
  • Planted over 5,000 trees with a desire to greatly increase this over the coming year
  • New sustainable transport routes
  • Signed Memorandum of Intent with an organisation which would look at transforming refuse vehicles into electric vehicles
  • Being the second highest authority on issuing enforcement notices outside of London
  • The Buckinghamshire Local Plan work having commenced which would shape Buckinghamshire’s future
• The importance of protecting the vulnerable, Children’s Services had moved out of the OFSTED inadequate category and the journey to become ‘good’ was underway, focus had been placed on ensuring children were able to catch up on their education following the pandemic, and the Council had worked closely with health partners on the Covid vaccination rollout. Violence against women was a priority which officers would focus on in the coming year to ensure women felt safe across the county.
• The Helping Hands team had been developed with a team of officers who had expertise in supporting residents in very difficult circumstances. The team had done a fantastic job, having distributed around £7.2m and there was hope the Government would continue to provide financial support so that the team could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The Cabinet Member for Communities, presented the report which provided the background on the progression and performance of the Community Boards during 2021-2022 and highlighted the achievements of the Boards over the year.

The Cabinet Member advised that it had been a successful second year of operation for the Boards with a wealth of projects having been delivered, 415 in total.  These included delivering the first jobs and apprenticeships fayre, emergency winter accommodation and introducing the Trinity Road quiet way. Through £3.8m funding, and an additional £2.1m in contributory funding, excellent outcomes for communities had been achieved with a focus on the 2021/22 priorities of improving the environment, community spaces, roads, paths, health and wellbeing of residents and supporting young people and the overall economic recovery from Covid. Community Boards had responded to the voices of their communities and over 500 nominations had been received for the Pride of Bucks awards, recognising the significant positive impact members of the community had in their localities.

The Cabinet Member spoke of the next steps for the Community Boards which was to work through an improvement plan, which had been informed by the Communities and Localism Select Committee’s review of Community Boards, to deliver for local communities and become place shapers for working collaboratively with residents and partners. The improvement plan included advancements to the funding process and a new Community Board structure which offered dedicated leadership and support with an emphasis on flexibility, in recognition that not all Boards would operate in the same manner.

The Cabinet Member thanked Community Board Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen, Board Members and Community Board Co-ordinators who had put in such great work and shown dedication in ensuring 21/22 provided an excellent foundation to build on for the coming year.

The Deputy Cabinet Member (Community Safety) echoed the Cabinet Member’s words and emphasised the great work of Community Board Co-ordinators (now Community Board Managers) who were dedicated and often worked extensive hours to provide vast support to their respective Boards to achieve positive outcomes.

RESOLVED –

That the achievements of the Community Boards in 2021-2022 be noted.

RESOLVED –

That the calendar of meetings for 2022 - 23 be agreed.

A list of decisions taken by Cabinet Members since the last Full Council meeting on 27 April 2022 were received and noted.

Wednesday 20 July 2022 at 4pm

The next full Council meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 20 July 2022 at 4pm.

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At the conclusion of the above business, the following Committees of the Council will meet for the purposes of electing their Chairmen:

At the conclusion of the Council meeting, the following Committees met to elect their Chairman for the ensuing year: