Agenda and minutes

Councillor D Dhillon, the outgoing Chairman, welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He 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 with the country coming out of the Covid lockdown and celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee and had concluded soon after the coronation of the new King.  He thanked his wife for her ongoing support, the Vice Chairman of the Council who had deputised for him at events during the last year, and the Officers who had supported him over the past year.

The Chairman then presented a cheque of £19,679.67 to his chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. 

It was proposed by Councillor J Baum that Councillor P Birchley be elected as Chairman of the Council for the 2023/24 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 detailed the qualities that would make Councillor Birchley an excellent Chairman of the Council.

The nomination was seconded by Councillor P Strachan.

There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED –

That Councillor P Birchley be elected as Chairman of the Council for the 2023/24 municipal year.

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

Councillor Birchley in the Chair

The Chairman addressed the meeting and took the opportunity to pay tribute to the work of the outgoing Chairman and his wife, and to thank the proposer and seconder for their kind words. The Chairman spoke of it being a privilege to serve as the Chairman of the Council, a role that she would perform to the best of her ability. She stated that she would strive to be a champion for the Council at events around the country, working closely with voluntary organisations and charities, and looked forward to meeting and valuing Council staff.  She encouraged Members to attend charity events during the year that would support two Buckinghamshire charities: Scannappeal and Medical Detection Dogs.

Councillor S Rouse rose to propose that Councillor M Harker OBE be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24, acknowledging her passion and energy in working with the community over a number of years, her sense of civic duty, and that her high level of commitment and energy would ensure she was an excellent advocate for the Council.  It was also commented that along with the chairman, Councillor Harker would form a formidable duo.

There being no other nominations, it was

RESOLVED –

That Councillor M Harker OBE be appointed as Vice-Chairman for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Harker 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.  She looked forward to supporting the Chairman of the Council and all Members during her term as Vice-Chairman of the Council.

Apologies were received from Councillors S Adoh, K Ashman, A Bond, T Butcher, T Dixon, P Griffin, D Hayday, O Hayday, T Hogg, S Lewin, H Mordue, J Rush, A Turner and K Wood.  Apologies were also received from Countess Howe, his Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and Dame Ann Limb, the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 26 April 2023 be approved as a correct record.

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 2023/24 to Cabinet Member and Deputy Cabinet Member positions be noted.

Members’ attention was drawn to the appendices tabled at the meeting which included:

-                      Appendix 2 – Appointments to Council Committees for 2023/24

-                      Appendix 3 – Appointments made by the Leader to Community Boards for 2023/24

-                      Appendix 5 – Appointments to Partnerships and Outside Bodies for 2023/24.

A copy of the appendices is attached to the Minutes and would also be published on the Council’s website.

RESOLVED –

(1)               That the allocation of seats on council committees to political groups at Appendix 1; and the nominations by political groups to council committees at Appendix 2 be approved.

(2)               That authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, upon the written confirmation of a Group Leader, to vary their nomination on a given Committee and to make the appropriate amendments to membership (and notify all Members / Chairman of the appropriate Committee of the change).

(3)               That all Councillors may act as potential substitutes on committees, and authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, upon the written confirmation of a Group Leader, to agree lists of proposed substitute nominations.

(4)               That the appointments made by the Leader for the municipal year 2023/24 of the Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of the Community Boards (Appendix 3) be noted.

(5)               That the appointments of councillors to partnerships and outside bodies for 2023/24 be agreed.

Council received a report on the proposed structure and remit for Select Committees for the municipal year 2023/24. 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.

RESOLVED –

That the proposed structure and remit for Select Committees for the municipal year 2023/24 in order to discharge the Council’s statutory overview and scrutiny functions be agreed.

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, through the guiding principles of delivering on the Manifesto of the majority group, focussing on the people’s priorities, working in partnership, delivering locally, Service improvement and change, and responding to the unexpected.

The Leader looked at the challenging context for the last year which had included the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, rising inflation / energy costs; cost of living pressures impacting residents and businesses; national infrastructure projects impacting locally, major increases in demand and complexity for both adults’ and children’s social care, strong focus on the environment and climate change; and that housing affordability remained a key issue for many residents including young people and key workers.

The Leader highlighted the many achievements of the Council over the previous 12 months in areas including improving the environment, protecting the vulnerable, increasing prosperity, and the local responses to levelling up such as Opportunity Bucks: Succeeding for All, Community Boards delivering over 300 projects, the launching of the Buckinghamshire Swan envoy programme, over 3 million visits to leisure centres, and that the Council had set out a new vision for Buckinghamshire’s libraries to encourage culture, learning and reading, promote health and wellbeing and enable access, information and inclusion.

Challenges for the Council going forward would include continuing high inflation adding major cost pressures in all services; continued cost of living pressures for residents; the very cold, wet winter and early spring significantly damaging roads; a growing demand for temporary accommodation and affordable housing; pressure on the green belt; continuing to develop the new Buckinghamshire Local Plan; increases in demand and complexity for all social care; Adult Social Care reforms; NHS under strain and Integrated Care System in transition; uncertainty on legislative environment pre-general election; the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda could mean reduced national focus on the needs of areas such as Buckinghamshire; and balancing the Council’s finances becoming increasingly challenging, especially the capital programme.

The Leader concluded by emphasising that all money spent by the Council was taxpayers’ money and the focus on making savings as well as delivering income would remain.  The Council would also be looking at the ongoing transformation programme for services and maximising opportunities from the Council’s own property portfolio.  It was also mentioned that the Council had recently been shortlisted for LGC Local Authority of the Year.

In response to questions the Leader provided information:

-                      That looking at risks faced by the Council was dealt with under the remit of the Audit and Governance Committee and their Risk Management Group.

-                      That the work done clearing gullies and blocked drains had highlighted that further capital works were now required in some instances to fix underlying issues. Unfortunately, the Council was short of capital funding and had to prioritise these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

The Cabinet Member for Communities presented the report which provided the background on the progression and performance of the Community Boards during 2022-2023 and highlighted the achievements of the Boards over the year.

The Cabinet Member advised that it had been a successful third year of operation for the Boards with it becoming evident that the Boards had found their place in their respective areas and were working as originally planned, engaging with local communities to identify and deliver change and improvements for residents.

The Boards had made significant progress in collaborating with a wide range of partners and stakeholders through building relationships and networks, which had helped to strengthen their communities and support them in achieving their aspirations.  Relationships with the majority of town and parish councils were good with real partnership working and engagement taking place. Many Board Managers operated from town and parish offices/facilities, ensuring their faces were known and this provided opportunities for residents to come and speak with them.  Regular meetings were held with nearly all town/parishes, with open doors to others who may not have the time or wish to engage at present.

Through engaging with a range of local partners and without providing funding, the Boards were playing a crucial role in facilitating activities to improve the local community, including setting up a repair café, tree planting schemes, and a community hub to attract investment and provide facilities for groups. The amount of engagement work was high, and whilst not every piece of engagement could be recorded, a strong list of examples was included in the annual report.

Board's priorities had been aligned to those of the council but at a very local level.  These included improving health and wellbeing, supporting young people, enhancing the environment and communities. Additionally, the Boards had effectively responded to new areas of priority such as addressing the cost of living crisis, supporting Ukraine and Opportunity Bucks.

Three of the Boards covered the ward areas being focused on through the Opportunity Bucks programme. With oversight through the Community Board, Ward Partnerships had been established in these areas and were identifying key local challenges and issues.  In line with the aims of the Community Boards and the Opportunity Bucks programme, action plans were being developed to address these challenges. For all six Wycombe wards these action plans had been agreed and work had commenced. Work was continuing to develop the plans for the three Aylesbury wards and one Chesham ward.

During 2021/22 a review of Community Boards had been undertaken which involved a Member Task & Finish Group and a Scrutiny Review, a number of actions had been identified which had now been delivered. The changes had led to quicker and clearer decision making across the service, provided stability across the function of the Boards and quicker funding decisions. A successful small grants process was also introduced which had seen much smaller organisations able to deliver Board priorities.

During 2022/23, the Boards had begun to move away from what was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

RESOLVED –

That the calendar of meetings for 2023/24 be agreed.

A list of decisions taken by Cabinet Members since the last Full Council meeting on 26 April 2023 were received and noted.

Wednesday 12 July 2023 at 4pm

The next full Council meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday 12 July 2023 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:

-                      Children’s & Education Select Committee

-                      Communities & Localism Select Committee

-                      Finance & Resources Select Committee

-                      Growth, Infrastructure & Housing Select Committee

-                      Health & Adult Social Care Select Committee

-                      Transport, Environment & Climate Change Select Committee

-                      Audit & Governance Committee

-                      Licensing Committee

-                      High Wycombe Town Committee

-                      Standards & General Purposes Committee

-                      Central Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee

-                      East Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee

-                      North Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee

-                      South Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee

-                      West Buckinghamshire Area Planning Committee

-                      Strategic Sites Committee