PAPER A

 

MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE FULL COUNCIL HELD AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON WEDNESDAY, 18 JANUARY 2006 COMMENCING AT 6.00 PM

 

Present :

 

Cllrs John Effemey (Chairman), Barry Abraham, Henry Adams, Wendy Arnold, Anne Bishop, John Bowker, George Brown, William Burt, George Cameron, Vanessa Churchman, Dawn Cousins, Mike Cunningham, Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Barbara Foster, Charles Hancock, John Hobart, Heather Humby, Tim Hunter-Henderson, Patrick Joyce, Gill Kennett, David Knowles, Geoff Lumley, Roger Mazillius, Win McRobert, Muriel Miller, Brian Mosdell, Erica Oulton, Lora Peacey-Wilcox, David Pugh, Susan Scoccia, Ian Stephens, Melanie Swan, Arthur Taylor, Diana Tuson, Ian Ward, Margaret Webster, Alan Wells, Julian Whittaker, Jilly Wood

 

Apologies :

 

Cllrs Ivan Bulwer, Charles Chapman, Deborah Gardiner, Lady Pigot, Garry Price, Andy Sutton, Colin West, David Whittaker, David Williams

 

 

 


51.             MINUTES

 

RESOLVED :

 

THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2005 be confirmed.

 

52.             DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

 

There were no declarations of interest at this stage.

 

53.             PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

 

Questions were put to the Chairman as follows :

 

Mr K Pearson asked a question regarding the work of the scrutiny committee. The Chairman provided a response.

 

Mr J Wortham asked a question regarding the vacant post for the Head of Communications. Cllr Wells provided a response.

 

Mrs B Clough asked a question regarding timings of formal Council meetings. The Deputy Leader provided a response.

 

Ms A Hewitt asked a question regarding town and parish council precepts. Cllr Wood provided a response.


54.             CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

 

The Chairman offered his condolences to Cllr Lumley for the recent loss of his father and paid tribute to the late Morris Lickens OBE, who would be missed for his involvement in sports on the Island, in particular the Annual Indoor Games.

 

The Chairman offered his support to the Isle of Wight Games Committee who would be presenting their bid to host the 2011 Island Games to the International Committee in February.

 

The Chairman praised the Isle of Wight Youth Concert Band for achieving a gold medal in an area competition in November. The band would be competing in a national competition in April.

 

The Chairman passed on his congratulations to the ladies under 25 indoor bowls team for gaining a trophy in competition.

 

The Chairman applauded the achievement of Trevor Collins in gaining the ‘unsung hero’ award for his achievements and commitment to swimming from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

 

55.             BUSINESS DEFERRED FROM THE EXTRAORDINARY MEETING DUE TO BE HELD ON 9 JANUARY 2006

 

Council was advised that the extraordinary meeting called for 9 January 2006 had been cancelled and agenda items had therefore had been deferred to the next scheduled meeting. 

 

The motion was proposed by Cllr Lumley, who reiterated the concerns of some Members regarding the process of dealing with the provision and leadership of the Council’s education services. 

 

The motion was seconded and following a debate it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the motion was lost.

 

56.             MOTION SUBMITTED UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 11

 

Cllr Pugh and Cllr Wells declared a personal and prejudicial interest and left the Chamber for the duration of the item.

 

Cllr Humby and Cllr Miller declared a personal interest in the item as they had previously served on the Standards Committee.

 

The motion was proposed by Cllr Brown with the amendment to substitute the word ‘congratulate’ with ‘note’.

 

The motion was seconded and following a vote it was

 

RESOLVED:

           

That Full Council note the decision of an Appeals Tribunal hearing by the Adjudication Panel for England on 6th January 2006, which dismissed the findings of the local Standards Committee in September 2005, that had found him guilty of breaching paragraph 4 of the Code of Conduct, as a member of Cowes Town Council.

 

Further to the Ethical Audit report from the Standards Committee presented to Full Council in November 2005, this meeting believes that the outcome of the most recent hearing is to be welcomed as it reflects the high standards expected of all elected members of the Isle of Wight Council.

 

This meeting believes that the commitment to "challenging and supporting town and parish councils - and to driving up good governance standards including ethics and probity", as resolved at the November 2005 meeting, can be best fulfilled by the Standards Committee ensuring their meetings are conducted in line with all the necessary procedures and protocols, thus giving the appropriate reassurances to all those involved.

 

This Council would welcome the Standard Committee's consideration of any issues arising out of the September hearing, including those raised by participants, to ensure best practice and full confidence in any future hearings conducted by the Committee.

 

57.             NEW STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS

 

John Lawson, Assistant Chief Executive, and John Metcalfe, Associate Director of Cultural and Leisure Services, left the chamber for the duration of the debate on this item.

 

Council noted that following the Chief Executive’s retirement, consideration must be given to interim arrangements prior to the appointment of a new Chief Executive, in order to continue the Council’s business.

 

Cllr Wood proposed the motion with an amendment to replace the word ‘consider’ with ‘support’, to change the areas where the word ‘interim’ appears with the word ‘acting’ and to include the title of Monitoring Officer.

 

The proposal was seconded and following a vote it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

                   i.                        That John Lawson (currently an Assistant Chief Executive) be appointed as Acting Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service for a period of 6 months, or until a permanent Chief Executive is recruited and appointed by Council.

 

                 ii.                        That John Metcalfe (currently Associate Director of Cultural and Leisure Services) be appointed as Acting Assistant Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer, whilst John Lawson is Acting Chief Executive.

 

58.             RECOMMENDATION FROM THE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

 

In light of the fact that the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee had resigned from the Committee, it was proposed that this item be deferred to the next meeting.

 

Following a vote it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT the item be deferred to the next meeting.

 

59.             CABINET

 

(a)               Recommendations From The Cabinet

 

Members considered the recommendation from Cabinet following their meeting  on 21 December 2005 regarding the Council’s response to the recent Performance Assessment for Children’s Services for 2005 and the development of new delivery structures.

 

Councillor Swan proposed an amendment to replace the word ‘resolves’ with ‘supports the Cabinet decision’

 

Following agreement by the Deputy Leader the amended motion was moved and seconded and following a vote it was

 

RESOLVED:

 

THAT Full Council notes with concern the performance reported in the Annual Performance Assessment for Children’s Services for 2005 over the past year and supports the Cabinet decision to develop new delivery structures and plans which;

 

(i)         Recognise the distinct but inter-dependent range of services within Children’s Services;

 

                        (ii)        Prioritise improvements in school attainment;

 

                        (iii)       Maintains progress in outcomes for all users of Children Services;

 

(iv)       Where necessary to create capacity and to allow effective and efficient use of resources, to renegotiate timescales for delivery of structural change in Children’s Services.

 

(b)               Reports Of The Cabinet Members

 

(i)                 The Leader

 

The Deputy Leader responded in the Leader’s absence. 

 

A written question had been received from Cllr Gardiner regarding expenditure on consultant’s fees and early retirement payments. Cllr Wood provided a response (MQ03/06).

 

Cllr Mazillius declared a personal interest in Cllr Wood’s response as his son provided architectural services to the Council. 

 

A written question had been received from Cllr Humby regarding timings for meetings. The Deputy Leader provided a response (MQ04/06).

 

(ii)               The Deputy Leader

 

The Deputy Leader updated Members on a useful and encouraging meeting he attended on the Joint Area Review process in London with John Lawson, Acting Chief Executive.

 

(iii)             Cabinet Member for Care, Health and Housing

 

The Cabinet Member updated Members on developments in her area of responsibility including: the publication of the learning disability inspection report and outline improvement plan; an LGA meeting she had attended in London; a press statement on learning for older people; consultation on the PCT and Public Health Authority; the acceptance of the Blue Paper on Housing; and the forthcoming appointment of a Head of Housing.

 

The Cabinet Member jointly answered a question with Cllr Oulton regarding patient travel.

 

(iv)              Cabinet Member for Resources, Auditing and Council Efficiency; Customer Champion

 

A written question had been received from Cllr David Knowles regarding redundancy settlements. The Cabinet Member provided a response (MQ02/06).

 

The Cabinet Member provided a written report updating Members on the Council’s budget, the Corporate call centre and performance management.

 

The Cabinet Member answered questions regarding early retirement settlements and the Council’s forthcoming budget.

 

(v)                Cabinet Member for Safer Communities

 

The Cabinet Member provided a written report updating Members on the Fire and Rescue Service including: the Fire Improvement Plan; Capacity Building Fund; Community Safety and Risk Management Plan; Comprehensive Performance Assessment; further work required by the ODPM; and the Regional Management Board.

 

The Cabinet Member further updated Members on emergency planning processes for avian flu and progress within the licensing department. 

 

The Cabinet Member answered questions regarding Community Safety Officers, Criminal Records Bureau checks in relation to children, and the Isle of Wight Council’s relationship with Hampshire Fire and Rescue.

 

(vi)              Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Planning

 

The Cabinet Member provided a written report updating Members on speed reactive road signs, the beacon status bid for island waste disposal, and progress with the draft Island Plan.

 

The Cabinet Member answered questions regarding the ferry companies and speed reactive road signs.

 

(vii)            Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure

 

The Cabinet Member provided a written report updating Members on the visitor survey for 2004/05, the Tourism Marketing Strategy Group, promotional literature, the IOW Economic Strategy, Economic Benchmarking, and the Business Support Network.

 

The Cabinet Member answered questions on the Isle of Wight festival, the bus support network and fees for the policing of events.

 

60.             QUESTION TO THE POLICE AUTHORITY MEMBER

 

A written question had been received from Cllr David Williams under Procedure Rule 10.9 and the Police Authority Member provided a response (MQ01/06).

           

            The meeting closed at 8.45 pm.

           

 

           

CHAIRMAN