1.
Minutes
RESOLVED :
THAT
the Minutes of the meeting held on 20
June 2007 be confirmed.
2.
Declarations
of Interest
Cllrs Brown, Bulwer, Hunter-Henderson,
Knowles, Miller and West declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Item
5, as they were Members of the Investigatory and Disciplinary Committee
investigating the Undercliff Drive project.
Cllr Arnold declared a personal interest
in Item 5, as her neighbour was employed by High Point Rendell.
Cllr Gardiner declared a personal
interest in Item 8, as she had been a member of a committee reviewing the
performance indicators.
3.
Public Question Time
Questions
were put to the Chairman as follows :
Mr Miller of Northwood, Cowes asked a
question about the scope of the Year 9 Provision Report and subsequent
proposals which might fall outside the consultation exercise. The Cabinet
Member advised that if additional proposals emerged from officers’ work, separate consultation
arrangements would be made prior to the publication of any statutory
notices.
Mr Miller asked a supplementary question regarding
the publication of admission numbers and the Cabinet Member advised that a
written response would be provided.
Mr Blezzard of Sandown asked about Member protocols
for responding to correspondence. The Cabinet Member advised that he would
contact the Local Member concerned.
Mr Wortham of Brighstone asked the Council if it
might be in the public’s best interest to sever all connection with High Point
Rendell. The Deputy Leader advised that
he would discuss this with the Chief Executive and provide a written response.
Mr Stark asked about Item 5 on the agenda, seeking
reassurance that a guillotine would not be imposed on the Investigatory and
Disciplinary Committee. The Deputy Leader advised that the Investigatory and
Disciplinary Committee would bring the investigation to a conclusion and submit
the results to the Council.
Mr Stark asked a supplementary question about
whether the Deputy Leader would agree with him, that the Investigatory and
Disciplinary Committee had to date conducted the enquiry in a thorough
manner. The Deputy Leader agreed.
4.
Chairman’s Report
The Chairman had provided a
written report about recent events attended.
The Council’s Vice Chairman was thanked for his support during the
Island Games event in Rhodes.
5.
Motion Under Procedure Rule 11
Members
of the Investigatory and Disciplinary Committee left the Chamber for this item.
An
amended motion was presented by Cllr Lumley:
“That
Council resolves that the Undercliff enquiry be wound up by 30 September 2007.”
The
motion was seconded and during the debate concerns were raised about taking
sufficient time to establish the truth whilst protecting employees’
rights. Council was informed that costs
to date had been supported by the risk contingency fund.
The
Chief Executive also advised Council that it would be unlawful to terminate the
enquiry because the Council’s Monitoring Officer had issued a Statutory Report
and the Council therefore had a duty to complete the investigation. In addition, individual employees’ rights
might be undermined, putting employees at risk, should the investigation be
terminated.
Following
the vote the motion was lost.
6.
Appointments and Constitutional Matters
Council
considered the proposals regarding the appointment of two Member Appointment
Committees, specifically to appoint to the Head of the Safer Neighbourhoods
Partnership and the Head of Adult Care; to revise the political proportionality
following an internal movement of one of the Members; and to discuss changes to
the Member Champions for Civic Pride and the Environment and Heritage.
Following
the recent changes for Cllr Churchman and Cllr Mosdell, nominations for two new Member Champions
were: Cllr Whittaker for Member Champion for Civic Pride, and Cllr Hobart for
Member Champion for Heritage and Environment.
Following
the debate it was
RESOLVED:
THAT
Council:
(a)
Establish two
Appointment Committees (Appointment Committee for the Head of Safer
Neighbourhoods Partnership and the Appointment Committee for the Head of Adult
Care) with a membership of 5 to be allocated in accordance with political
proportionality to 4 members of the Conservative Group and one member from
other groups on the Council.
(b)
Allocate seats to
political groups in accordance with the proportionality rules set out in the
Council’s Constitution.
(c)
Appoint Cllr Whittaker
as Member Champion for Civic Pride and Cllr Hobart as the Member Champion for
Environment and Heritage.
7.
Recommendations from the Standards Committee
The Chairman of the Standards Committee was invited to
address Council prior to the introduction of the report and proposal by the
Cabinet Secretary.
(a)
Revised Code of Conduct
Members
discussed the revised code of conduct and the recommendations put forward by
the Standards Committee. Following the
vote it was
RESOLVED:
(i)
THAT the new model
Code of Conduct with the ten General Principles of Public Life be adopted.
(ii)
THAT the Draft
Protocol on Confidential Information (as detailed in Appendix 1 of Paper C2,
attached) be adopted pending the publication of the Standards Board Model
Documents.
(b)
Indemnity of Members
The
Chairman of the Standards Committee addressed Council advising that the revised
indemnity of Members followed a decision made by Council in 2003. All requests for indemnity cover would be
submitted to the Council’s Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer for
approval.
Members
were also informed that the revised arrangements would ensure maximum cover for
Members with specific responsibility, particularly for care and children’s
services.
Following
a brief debate it was
RESOLVED:
(i)
THAT the authority
provides indemnity for members to cover their costs and liabilities in Civil proceedings
and in Criminal and Standards proceedings (including hearings before the local
Standards Committee), subject to:
§
repayment if the offence is admitted or the offence is proven
§
only being payable where the member has acted in good faith
(ii)
THAT any such indemnity is limited to insurance cover limits and conditions except in exceptional
circumstances
(iii)
THAT each case be
considered on its own merits within these conditions by the Monitoring Officer
and Chief Finance Officer
(iv)
THAT an appeal lies from
the Monitoring Officer and the Chief Finance Officer to the Standards Committee
save in cases before the local Standards Committee when alternative reciprocal
arrangements with other Standards Committees will be established.
8.
Recommendation from the Audit and Performance
Committee
Council
was advised of the statutory duty to publish the Best Value Performance Plan
(BVPP) by 30 June 2007. The Plan had
been reviewed and discussed by the Audit and Performance Committee on 21 June
2007 with a recommendation being submitted to Council to adopt the BVPP.
The
motion was seconded and during the debate queries were raised about the detail
included with the Best Value Performance Indicators, Appendix B of the
report. Council was advised that the
performance indicators were nationwide and therefore not all of them were
necessarily appropriate for the Island.
In addition, the Audit and Performance Committee had reviewed the format
and content of each one of the indicators and provided feedback to the
Corporate Performance Team.
However,
enquiries regarding the Council’s performance in health and wellbeing and
children’s services would receive written responses from the appropriate
Cabinet Member.
RESOLVED:
(a)
THAT the proposed format
of the BVPP be approved.
9.
Cabinet
Reports Of
The Cabinet Members
(i)
The Leader
A written report had been
received in the Leader’s absence.
(ii)
The Deputy
Leader and Cabinet Member for Schools Leadership and Governance
The Cabinet Member had provided a written report.
Cllr Lumley asked if the Cabinet Member intended to implement Year 9
plans without the use of portacabins, as previously advised. The Cabinet Member informed Members that
schools selected for 2009 would not require portacabins. It was also envisaged that the necessary
infrastructure would be in place by 2010, eradicating the use of portacabins at
that time.
(iii)
Cabinet Member for Children’s Services
A written report had been provided.
(iv)
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure and Communications
A
written report had been provided.
Cllr
Gardiner asked for an update on the Island’s involvement with preparations for
the 2012 Olympic Games. The Cabinet
Member advised that initial discussions were taking place with the Olympic
Administration Team, and a bid had been submitted to the South East Region
Training Camps Committee in January 2007.
Cllr
Mosdell asked if the Cabinet Member was aware of any link between the South
East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and private development in East
Cowes. The Cabinet Member advised that
a Workshop would be held during July 2007 to include all Local Members, SEEDA
representatives, English Heritage and the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership to
investigate all potential links.
(v)
Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Supporting People
A written report had been provided and the
Cabinet Member highlighted the retirement of care worker, Mrs Valerie Cohen,
who had retired following 33 years service with an unblemished attendance
record.
(vi)
Cabinet Member for Customers and Parish Empowerment
A written report had been provided.
(vii)
Cabinet Member for Economy, Tourism, Assets and Planning
The Cabinet Member informed Council that there was no specific update
for this meeting, but invited questions.
Cllr Miller asked for a report on the cost and value of the Council’s
hospitality tent provided at the Isle of Wight Festival. The Cabinet Member advised that large
numbers of people had visited the tent, which had included a Tourist
Information Centre. A written response
would be provided.
(viii)
Cabinet Member for Resources
A
written report had been provided.
(ix)
Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Fire Modernisation
A written report had been provided in the Cabinet Member’s
absence. The Chairman advised Members
to contact the Cabinet Member direct with any questions.
(x)
Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport
A written report had been
provided.
Cllr Webster presented a petition
from the East Cowes Town Council about road conditions. The Cabinet Member accepted the petition and
advised that he would discuss the matter with officers and provide an appropriate
response.
Cllr Knowles asked when the ‘give
way’ signs and zebra crossings would be re-painted. The Cabinet Member advised that a written response would be
provided.
Cllr Knowles asked for an update
on the Private Finance Initiative and the Cabinet Member advised that a
response had been expected in June, but had now been delayed until autumn 2007.
Cllr
Knowles asked if the work at Ryde Interchange would definitely begin in October
2007. The Cabinet Member advised that
he was confident that the work would start in October 2007.
Cllr
Hancock questioned the traffic management arrangement around the Lugley Street
and Lower St James’s Street, which was causing long delays. The Cabinet Member advised that a traffic
survey study had recently been completed, which would inform a traffic
improvement plan for the whole of Newport.
Cllr
Hancock asked the Cabinet Member to note that concerns had been raised by
retailers in the Lugley Street and Lower St James’s Street area. The Cabinet Member advised that this would
be noted.
(xi)
The Vice-Chairman of Scrutiny
The Vice-Chairman advised that a
development session had been attended and an informal meeting of the Scrutiny
Committee had been arranged for 21 July 2007.
CHAIRMAN