MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE COUNCIL HELD
AT COUNTY HALL, NEWPORT, ISLE OF WIGHT ON WEDNESDAY, 21 MARCH 2007 COMMENCING
AT 6.00 PM
Present :
Cllrs Charles Chapman (Chairman), Barry Abraham, Henry Adams,
Wendy Arnold, Anne Bishop, George Brown, Ivan Bulwer,
William Burt, George Cameron, Vanessa Churchman,
Dawn Cousins, Mike Cunningham, John Effemey,
Jonathan Fitzgerald-Bond, Barbara Foster, Deborah Gardiner,
Charles Hancock, John Hobart, Heather Humby,
Tim Hunter-Henderson, Patrick Joyce, Gill Kennett,
David Knowles, Geoff Lumley, Win McRobert, Roger Mazillius,
Muriel Miller, Brian Mosdell, Lora Peacey-Wilcox,
Lady Pigot, David Pugh, Susan Scoccia, Ian Stephens,
Andy Sutton, Melanie Swan, Arthur Taylor, Diana Tuson,
Ian Ward, Margaret Webster, Alan Wells, David Whittaker,
Julian Whittaker, David Williams, Jilly Wood
Apologies :
John Bowker, Erica Oulton, Garry Price, Colin West,
56.
MINUTES
RESOLVED :
THAT the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 February 2007 be confirmed.
57.
DECLARATIONS OF
INTEREST
There were no declarations received at this stage.
58.
PUBLIC QUESTION
TIME
Mrs Jill Wareham asked the Council
to confirm that the Government had not required a consultation to be undertaken
on the future of the Fire and Rescue Service.
The Leader advised that the Council had agreed with the Minister that a
wide consultation would be conducted. A
supplementary question was asked about the availability of the minutes from the
meeting with the Government Minister and Mrs Wareham was advised that these
were available.
59.
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
The Chairman had
provided a written report and in addition advised Council that the recent
Chairman’s Charity event at LA Bowl in Ryde had been a great success. A number of teams, including staff and
Members had taken part, and a total of £500 had been raised for the Earl
Mountbatten Hospice.
It was further
announced that four of the Island’s St John Ambulance Cadets had recently
visited
60.
MOTIONS SUBMITTED
UNDER PROCEDURE RULE 11
A motion regarding the Scrutiny Committee’s recent
investigation into the Independent Remuneration Panel’s findings had been
submitted by the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee as follows:
i.
THAT Council notes that an enquiry by the co-opted members of the
Scrutiny Committee (SC17/06) into the processes used for the reporting and
consideration of the Independent Remuneration Panel's recommendations on
Members Allowances and expenses by Full Council on 18 October 2006, has found
that those processes were not transparent.
ii.
THAT Council also notes that the full Scrutiny Committee has accepted
that finding and the enquiry Report without opposition.
iii.
THAT Council, therefore, agrees to accept the
recommendations made by the Scrutiny Committee - as detailed in the attached
Report.
Council considered the motion and the supporting Scrutiny
Committee report which detailed the findings of the investigation.
An amendment was proposed, seconded, and circulated to
Members. Following the vote it was
RESOLVED:
i.
THAT Council notes that an enquiry by the co-opted members of the Scrutiny
Committee (SC17/06) into the processes used for the reporting and consideration
of the Independent Remuneration Panel's recommendations on Members Allowances
and expenses by Full Council on 18 October 2006, has found that those processes
were not transparent.
ii.
THAT Council also notes that the full Scrutiny Committee has accepted
that finding and the enquiry Report without opposition.
iii.
THAT Council agrees, as recognised in the Enquiry
Report, that the Panel’s Term of Reference were neither clear nor accurate, and
expresses its disappointment that the
Panel “could not obtain authoritative, consistent or unambiguous financial data
from officers of the Council despite repeated requests to do so”.
iv.
With this in mind that Council also expresses
disappointment that the Leader and other leading Members involved were not
given the opportunity to give evidence to the enquiry, and as a result this
report is not as well informed as it could have been.
v.
THAT Council asks
the Scrutiny Committee to ensure that all relevant stakeholders are invited to
give evidence in any future enquiries.
vi.
THAT Council
agrees to accept recommendations 2.1 to 2.5, and 2.7 made by the Scrutiny
Committee, as detailed in the report.
61.
FIRE AND RESCUE
SERVICE - OPTIONS APPRAISAL REPORT
Members considered the options put forward in the
report, together with the results of the consultation, which had concluded on
31 January 2007. Public response had shown
overwhelming support for retention of the
Council was advised that further improvements would be
required in order to establish an efficient and cost effective service for
The Cabinet Member proposed that Council accept Option
1, as set out in the report, but following further debate an amendment was
proposed and accepted. Following the
vote it was
RESOLVED:
i.
THAT the Isle of
Wight Fire and Rescue Service remains part of the Isle of Wight Council.
ii.
THAT the Chief
Executive be given the authority to pursue the opportunity of joint working
arrangements between “Blue Light” services and other Public Sector partners on
the
62. STANDARDS COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT 2006-07
Council received the Standards Committee Annual Report
and thanked the Committee for their work over the year in ensuring that the
Council’s ethical governance remained robust.
It was proposed and seconded that Council accept the
report and following a brief discussion it was
RESOLVED:
THAT
the Annual Report of the Standards Committee be accepted.
63. ADOPTION OF THE ELECTED MEMBERS DEVELOPMENT POLICY
Council considered the proposed Elected Member
Development Policy, noting that the policy would provide the basis for all
future decisions about investment in Member development and the principles for
delivering learning activities.
A
recommendation to adopt the policy was proposed and seconded and following
further debate it was
RESOLVED:
THAT
the Elected Member Development Policy be adopted.
64. SCRUTINY COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS
Council considered the report from the Interim
Director of Democratic and Legal Services and was advised that one of the
independent co-opted members had recently retired. Following a recruitment exercise and an
internal and informal discussion, Mr Charles Rogers had been recommended for
appointment to the Scrutiny Committee.
In addition, it was recommended that appointments for independent
members should be extended to the life of the Council, which would require an
amendment to the current scheme of co-option under Section 115 of the Local
Government Act 2003.
During the debate an additional motion was added to
the recommendation, which was accepted and following the vote it was
RESOLVED:
i.
THAT Mr Charles
Rogers be appointed as an independent member of the Scrutiny Committee.
ii.
THAT the scheme
for co-option be amended as set out in the Appendix to the report.
iii.
THAT the
Council’s Interim Director of Legal and Democratic Services submits an
amendment to the Constitution at the Annual Council meeting which enables the
Scrutiny function to be fit for purpose to deliver the aspirations of the
forthcoming Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, the Home
Office Review of CDRP’s, and to enable the Community Call for Action to be
effective.
65.
CABINET
(a)
Recommendations
From The Cabinet
(i)
The
RESOLVED:
THAT the Adult and Community Learning Plan
for 2007-08 be approved.
(b)
Reports Of The
Cabinet Members
(i)
The Leader
The Leader referred to his
written report and informed Council of the recent meeting with the Education
Minister and that
Government Officers would be visiting the Council shortly to discuss issues in
more detail.
Cllr Lumley asked a question about the additional 4%
for ‘special expenses’ shown on Council Tax bills. The Leader explained that this reflected the
average precept for Town and Parish Councils.
(ii)
The Deputy Leader and
Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Learning
The Deputy Leader had circulated a written report and added his
congratulations to the Family Learning Team for their recent award.
Cllr Mazillius asked the Cabinet Member to
join him in congratulating the Director of Children’s Services on his
appointment to the Government’s 14-19 Reform Group and his advisory position
with the DfES. The Cabinet Member was
pleased to concur.
Cllr Williams asked a question regarding the
minutes of the Isle of Wight Youth Council’s last meeting, since they raised
concerns about intimidation from teachers.
The
Cllr Swan asked about the possible closure of
Cllr Hancock asked about an update on the progress of the Children’s
Centre at
Cllr Pugh asked if the Cabinet Member would agree that
Cllr Sutton asked about the Liberal Democrat proposals to close 31 of
the
(iii)
Chairman of Scrutiny
A
written report had been circulated and the Chairman had nothing further to add.
(iv)
Cabinet Member
for Resources and Town/Parish Council
Empowerment
A written report had been provided and the
Cllr Hancock asked about the Council’s policy for re-employing staff following
severance payments. The Cabinet Member
agreed to provide a written response.
(v)
Cabinet Member for Assets, Planning and Housing
A written report had been provided and the
Cllr D Whittaker asked the Cabinet Member to
accept congratulations for the recent rural affordable housing application at
Nettlestone. The Cabinet Member concurred.
Cllr Mazillius asked about land availability
to meet targets for housing development and the Cabinet Member confirmed that
no green belt land would be used.
Cllr Hancock asked about the timescale
regarding the proposed pre-planning process and the Cabinet Member advised that
he would be more able to provide a response after the next scheduled meeting
with Planning Services.
(vi)
Cabinet Member for Safer Communities and Fire and Rescue Modernisation
A written report had been provided and the
Cllr Miller asked the Cabinet Member if he
would join her in offering congratulations to
Cllr Webster asked if CREW information could
also be offered to children in primary schools and the Cabinet Member agreed to
investigate the possibility.
(vii)
A written question had been received from Cllr Humby regarding the
frequency of refuse collections on the
A written report had been circulated and the
Cllr Hancock asked why the lanes on the dual carriageway had been
altered and the Cabinet Member advised that this had been done to encourage
drivers to use both lanes.
Cllr Gardiner asked about support for the Ferry Passenger Group (FPG),
which was currently calling for a Government enquiry into ferry fares. The Cabinet Member advised that he supported
the FPG and public participation would be welcomed.
Cllr Mazillius asked about creating a third
lane for the dual carriageway to avoid future congestion. The Cabinet Member advised that the Private
Finance Initiative (PFI) bid did not allow for new engineering works, but a
separate bid had been submitted.
Cllr Lumley asked about a scheme to
re-direct traffic away from
Cllr Hancock asked if the signage for the
dual carriageway could be improved and the Cabinet Member agreed to investigate.
Cllr D Whittaker asked about the Planning
Gain Supplement’s (PGS) impact on 106 Agreements. The Cabinet Member advised that the PGS would
not have an impact on 106 Agreements.
Cllr Joyce asked if the ‘Town Centre’
marking on the dual carriageway could be removed to avoid confusion and the
Cabinet Member advised that he would investigate the possibility.
Cllr Sutton asked if the Cabinet Member
would accept his congratulations for negotiating a reduction in ferry fares for
students attending
(viii)
Cabinet Member for The Economy,
The Customer, Communications, Leisure and Tourism
A written report had been
circulated and the
(ix)
Cabinet Member for
A written report had been provided and
apologies were now put forward for the Cabinet Member’s absence from the latter
part of the meeting.
CHAIRMAN