Agenda and minutes

(Following election, the Chairman will make a Declaration of Acceptance of Office)

It was proposed by Councillor R. Hollingworth and seconded by Councillor Mrs. H. J. Jones and

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs J. M. L. A. Griffiths be elected Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.

Councillor Mrs J. M. L. A. Griffiths signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked Members of the Council for re-electing her to the office of Chairman.

(Following election, the Vice-Chairman will make a Declaration of Acceptance of Office)

It was proposed by Councillor Mrs. C. J. Spencer and seconded by Councillor J. S. Brogan and

RESOLVED that Councillor R. J. Laight be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council for the ensuing year.

Councillor R. J. Laight signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and thanked Members of the Council for re-electing him to the office of Vice-Chairman.

(Following election, the Civic Head will be invested with the Badge and Chain  of Office)

It was proposed by Councillor S. R. Colella and seconded by Councillor K. A. Grant-Pearce and

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs. J. M. Boswell be elected Civic Head for the ensuing year.

Having been invested with the Civic Head’s Badge of Office, Councillor Mrs. J. M. Boswell signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Councillor Mrs. C. J. Spencer, having been presented by Councillor Mrs. J. M. L. A. Griffiths with a Past Civic Head’s badge and ribbon, then concluded her year of office.

It was proposed by the Chairman and

RESOLVED that the thanks of the Council be tendered to Councillor Mrs. C. J. Spencer for the services rendered during her term of office as Civic Head.

It was proposed by Councillor J. R. Boulter and seconded by Councillor C. B. Taylor and

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs. H. J. Jones be elected Deputy Civic Head for the ensuing year.

Councillor Mrs. H. J. Jones signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mrs. R. L. Dent, P. Lammas and B. Lewis F.CMI.

No declarations of interest were received.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18th April 2012 were submitted.

In response to comments from Councillor P. M. McDonald with regard to Minute No. 119/11 (a) in relation to the reduction in the number of meetings of the full Council, the Chairman undertook to ensure that the matter was aired.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting be approved as a correct record.

Civic Head

(a)       Councillor Mrs. J. M. Boswell thanked Members of the Council for electing her to the office of Civic Head.

(b)       The Civic Head announced that her charities for the ensuing year would be:

·              Life After Stroke Centre

·              Primrose Hospice

·              Edward’s Trust, Birmingham Children’s Hospital

(c)        The Civic Head referred to the Civic Service on 1st July 2012, Fly the Flag for the Armed Forces on 25th June 2012 and the Tea Dance held in the Spadesbourne Suite on the last Wednesday in each month.

Chairman

The Chairman paid tribute to Karen Firth, Committee Services Manager who would be leaving the Council shortly.

(a)    The Leader announced that the membership of the Cabinet would be as follows for the ensuing Municipal Year:

Councillor R. Hollingworth                   Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance (and Partnerships and Economic Development)          

Councillor Mrs. M. A. Sherrey JP       Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Health and Well-being

Councillor C. B. Taylor                         Portfolio Holder for Planning, Core Strategy and Regulatory Services

Councillor Dr. D. W. P. Booth JP       Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing, Business Transformation (including ICT) with special responsibility for the Town Centre Regeneration and Special Projects

Councillor M. J. A. Webb                    Portfolio Holder for Leisure, Cultural Services and Environmental Services

Councillor M. A. Bullivant                     Portfolio Holder for Policy, Performance, Communications, Customer Services, Legal, Equalities, Democratic Services and Human Resources

(b)    The Leader proposed that the Council suspend the Council Procedure Rules as he wished to move a motion. At the request of the Chairman he clarified that the motion related to actions taken in the aftermath of the tragic coach accident in France involving Alvechurch Church of England Middle School. He wished the Council to formally thank those who had played a part. Having been seconded by Councillor Mrs. M. A. Sherrey, JP, it was agreed that Council Procedure Rules be suspended.

         Having been moved by the Leader and seconded by Councillor E. J. Murray, it was

         RESOLVED that the Council record its thanks to all those who helped with the return of children from Alvechurch Church of England Middle School following the coach accident in France, and that letters be sent to the relevant authorities and emergency services in France to thank them for their efforts in this regard and to Worcestershire County Council to thank the authority for its help in providing support to children and parents in the aftermath of the accident.  

(c)   The Leader proposed that, in view of the number of people in attendance for the ceremonial part of the Annual Meeting, the business items on the agenda be deferred to allow for full debate at an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council (to be convened before the next scheduled ordinary meeting of the Council). In response the Monitoring Officer advised that the Council would need to make decisions on the following matters that evening:

·        To roll forward the existing Committees and their political balance. Group Leaders would then need to appoint Members to Committees.

·        To agree the Scheme of Delegations as there was a Constitutional requirement to agree this at the Annual Meeting. The proposed Constitutional changes could be deferred.

·        To agree the extension of appointments to Outside Bodies until the next ordinary meeting of the Council.

Councillor R. Hollingworth moved and Councillor Mrs. M. A. Sherrey seconded that the above matters be agreed.

Councillor P. M. McDonald and Mrs. C. M. McDonald queried a number of delegations within the Scheme of Delegations, including:

·        Street Naming

·        Alcohol Consumption in Public Places

·        High Hedges

·        Tree Preservation Orders

·        Programme of Council and Committee Meetings

·        Advertisements

The Chairman indicated that these matters could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.