Agenda and minutes

Several tributes were made to the outgoing Chairman, Cllr Brigadier Robert Hall. The Leader referred to the exemplary manner he had chaired meetings of the Council with good humour and being fair to all parties. She also thanked him for being a marvellous ambassador representing the Council and Wiltshire at numerous functions, including Royal visits and openings of various facilities.

On behalf of the Liberal Democrat group, Cllr Hubbard thanked the Chairman for the fair and impartial manner he had conducted meetings of the Council particularly in the period following the unitary status of the authority.

Cllr Christopher Newbury on behalf of the Independent group thanked the Chairman for being clear minded and capable and for being an excellent Chairman and thanked him for his contribution.

Cllr Ian McLennan commented that it was a great honour to be able to pay tribute to such an excellent Chairman.

The Chairman explained that he was deeply moved by Councillors’ comments. He thanked Councillors for their kind words and for all their support during his Chairmanship. He also thanked officers for their support in particular, Democratic Services, Ian Gibbons, John Quinton, Yamina Rhouati and James Hazlewood, the Lord Lieutenancy Office – Jean Potter and her predecessor Janet de Rhé Philipe and assistant.

The Chairman sought nominations for the position of Chairman of Wiltshire Council for the period 2012/13. On being nominated and seconded and there being no further nominations, it was

Resolved:

That Cllr Christine Crisp be elected Chairman of Wiltshire Council for the period 2012/13.

The newly appointed Chairman signed the declaration of acceptance of office witnessed by the Monitoring Officer.

Cllr Christine Crisp in the Chair

The Chairman explained that she would do her best to justify the confidence placed in her by Councillors. She said it was an honour to serve them.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

(a)       Former Cllr Peter Green

The Chairman reported with sadness the death of former County Councillor Peter Green. Mr Green was a member of the County Council for 8 years, representing the Pewsham Division.

The Leader paid tribute to a hard working politician and local Councillor. She referred to an instance when the Council had been finely balanced politically and Mr Green had come into the Council Chamber by stretcher to participate in a crucial vote. She said that he would be sadly missed. Cllr Soden commented that he was an extremely honest and very much respected Councillor with a special interest in finance.

(b)       Former Cllr May Kiddle

Again with sadness, the Chairman announced the recent death of former Salisbury District Councillor Edith May Kiddle. Mrs Kiddle represented the Wilton area and had been twice the Mayor of Wilton.

Councillors stood in a moment of silence as a mark of respect for both Mr Green and Mrs Kiddle.

(c)        Cllr Howard Marshall

The Chairman was pleased to announce that Cllr Marshall continued to recover well from his recent heart operation. Councillors joined with the Chairman in wishing Cllr Marshall the best for his continued recovery.

(d)       On-going refurbishment of County Hall

The Chairman reminded Councillors that they would be unable to access County Hall during the weekend of 19 and 20 May due to planned asbestos removal works as part of the ongoing refurbishment.

(e)       Royal Visits

The Chairman referred to recent Royal visits as follows:

Thousands of people welcomed Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to Salisbury on 1 May when they visited the Wiltshire Diamond Jubilee Celebration event in Salisbury Cathedral and Close.  The visit formed part of their South West Tour to mark Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.

The Chairman thanked all those involved for their contribution to a memorable day for Wiltshire. 

HRH The Countess of Wessex officially opened Alabaré Place in Barnard Street on April 26.  It had been home to 33 vulnerable residents since last October.  The project was a partnership between Alabaré, housing group GreenSquare (incorporating Westlea), the Homes & Communities Agency, Places of Change and Wiltshire Council. It was also Alabaré’s 21st anniversary.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester visited Royal Wootton Bassett Academy on 9 May in connection with the School’s Holocaust and Genocide Programme as part of their humanities subject. 

Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall visited HMP Erlestoke on 2 March to attend a production of Les Misérables by Pimlico Opera involving prisoners.  Her Royal Highness also visited Jamie’s Farm at Ditteridge, Box on 3 April which uses a unique combination of ‘Family, Farming and Therapy’ to support vulnerable children from urban areas.

(f)        Olympic Torch

The Chairman reminded Council that the Olympic Torch would be passing through the county on May 22 & 23 and then again on July 11 & 12. It would visit north and west Wiltshire in May and the south and east  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

To consider the recommendations of the Standards Committee on the following items:

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer (To follow).

Public Participation

Mr Scragg – member of Chippenham Town Council and member of this Council’s Standards Committee and Task and Finish Group addressed Council on this item.

Cllr Stuart Wheeler as Cabinet member on the Focus Group on the Review of the Constitution presented a report which informed Council of the work undertaken so far in preparing for the implementation of the new standards framework under the Localism Act 2011.

The report also invited Council to consider the Standards Committee’s proposals for implementation of the new framework in Wiltshire. This included approval being sought on a proposed Code of Conduct and arrangements for dealing with complaints under the Code for the purposes of consultation with Wiltshire Councillors and Wiltshire Parish Councillors. Final approval would be sought at the extraordinary meeting of Council on 26 June 2012 taking into account any comments received.

Details of the job description and specification for the appointment of the independent person and seeking the advice of the Independent Remuneration Panel on the rate of remuneration, arrangements for the appointment of co-opted members and terms of reference of a new Standards Committee were presented.

At the Chairman’s invitation, Mrs Isabel McCord, Chairman of the current Standards Committee addressed Council on this item, particularly in relation to the proposed Code of Conduct. She considered that the Code did not cover behavioural issues such as bullying and respect which affected relationships between various parties and could impact on the reputation of the authority.

Cllr Jonathon Seed in thanking Mrs McCord for the work of the Standards Committee, presented amendments to the printed recommendations which were duly seconded, details of which were presented.

The report proposed the membership of the sub-committees of the new Standards Committee would not be subject to the rules on political proportionality. This would give flexibility to allow cross party representation to include minority groups and optimise Councillor availability. However, this approach to membership could only be implemented if no Councillor voted against the proposal.

Cllr Wheeler paid tribute to Mrs McCord and the other independent members of the current Standards Committee. Mrs McCord had been a good Chairman and with her Standards Committee had undertaken an excellent job. These comments were echoed by the Leader of the Council.

With the consent of Council, Cllr Wheeler incorporated the amendments moved by Cllr Seed into his motion and it was therefore

Resolved:

(1)     To approve the draft code of conduct (DCLG model text) as amended for consultation with Wiltshire Councillors and Wiltshire Parish Councillors before final approval is sought at the next meeting on 26 June 2012.

(2)     To approve the arrangements for dealing with code of conduct complaints, as set out in the report, for consultation with Wiltshire Councillors and Wiltshire Parish, Town and City Councillors before final approval is sought at the next meeting on 26 June 2012.

(3)     To approve the job description and specification for the independent person as set out in the report.

(4)     To authorise the Monitoring Officer, in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35a)

A copy of the revised Planning Code of Good Practice is circulated.

The Standards Committee on 2/05 has recommended the code to the Council as now revised to reflect the rules on predetermination and noted that the code will need to be further reviewed in the light of regulations on pecuniary interests and planning legislation.

Council is asked to agree the Code as recommended.

Cllr Wheeler presented proposed revisions to the Planning Code of Good Practice. The revisions were proposed to reflect the rules on predetermination under the Localism Act 2011. It was noted that the Code would need to be further reviewed in the light of regulations on pecuniary interests and planning legislation.

A discussion ensued on the appropriateness of holding political group meetings immediately before planning committee meetings as this could give rise to a perception that planning decisions were politically motivated.  Cllr Bill Douglas moved an amendment which was duly seconded as follows:

‘That the Council approves the draft Planning Code of Good Practice as set out at pages 75-86 of the Summons, subject to the following changes:

Page 78, last bullet: Delete “Political Group meetings....planning issue and”;

additional bullet: “There should be no Political Group pre-meetings in advance of Development Control meetings”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

Upon further debate, Cllr Morland proposed the following amendment which was duly seconded:

‘That the Council approves the draft Planning Code of Good Practice as set out at pages 75-86 of the Summons, subject to the following additional note at page 83 of the Summons:

NOTE

The following provisions of the Localism Act 2011 relating to predetermination came into force on 15 January 2012:

Prior indications of view of a matter not to amount to predetermination etc:

(1)          Subsection (2) applies if-

(a)      as a result of an allegation of bias or predetermination, or otherwise, there is an issue about the validity of a decision of a relevant authority, and

(b)          it is relevant to that issue whether the decision-maker, or any of the decision-makers, had or appeared to have had a closed mind (to any extent) when making the decision.

(2)          A decision-maker is not to be taken to have had, or to have appeared to have had, a closed mind when making the decision, just because-

(a)          the decision-maker had previously done anything that directly or indirectly indicated what view the decision-maker took, or would or might take, in relation to a matter, and

(b)          the matter was relevant to the decision.’

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

Upon further debate, Cllr Mary Douglas proposed the following amendment which was duly seconded:

To add a final bullet point under paragraph 7.1:

‘To avoid the perception of political influence, there should be no Political Group pre-meetings immediately prior to Development Control meetings.’

On being put to the vote, the amendment was LOST.

Taking into account the concerns of Councillors, the Leader proposed the following amendment which was duly seconded:

In the last bullet point of paragraph 7.1, delete the word “meetings”, and add an “s” to the word “group”, so it reads:

‘Political groups should never dictate how Members should vote on a planning issue and…’

Cllr Wheeler and with the consent of Council accepted the amendment within his motion.

Resolved:

That the Council approves the draft Planning Code of Good Practice as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35b)

To consider the attached report of the Statutory Scrutiny Officer.

The Standards Committee considered the attached report at its meeting on 02 May.  The recommendations of the Committee will be circulated in due course. 

Public Participation

The Chairman reported receipt of a question from Mr Phil Matthews, Chairman of the Wiltshire Involvement Network, details of which were presented along with the response from the Leader of the Council.

Details of the question and response are attached as Appendix 1 to these minutes.

Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cabinet member on the Focus Group on the Review of the Constitution presented a report which explained the background to the review of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny arrangements in the light of experience since the inception of the unitary authority.  The views of the Standards Committee dated 2 May 2012 were also presented.

The report also sought approval to implement new arrangements resulting from the review. Details of the current and proposed committee structure charts were presented for Council’s consideration. Cllr Wheeler moved the recommendations which were duly seconded.  These included having an Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee with three sub-committees covering Health, Children’s Services and Environment with a standing task group on budget overview and other ad-hoc task groups as required.

Cllr Tony Deane proposed the following amendment to the printed recommendations which was duly seconded:

To amend paragraph (2) to include a third bullet point to read as follows:

·         Rename the three sub-committees as “select committees”

To add a new paragraph (6) to read as follows:

(6)       To review the operation of the arrangements within 18 months.

To add a new paragraph (7) to read as follows:

(7)       To deal with the expected work programme, six meetings for each Select Committee per year will be fixed in the Council diary.  This is in the knowledge that extra meetings may be arranged if necessary and the planned meetings may be cancelled if there is insufficient business’.

Cllr Jeff Osborn explained that efforts had been made for some time to secure a protocol to govern the relationship between scrutiny and the Executive. Although elements of the protocol had been included in the section on core values of the new arrangements, he considered that this fell short of what had been included in the protocol. Cllr Osborn explained that a fully resourced and structured overview and scrutiny arrangement was at the heart of being able to challenge the Executive and secure on behalf of council tax payers, good value for money.

With the consent of Council, the amendments from Cllr Deane were incorporated into the motion and it was

Resolved:

That Council agrees:

(1)       the core values as set out in paragraph 7 of the report presented;

(2)       the structure and terms of reference of the revised overview and scrutiny arrangements as set out in Appendix B of the report presented subject to

·                     In the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee box, replace the fourth bullet with “Endorse the formation of task groups/appoint representative to project groups and delegate responsibility as appropriate”

·                     In each of the three Sub-Committee boxes, remove the wording “with the agreement of the Management Committee”.

·                     Rename the three Sub-Committees as “Select Committees”

(3)       to authorise  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35c)

The Chairman took the above items recorded at minute no.s 36 (a) – (c) and 37 together giving Councillors an opportunity comment on individual items.

The Leader proposed a motion which encompassed all of the above and the decision taken at minute number 35 (b) and (c) on the overview and scrutiny and standards arrangements, details of which were circulated and this was duly seconded. The proposals also included the new requirement to appoint a Police and Crime Panel; a formal joint committee of Wiltshire and Swindon Councils. The Leader also drew attention to the need to appoint non-elected voting and non-voting members to the Children’s Services Select Committee. It was noted that Group Leaders had been consulted on the principles of what was being proposed.

Resolved:

(1)       To note the reports and the legal requirements.

(2)       To appoint the following committees with the terms of reference as set out in the Constitution:-

                                    Strategic Planning

                                    Area Planning – East, North, South and West

                                    Licensing

                                    Standards (Current and New)

                                    Overview and Scrutiny Management

                                    Children’s Services Select

                                    Environment Select

                                    Health and Adult Social Care Select

                                    Audit

                                    Appeals

                                    Staffing Policy

                                    Officer Appointments

                                    Pension Fund

                                    Police and Crime Panel

Joint Committee for Appointment to Wiltshire Police Authority

(3)  To approve the aggregate number of committee places available to members of the Council being 186 and the number on each committee as follows:-

(4)  To appoint Area Boards, constituted as area committees as set out in paragraphs 15 to 17 of the report presented and within the Constitution, and to appoint those members representing electoral divisions to their respective area boards as set out in Appendix 1 attached to this motion.

(5)  To approve the nominations of Group Leaders, as set out in the attached Appendix 2, for the appointment of councillors and substitutes, to serve on committees in accordance with the agreed scheme of committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

None received for this meeting.

The Chairman reported receipt of question from Councillors Fogg, Jenkins, Caswill and Clark. Details of the questions and responses from the relevant Cabinet member are attached as Appendix 3.

In accordance with the constitution, each Councillor was given the opportunity to ask a relevant supplementary question to which the relevant Cabinet member replied.

(a) The Chairman will move that Council receives and notes the minutes of Cabinet and the various Committees of the Council as listed in the Minutes Book enclosed separately.

(b) The Leader, Cabinet members and Chairmen of Committees will be given a brief opportunity to make any important announcements.

(c) Councillors will be given an opportunity to raise general issues relating to Area Boards but not specific local issues.

(d) Councillors will be given the opportunity to raise questions on points of information or clarification on the minutes presented.

To receive and note the Annual Report of the Standards Committee for the period 2011/12.

The Standard Committee considered the draft report at its meeting on 02 May.  The final report will be circulated in due course.

To agree the following dates for meetings of Council in the year 2012/13:

·         26 June 2012 – Extraordinary meeting re Core Strategy

·         10 July 2012

·         13 November 2012

·         19 Feb 2013 – (if required)

·         26 Feb 2013 – Budget setting meeting

Resolved:

To approve the following dates for meetings of the Council for the period 2012/13:

26 June 2012                       -           Extraordinary meeting

10 July 2012

13 November 2012

19 February 2013 (if required)

26 February 2013               -           Budget Setting meeting

To receive and note:

To receive and note the minutes of the Wiltshire and Swindon Fire Authority meeting held on 14 February 2012