Agenda and minutes

Nominations will be sought from those present at the meeting.

The Chairman opened the meeting and explained that the meeting was being held at an unprecedented time and in unprecedented circumstances. This was the first meeting of Full Council to be held under regulations approved under the Coronavirus Act 2020 to permit virtual (remote) attendance by Members.

Some technical housekeeping matters were then addressed.

The Chairman then opened the meeting proper and called for nominations for the position of Chair of Wiltshire Council for the forthcoming year.

Cllr James Sheppard nominated Cllr Richard Gamble. This was seconded by Cllr Philip Whitehead.

That being the only nomination is was;

Resolved:

That Cllr Richard Gamble be elected Chairman of Wiltshire Council for the forthcoming year.

The Chairman subsequently read out and signed the declaration of acceptance of office of Chairman of the Council witnessed by the Monitoring Officer. 

Nominations will be sought from those present at the meeting.

Cllr Richard Gamble in the Chair.

The Chairman called for nominations for the position of Vice-Chair of the Council for the forthcoming year.

Cllr Gamble nominated Cllr James Sheppard. This was seconded by Cllr Laura Mayes.

There being no other nominations, it was;

Resolved:

That Cllr James Sheppard be elected Vice Chairman of Wiltshire Council for the forthcoming year.

The Vice Chairman subsequently read out and signed the declaration of acceptance of office of Vice Chairman of the Council witnessed by the Monitoring Officer.

There were no apologies for the meeting.

It was requested that any Councillors leaving the meeting early email Democratic Services so that the time they left could be recorded in the minutes as required by the constitution.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 February 2020.

The minutes of the Meeting held on 25 February 2020 were presented.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the last Council meeting held on 25 February 2020 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Cllr Bridget Wayman and Cllr Ian Thorn declared a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 9, as they were directors of the Stone Circle Company. As a non-pecuniary interest, they declared they would still participate and vote on the item.

The Chairman made the following announcements.

The Chairman expressed his appreciation to the people of Wiltshire for their resilience and understanding during the difficult times imposed on them by the Covid-19 pandemic. He also paid tribute to council staff, key workers and others who had worked tirelessly to support their communities. Thanks was also expressed to Members for the support they had given their communities.

The Chairman announced that the High Sheriff Major General Ashley Truluck CB CBE had joined the meeting today and had asked to express his thanks to Wiltshire communities. The High Sheriff stated that he was also Chairman of the Wiltshire Community Foundation. He felt it was fortuitous that he wore both hats at this difficult time. It was his third month in post and as yet, due to Covid-19 he had been unable to attend any public meetings. However, he had been taking part virtually where possible and there was some innovative work happening at community level. The Wiltshire Coronavirus Appeal Fund had raised nearly a million pounds so far, this money was to go back in to communities via grants. The High Sherriff thanked Wiltshire Council for their response to the situation as well as the NHS and unsung community heroes. The Chairman thanked the High Sherriff.

The Chairman invited the group leaders to make comments.

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of the Council thanked the High Sheriff for his comments and stated that he would say more under the Covid-19 item later on the agenda.

Cllr Ian Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, congratulated the Chairman on his election and thanked Cllr Sheppard for his year as Chairman. Cllr Thorn thanked Wiltshire Council staff for their hard work during Covid-19 and residents for their resilience, compassion and support.

Cllr Ernie Clark, Independent Group Leader, congratulated the Chairman on his election and thanked Wiltshire Council officers and community volunteers for their response to Covid-19.

Cllr Ricky Rogers, Labour Group Leader, echoed the pervious comments and thanked all communities across Wiltshire for playing their part. The work to support small businesses had been second to none. 

No petitions have been received for this meeting.

Resolved:

To note that no petitions had been received for presentation to this meeting.

A report is attached on petitions received since the last meeting of council.

Resolved:

To note that no new petitions had been received since the last report to Council on 25 February 2020.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

During the ongoing Covid-19 situation the Council is operating revised procedures.

Guidance on how to access an online meeting.

Statements

Members of the public who wish to submit a statement in relation to an item on this agenda should submit it to the officer named on this agenda no later than 5pm on 12 June 2020.

Those statements in accordance with the Constitution will be included in an agenda supplement. The Chairman will select 3 statements to be read aloud by officers at the meeting per agenda item.

Those statements should:

·       State whom the statement is from (including if representing another person or organisation)  

·       State clearly the key points  

·       If read aloud, be readable in approximately 3 minutes  

Questions

Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of this agenda no later than 5pm on 9 June 2020 in order to be guaranteed of a written response. In order to receive a verbal response questions must be submitted no later than 5pm on 12 June 2020. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website; they will be taken as read at the meeting.

The Chairman explained the rules for public participation.

There were no public questions received.

There was one public statement received which was published in agenda supplement 1. This statement would be taken under the relevant agenda item (item 9 – Covid 19 Update and Financial Position).  

A report from the Chief Executive Officers.

The Chairman invited Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of the Council, to present a report updating on Covid-19 and the financial position of Wiltshire Council.

The Leader started by thanking all communities, partners and businesses in Wiltshire regarding their response to Covid-19. The incident was ongoing, and staff were working extremely hard to facilitate the response. The report to Council contained appendices with 2 sub reports which had been through Cabinet, on 19 May 2020 and 9 June 2020. These reports were summarised by the Leader and included:

·       The structure used to respond to COVID-19 including the Local Resilience Forum, the Gold group and the use of existing emergency powers to allow officers to make decisions, although it was stressed that all decisions taken had been fed either through the Leader or through Cabinet;

·       Details on the recovery phase which was just beginning, including the usual democratic decision making and scrutiny processes. The continuation of the Local Resilience Forum in case there were further outbreaks;

·       Infection rates in the Wiltshire population;

·       Creating safer public spaces;

·       The Wellbeing Hubs;

·       Support to businesses;

·       School attendance;

·       The Recovery Cells;

·       The financial report from 2019-2020 and the financial implications of Covid-19. 

The Leader proposed a motion that the recommendation on page 100 of the agenda report be adopted, this was seconded by Cllr Clewer.

The Chairman invited Cllr Graham Wright as Chairman of the Wiltshire Council Covid-19 Response Task group to speak on the report. Cllr Wright stated that from an overview and scrutiny perspective they had scrutinised all of the processes and had consultation with the executive and officers.

The Chairman invited the group leaders to speak.

Cllr Thorn, Leader of the Liberal Democrats began by paying tribute to the staff in Democratic Services and thanked them for organising the meeting. Cllr Thorn also thanked Cllr Whitehead for his openness and response during Covid-19. With regards to the report he thanked all officers for their professionalism and hard work. The serious financial implications were a concern, it was hoped that central government would step in to help. Another issue was democratic deficit and it was hoped that in future there may be a way to involve politicians more in emergency decisions. Cllr Thorn supported the recommendations in the report.

Cllr Ernie Clark, Leader of the Independents, echoed Cllr Thorn’s views and thanked all staff for their hard work.

Cllr Ricky Rogers, Leader of the Labour Group, echoed Cllr Thorns views. Regarding recovery, he felt there would not be a simple back to normal, but a phased, slow return, so it was hoped that Wiltshire Council support would continue.

One public statement had been received from Cllr Ian James of Bremhill Parish Council. This was read out by the Democratic Services Officer and was published in agenda supplement 1.

The Chairman then invited comments from Cabinet Members. Cllr Whitehead stated that the budget problems were revenue rather than capital. However, the HIF Bid would stand us in good stead and decisions would be made on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

10a) Appointment of Committees and Review of Allocation of Seats on Committees to Political Groups

10b) Appointment of Councillors to Committees

10c) Appointment of Chairman and Vice- Chairmen of Committees

10d) Appointments to the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Authority

The Chairman introduced a report on appointments to committees as detailed on pages 161 – 188 of the agenda and in agenda supplements 1 and 2 which contained updates.

Group Leaders had been consulted on the motion being proposed.

The Leader proposed the motion on page 13 of agenda supplement 1 with the slight amendment that paragraph N in the leader’s motion should make reference to ‘Swindon Borough Council members and co-opted members’ of the Police and Crime Panel and referring to the updated list of Committees in agenda supplement 2. This was seconded by Cllr Richard Clewer.

Cllr Ernie Clark proposed an additional substitute of Cllr Hubbard for the Western Area Planning Committee, the Standards Committee, The Police and Crime Panel and the Audit Committee. 

There was no debate on the item. It was,

Resolved:

a)    To note the report and the legal requirements.

b)    To re-appoint the following committees in accordance with their Terms of Reference:

Appeals Committee

Area Planning Committees: Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western

Audit Committee

Children’s Select Committee

Electoral Review Committee

Environment Select Committee

Health Select Committee

Health and Wellbeing Board

Investment Sub Committee

Licensing Committee

Officer Appointments Committee

Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

Pension Fund Committee

Police and Crime Panel

Staffing Policy Committee

Standards Committee

Strategic Planning Committee

c)    To re-appoint those Area Boards, constituted as area committees as set out in paragraphs 13 to 15 and Appendix 1 of the report presented and within the Constitution, to comprise the Unitary Councillors for that area.

d)    To re-appoint the Local Pension Board established under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 and consequent amendments to the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013 with the terms of reference as set out in the Constitution.

e)    To approve a scheme of committee places which sets out the number of seats available to members of the Council and to political groups as set out in the Schedule of Committee Places.

f)      To appoint Councillors to serve on those committees in accordance with the agreed scheme of committee places, until the next occasion membership is reviewed under the provisions of the Local Government & Housing Act 1989 (as attached).

g)    To appoint substitute members (to a maximum of four per group) to the committees referred to above (as attached).

h)    To appoint those councillors representing electoral divisions to their respective area boards as set out in Appendix 1 of the report

i)      To re-appoint four non-voting co-opted members until May 2021 as follows:

Mr Richard Baxter

Mr Philip Gill MBE

Mr Michael Lockhart

Miss Pam Turner

j)      Re-appoint the following persons as Independent Persons each for a four-year term (until 2021):

                    Mr Tony Drew

                    Mrs Caroline Baynes

                    Mr Stuart Middleton

k)    To reappoint the following non-elected members to the Children’s Select Committee:

No notices of motion have been received for this meeting.

No notices of motion had been received.

Report by Robin Townsend, Director of Corporate Services, on urgent decisions taken by Cabinet in the period 14^th May 2019- 8 June 2020.

The Chairman stated that this item was to note there had been no urgent executive items taken by Cabinet in the last year since the last annual report to Council. The report was at pages 189-192 of the agenda.

The Chairman proposed a motion that Council notes the report stating that no decisions have been taken under special urgency provisions in the period since the last annual meeting of Council. This was seconded by Cllr James Sheppard.

Resolved:

That Council note the report stating that there had been no urgent executive items taken by Cabinet in the last year since the last annual report to Council.

a) The Leader, Cabinet members and Chairmen of Committees will be invited to make any important announcements.

b) Councillors will be given the opportunity to raise questions to the Chairmen of Committees on the minutes of their meetings, available here or to the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority on the minutes of their meetings, available here.

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

There were no announcements.

There were no questions to be referred in relation to the committee minutes or minutes of the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Authority.

There were no general issues raised relating to Area Boards.

Councillors were required to give notice of any such question in writing to the officer names on the first page of this agenda no later than 5pm nine clear working days before the meeting – Tuesday 2 June in order to be guaranteed a written response.

Any question received after 5pm on 2 June and no later than 5pm four clear working days before the meeting, Tuesday 9 June, may only receive a verbal response at the meeting. Any questions received after this date will be received at the next meeting.

Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman determines the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Councillors prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

Two questions had been received from Councillors, these were from Cllr Brian Mathew and Cllr Jon Hubbard and were detailed, along with the written responses in agenda supplement 2.

Cllr Mathew stated that he had received a written response and had no supplementary question.

Cllr Hubbard stated that he had received a written response and asked what material changes there had been to the constitution or laws relating to the use of part two, between when senior management issues were discussed under the last administration and those under the current administration.

Cllr Whitehead stated a full written answer would be supplied however confirmed the administration only restricts Members attendance on the advice of statutory officers. It was explained the question was in reference to a recent cabinet decision on the reorganisation of the Tier 1 roles, access was restricted due to the confidential nature for individuals involved. However, following the meeting, the information had been released to all Members.

Council to note the forthcoming meetings of Council:

21 July 2020

8 September 2020 – Extraordinary Meeting

20 October 2020

23 February 2021

The next scheduled meeting would be on 21 July 2019. Further meeting dates were listed in the agenda pack.