Agenda and minutes

Councillor Mrs S. Michael moved and Councillor I. Walker seconded that Councillor Mrs S. Saddington be elected Chairman of Newark & Sherwood District Council for the 2022/23 municipal year.

AGREED           (unanimously) that Councillor Mrs S. Saddington be elected                                    Chairman of Newark & Sherwood District Council for the 2022/23                                  municipal year.

(Councillor Mrs S. Saddington signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and received the Chain of Office from the Retiring Chairman).

Councillor Mrs S. Saddington presented the past Chairman’s badge to Councillor Mrs P. Rainbow and thanked her for the way she had carried out her duties as Chairman of the District in 2021/22. 

(As the newly elected Chairman, Councillor Mrs S. Saddington took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting).

Councillor R. White moved and Councillor J. Lee seconded that Councillor Mrs L. Hurst be elected Vice–Chairman of Newark & Sherwood District Council for the 2022/23 municipal year.

AGREED             (unanimously) that Councillor Mrs L. Hurst be elected Vice-Chairman                             of Newark & Sherwood District Council for the 2022/23 municipal                                          year.

(Councillor Mrs L. Hurst signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and received the Vice-Chairman’s Chain of Office).

(Councillor M Skinner left the meeting at this point).

AGREED that the minutes of the meeting held on 8 March 2022 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Councillor P Harris requested that the full text of his supplemental question at Minute No. 71 – Questions from Members of the Council - be included within the appendix to the minute.

There were no declarations of interest from Members and Officers and the Council noted the interests previously declared by Members in Agenda Item No. 22 – Minutes for Noting.

Other than the Council recording in accordance with usual practice, there were no declarations of intention to record the meeting. The Chairman advised that the meeting was being streamed live.

Councillor D Lloyd, as Leader of the Council gave Members a further update in respect of devolution and the proposal to create a Combined Authority for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. He advised the Council of a letter from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities which had been sent to the first tier Councils and shared with the District and Borough Councils, which detailed next steps in the creation of the new Combined Authority. He reported that the first mayoral election would be scheduled to be held in May 2024, subject to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill being passed. 

The Leader of the Council also provided an update in respect of the Integrated Rail Plan which had been the subject to a question by Councillor P Harris at the last meeting. Councillor D Lloyd advised that the issues raised had been relayed to relevant MP’s, East Midlands Councils and the Economic Prosperity Committee, and at this stage, no formal further action was required other than keeping a watching brief.

The Council considered the report of the Assistant Director – Legal & Democratic Services, which sought approval for the constitutional changes required to enable the Council to implement a revised system of governance, Executive Arrangements (the Cabinet System), from 17 May 2022.

The Full Council resolved to adopt a Leader and Cabinet style of governance with implementation to take effect from May 2022. A working group was tasked to formulate how the new governance arrangements would operate and the final design and structure of the new system was presented and approved by the Full Council on 8 March 2022.

A complete version of the proposed Constitution was published as a separate appendix to the report. The refinements to the Constitution since the 8 March version considered by the Council were highlighted. The Leader of the Council asked that an amendment be made to remove the restrictions on membership for the Planning, Licensing and General Purposes Committees, to enable Cabinet Members to be appointed.

AGREED           (unanimously) that:

(a)               the Council adopts the revised Constitution as attached as an appendix to the report, subject to removing the restrictions of memberships for the Planning, Licensing and General Purposes Committees to enable Cabinet Members to be appointed, with immediate effect, with the exception of the Full Council Procedure Rules which will take effect from 18 May 2022;

(b)               all sub-delegations to Officers effective prior to the meeting of Full Council remain in full effect during a transitional period while the necessary updates are implemented by Officers, and in respect of planning delegations in particular until a revised Scheme of Delegation is adopted by the Council’s Planning Committee; and

(c)                a further report be brought to Audit & Governance    Committee in six months’ time to review the revised governance arrangements and consider whether any changes are necessary.

Councillor R. Blaney moved and Councillor J. Kellas seconded that Councillor D Lloyd be appointed as the Council’s Executive Leader for 2022/23.

AGREED           (unanimously) that Councillor D Lloyd be appointed as the Council’s                      Executive Leader for 2022/23.

The Council considered the report of the Leader of the Council which set out his appointments of the Deputy Leader, Cabinet Members and Portfolio Holders.

AGREED           (unanimously) that the appointments of the Deputy Leader, Cabinet                      Members and Portfolio Holders be noted.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive which sought to consider the political composition of the Council and proposals for the allocation of seats on Committees to Political Groups, as required by Council Procedure Rule 17.6, given the new governance arrangements.

Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 required the Council to consider the political composition of the Council.  This Act, together with the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, required the Council to allocate seats on committees on a proportional basis in accordance with the number of seats held on the Council by each political group. 

The report advised of the resignation of Councillor N Mitchell given there had been no change in his personal circumstances following his six month dispensation for non-attendance granted by the Council in December 2021.

The report also set out the committees which were required to reflect the political balance of the Council under the new governance arrangements.

AGREED        (unanimously) that the allocation of seats to Political Groups (as set out in Appendix A to these Minutes) be approved.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive which sought to make appointments to the Council’s Committees, including the positions of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen and substitute Members.

AGREED             (unanimously) that the appointments of the Chairmen and Vice-    Chairmen on Committees and the appointment of other Members to   Committee etc. as set out in the schedule at Appendix B to the Minutes, be approved.

The Council considered the report of the Deputy Chief Executive, Director of Resources and S151 Officer,  which sought to consider the appointment of Clive Richardson as a non-voting Independent member of the new Audit & Governance Committee.

An Independent Member on the Audit & Accounts Committee was appointed by the Council at their meeting held on 13 July 2021, but unfortunately submitted their resignation prior to the September meeting of the Committee due to a change in work circumstances. Members of the Audit & Accounts Committee reached out to the wider community and one individual took an interest in the role. A panel of Members and officers assessed the individual for their suitability and recommended their appointment to the Audit & Accounts Committee at their meeting held on 27 April 2022. This Committee recommended the appointment of Clive Richardson to the Full Council.

AGREED   (unanimously) that the appointment of Clive Richardson, to the position of non-voting Independent member on the new Audit & Governance Committee, be approved.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive which sought to approve a revised Schedule of Meetings covering the period May 2022 to May 2023, reflecting the proposed new governance arrangements to be implemented as from this meeting of Council.

AGREED           (unanimously) that the proposed revised Schedule of Meetings for                        2022/23, as set out at Appendix C to these Minutes, be approved.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Executive which provided the final report and recommendations of the Members Independent Remuneration Panel.  Consideration of the report would enable the Council to set a scheme of Members’ Allowances in accordance with the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations.  The Council were also asked to consider the circumstances in which Members could claim travel expenses in light of the new governance arrangements.

The reconvened Independent Panel had previously conducted a review in late 2020and their final report at that time was approved by the Council on 9 March 2021 but the scheme was not implemented given the pandemic, the constraints on public sector pay and the review of the governance arrangements.

The Panel undertook this review of Members Allowances in the context of the proposed new governance arrangements. Their Final Report was attached as Appendix A. The Council were required to consider the report of the Panel before setting a scheme of Members Allowances.  Any new scheme needed to be implemented from this meeting, given the changes in governance. The Councillors’ Commission had recommended approval of the Panel’s Final Report.

The Council also considered if there were any further meetings under the new governance arrangements which should be defined as an approved duty. It was considered that when Members attend Castle House on ‘Council business’ such as training and appropriate meetings which could not be held in a remote fashion, that these should be defined as an approved duty for the purposes of Members travel expenses.

AGREED           (unanimously) that:

(a)                   the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel be approved and the Council implements a new Scheme of Members Allowances with effect from 18 May 2022, with the first pay award being implemented with effect from 1 April 2023;

(b)                   within the new Scheme, an allowance of £8 continues to be payable to Members of the Planning Committee for attending site visits; and

(c)                    attending Castle House on Council business be defined as an approved duty for the purposes of Members travel expenses, subject to the provisions set out in paragraph 4.2 of the report.

Minute No. 54 – Review of the London Road Car Par Extension Scheme

Councillor Harris requested that when the final report from Assurance Lincolnshire was received that it be circulated to all Members of the Council.

Minute No. 96 - Market Rental Acquisition Opportunity

Councillor Harris asked why a limited interest rate charge had been agreed for an extended period and what would happen if interest rates rose substantially in the next few months. Councillor Lloyd agreed to give a written reply.