-MINUTE_NUMBER-

-HEADING-APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY MAYOR 2001/2002

-CONTENTS-Councillor White proposed and Councillor Currie seconded the nomination of Councillor Slatter as Deputy Mayor for the municipal year 2001/2002.

Councillor Reed proposed and Councillor Bagnall seconded the nomination of Councillor Callaghan as Deputy Mayor for the municipal year 2001/2002.

A vote was taken with 22 votes in favour of Councillor Slatter and 17 votes in favour of Councillor Callaghan.

Resolved that Councillor Slatter be elected Deputy Mayor for the municipal year 2001/2002.

-END-

(Councillor Slatter then made the statutory declaration of acceptance of the office of Deputy Mayor.)

01/22

-HEADING-MINUTES

-CONTENTS-The minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 5 April 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

-END--TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 20th May 1999

-DATE-19990520

-TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 20th May 1999

-DATE-19990520

-MINUTE_NUMBER-01/23

-HEADING-MAYOR=S CHAPLAIN

The Council noted the appointment of the Reverend Canon Christine Farrington as the Mayor=s Chaplain for the municipal year 2001/2002.

-END-

-TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 20th May 1999

-DATE-19990520

-MINUTE_NUMBER-01/24

-HEADING--CONTENTS--CONTENTS-RESOLUTION OF THANKS TO THE OUTGOING MAYOR

Resolved (unanimously) (on the proposition of Councillor Nimmo-Smith, seconded by Councillor Durrant and supported by Councillor Howell) that this Council expresses its appreciation of the manner in which the duties of Mayor were discharged by Councillor Evelyn Knowles during her period of office and that the Common Seal be affixed to a copy of this resolution for presentation to her.

-END--END-

-TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 20th May 1999

-DATE-19990520

-MINUTE_NUMBER-01/25 MAYOR=S ANNOUNCEMENTS

· Apologies

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Blencowe, Talbot and Taylor.

· Mayoral Sunday Service

The Mayoral Sunday Service, combined with the preaching of the Mott Sermon, would take place at Holy Trinity Church at 11.00am on Sunday 20 May.

· Forthcoming Octocentenary Events

On Sunday 3 June at 3.00pm, there would be an ecumenical service at Great St Mary’s organised by the Cambridge Churches.

The next in the series of Guildhall Open Days would be on Saturday 16 June. Tours would take place from 10.30am through until 2.00pm; it would be possible for members of the public to view the city’s insignia and Charters and to have a guided tour of the immediate city centre.

The next Open Day would be on Thursday 28 June.

On Saturday 7 July, the Medieval Fayre and River Pageant would take place on Jesus Green and the River Cam, starting at 2.00pm; representatives of Cambridge’s twin cities would be present.

· Midsummer Fair

The proclamation of Midsummer Fair would take place on Wednesday 20 June at 6.30pm.

· Sport England East “Service to Sport” Award and Charter Marks

The Council’s Sports Development Team had been presented with an award by Steve Cram for Sport England East on Tuesday 24 April for its outstanding work with disabled people. The award was for the local authority which had made the most significant contribution to sports development through a specific project focusing on equity and social inclusion. Councillor J Rosenstiel had accompanied the team to receive the award. On behalf of the Council, the Mayor formally congratulated the team on this achievement.

This same team of employees had also been awarded a Charter Mark for excellence in public service, as had the Council’s Reception and Telephone Services team. The Mayor placed on record the Council’s appreciation to all those staff who had worked hard to achieve these awards.

· Order of Business

The Mayor explained that he proposed to alter the order of business to be transacted at the meeting, so that item 12 (Notice of Motion) would be taken before item 8 (City Board Adoption Minutes).

01/26

-HEADING--CONTENTS--TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 15th May 1997

-DATE-19970515

-MINUTE_NUMBER-

-HEADING-APPOINTMENT OF BAILIFFS

Councillor Howarth proposed and Councillor C Rosenstiel seconded that Councillors Nimmo-Smith and Stebbings be appointed as bailiffs.

Councillor Bagnall proposed and Councillor Callaghan seconded that Councillors Dryden and Mbaya be appointed as bailiffs.

-CONTENTS-Resolved (with no votes against) that Councillors Nimmo-Smith, Stebbings, Dryden and Mbaya be appointed as bailiffs of the city for the municipal year 2001/2002.

-END-

-MINUTE_NUMBER-01/27

-HEADING-NOTICE OF MOTION: CHAIRS OF PLANNING AND LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEES

-CONTENTS-Councillor Bagnall proposed and Councillor Bradnack seconded the following notice of motion:

“This Council resolves that:

· for the purposes of increasing transparency and public confidence in the work of the City Council;

· in order to emphasise the non-political nature of regulatory committees;

· and in the spirit of reforms to the Council’s political management structure

the Council establishes the principle that the Chairs of the Planning and Licensing Sub-Committees be not necessarily appointed from the membership of the majority party political group on the Council.”

Under Standing Order 7 it was agreed to deal with the motion at the meeting.

Councillor Howarth proposed and Councillor James seconded the following amendment:

“Delete all and insert:

‘The Council notes that currently the quasi-judicial and policy determination roles of the Planning and Licensing Sub-Committees are so intertwined that it would not be appropriate to treat them separately from other committees in relation to the appointment of their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

The Council also notes, however, that the new political arrangements for local government under the Local Government Act 2000 envisage a clearer division between policy formation and quasi-judicial functions.

The Council therefore instructs the Periodic Electoral Review and Local Government Act Sub-Committee to investigate, as part of its deliberations on the implementation of the new arrangements, whether a sufficient separation of policy formation and quasi-judicial functions can be achieved that it would become possible to introduce a non-partisan element into the appointment of the Chairs or Vice-Chairs of the Planning and Licensing Committees.’”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was agreed by 28 votes to 0.

Resolved (by 37 votes to 0) that:

The Council notes that currently the quasi-judicial and policy determination roles of the Planning and Licensing Sub-Committees are so intertwined that it would not be appropriate to treat them separately from other committees in relation to the appointment of their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

01/28 MINUTES PRESENTED BY CITY BOARD FOR ADOPTION

The Council considered the recommendations of the City Board meeting held on

8 May 2001.

01/A/24 Appointment of Committees 2001/2002

Resolved (by 22 votes to 0) that the size and membership of committees in 2001/2002 be as follows:

COMMITTEE

LIB DEM

LABOUR

CONSERVATIVE

CITY BOARD

Howarth

C Rosenstiel

Harrison

Knowles

Nimmo-Smith

Slatter

Smart

(A – J Rosenstiel)

Bagnall

Bradnack

Durrant

Reed

Stuart

(A- Douglas)

ENVIRONMENT

Harrison

Dixon

Howarth

Slatter

White

Ward

(A- Woodford)

Bradnack

Durrant

Johnston

Douglas

(A – Howell)

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND LEISURE

J Rosenstiel

Knowles

Ellis-Miller

Levison

M Schofield

Taylor

(A – Hipkin)

Benstead

Callaghan

Reed

Talbot

HOUSING AND HEALTH

Nimmo-Smith

Griffiths

James

Liddle

Smart

Stebbings

(A- Currie)

Bagnall

Gilchrist

Overhill

Howell

(A- Stuart)

(A = Alternate member)

01/A/25 Appointment to Other Bodies

Resolved that the following appointments be made:

i) (by 36 votes to 0) Cambridge Environment and Transport Area Joint Committee (five City Council members): Councillors Blencowe, Johnston, Harrison, Howarth and C Rosenstiel.

ii) (by 36 votes to 0) Council Tax/Housing Benefits Review Board (10 members): Councillors Bradnack, Callaghan, Dixon, Dryden, Griffiths, James, Johnston, Nimmo-Smith, Smart and Stebbings.

iii) (by 22 votes to 0) Councillor Smart as Chair of the Council Tax/Housing Benefits Review Board.

01/A/26 Appointment of Chairs and Vice-Chairs

Councillor Bagnall proposed and Councillor Bradnack seconded the following amendment to the adoption minute:

“That Councillor Blencowe be appointed Chair of the Planning Sub-Committee and Councillor T Schofield be appointed Chair of the Licensing Sub-Committee.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was lost by 18 votes to 22.

Resolved (by 22 votes to 0) that Chairs and Vice-Chairs for 2001/2002 be appointed as

set out below:

CHAIR

VICE-CHAIR

City Board

Howarth

C Rosenstiel

Community Development & Leisure

J. Rosenstiel

Knowles

Environment

Harrison

Dixon

Housing & Health

Nimmo-Smith

Griffiths

Property & Admin S/Cttee

Taylor

Lakin

City Centre Development S/Cttee

C Rosenstiel

Dixon

Periodic Electoral Review & Local Govt. Act S/Cttee

Howarth

C Rosenstiel

Planning S/Cttee

Slatter

Smart

Licensing S/Cttee

Knowles

J. Rosenstiel

Environment & Planning Policy S/Cttee

Howarth

Harrison

01/A/27 Conventions 2001/2002

Resolved (with no votes against) that the Conventions set out at Appendix 1 to these minutes be adopted for 2001/2002.

-END-

01/A/28 Local Government Act – Setting up a Standards Committee and Members’ Remuneration Panel

Resolved (with no votes against)

Regarding the Standards Committee:

1) To approve the draft Terms of Reference for the Standards Committee as set out at Appendix 2 to these minutes.

2) That the membership of the Committee totals eight, initially made up of three Liberal Democrats, two Labour, one Conservative and two non-councillors and that the option for an Executive Member to be on the Standards Committee be considered in May 2002.

3) That a Selection Panel of four (two Lib Dem, one Lab, one Con) members determine the selection process for non-councillors and recommend appointments to Council.

The Council noted that there would be a requirement for a special Council meeting on 13 September to consider the Selection Panel’s recommendations. (However, when the Selection Panel met on 19 June, it was agreed to delay the recruitment of lay people to the early autumn. The necessity for a special Council meeting on 13 September was therefore removed.)

Regarding the Remuneration Panel:

4) That oversight of the Panel on members’ remuneration and decisions on how it operates be delegated to the Periodic Electoral Review & Local Government Act Sub-Committee.

5) That the Council advertises openly for candidates to the Panel.

6) That the Panel appoints its own Chair.

7) That the Panel’s Term of Office be three years and renewable by agreement between the Council and each Panel member.

8) That the Sub-Committee decides whether the Panel receives an allowance guided by the current principles applied to the rate at which members’ allowances are set and the practices followed in a selection of other local authorities.

01/A/29 Amendments to Delegations

Resolved (with no votes against) to confirm that the Directors of Central Services, Community Services and Environment & Planning, and second tier officers within those directorates, may exercise all of the powers and discharge all the duties identified in the Council’s scheme of delegation which relate to service areas for which they are responsible.

-END--TYPE-MINUTE

-COMMITTEE-Council 20th May 1999

-DATE-19990520

-MINUTE_NUMBER-01/29

-HEADING-ORAL QUESTIONS

-CONTENTS-

Question	Question by	Answer by
Does the Chair agree with me that the young people of Cambridge would benefit from an outdoor skate board park and that this would be an ideal use for the Sport England money in the vicinity of Parkside Pool?	Councillor Douglas	Councillor J Rosenstiel
Is the Chair disappointed at the refusal of the Labour Government to contribute to the CCTV scheme planned for the Kingsway flats in Arbury, thus leaving the project with insufficient funds for connection to the 24 hour monitoring service, and resulting in a second-rate service which will not provide for immediate police response whilst incidents are taking place?	Councillor Ward	Councillor Nimmo-Smith
Can you tell me what the residency requirements are for becoming a City Councillor and if the ruling group believes that someone can perform the role properly while living many miles away?	Councillor Howell	Councillor Howarth
Has the Council agreed for further mobile phone masts to be sited on Kingsway flats, and what consultations have been undertaken with residents affected?	Councillor Howell	Councillor Nimmo-Smith

01/30 ANNUAL STATEMENTS

-CONTENTS-Councillors Howarth, Bagnall and Stuart spoke on their groups= priorities for the forthcoming municipal year.

-END-

01/31

-HEADING-ADOPTION OF ANNUAL STATEMENT

-CONTENTS-Under the Scheme for Annual Statements, that of Councillor Howarth was deemed to be a motion for adoption by the Council.

Resolved (by 21 votes to 11) that the Annual Statement of the Liberal Democrat Group be adopted as Council policy for 2001/2002.

01/32 RECEPTION OF MINUTES

The minutes of the City Board meeting of 8 May 2001 were presented for the information of the Council.

The Council concluded its business at 3.45pm.

MAYOR

APPENDIX 1

CONVENTIONS

A. Media contact

1. Routine factual media releases issued by officers and not containing any member quote will list the relevant Chair and other group spokesperson(s) at the end. Such media releases will also be copied to the Chair and to the spokesperson(s) listed on the release.

2. Other media releases (ie. those publicising committee decisions or dealing with major, sensitive or controversial issues or new initiatives or containing member quotes) shall be circulated in draft to the relevant Chair and shall only be issued if s/he agrees the text.

3. The final version of the media release will be copied simultaneously to the Chair and spokesperson(s).

(Members are reminded that party political publicity should not be produced on Council paper or using Council facilities (including officer assistance). This is broadly defined as "material which appears to be designed to affect public support for a political party". See further the separate guidance issued by the Chief Executive).

4. In respect of all media contact not covered by the rules on media releases, officers shall pay heed to the following principles:

1. If the contact relates to a proposal on which the council or a committee or sub-committee has yet to make a decision, officers shall only give factual background information to the press and shall refer the media to the Chair and the group spokespersons for comments on the merits of the proposal.

2. If the contact relates to a decision by the council or a committee or sub-committee, officers may explain the decision and the reasons for it. Where the contact relates to a matter which is controversial between the parties, officers shall bear in mind that in these circumstances it is often more appropriate for the Chair and spokespersons to comment on the merits of the decision.

In addition, officers shall provide copies of all media releases for inclusion in the Media Coverage Weekly List for inspection by members.

B. Agenda planning and preparation and pre-committee briefings/member access to information

1. Before the start of each committee cycle, the Chief Executive will send each political group leader a list of the major or sensitive items due to come before committees in that cycle ("the Forward Look List"). Leaders, Chairs or group spokespersons may then request further information, policy or procedural advice or other briefing from relevant officers on these items. All such information, advice or briefing will remain confidential between the officers and the political groups requesting it and will not be disclosed to or shared with the other groups (unless they have made a similar request).

2. When each draft agenda and reports for a committee or sub-committee meeting has been prepared they will be copied to the Chair for information.

3. It is expected that arrangements will be made for officers to meet the Chair of a committee regularly, or for briefings when the draft agenda is being compiled. A similar facility for regular briefings shall be offered to the other group spokesperson(s). Any such briefings for other group spokespersons shall, however, only take place after the Chair’s briefing (if there is one), or after such time as a Chair’s briefing on the draft agenda has been declined. At this stage, the other group spokesperson(s) shall be entitled to a copy of the draft agenda.

4. No member shall have the right to veto an item from appearing on a committee agenda, nor to require an item or report to be re-worded (although requests for more information to be included may be made).

5. Any member of the Council may request that an item be put on the agenda for a committee or sub-committee meeting provided adequate notice is given to enable the relevant agenda item or report to be prepared and, if requested by a member of a minority party, the item or report does not involve an unreasonable amount of work by the officers.

6. Between the issue of the final agenda and the meeting, the relevant officers will arrange separate briefing(s) for the Chair and, if requested, the other group spokesperson(s).

7. Draft minutes of meetings will be circulated for comment on their accuracy to the Chair and other group spokesperson(s). The officers' view on the accuracy of the minutes shall be final, subject to the right of a committee or sub-committee to amend minutes presented to it for approval.

8. All members of the Council are entitled to request factual information from officers about a Council department or service and the information will be provided unless

! there is a legal reason why it should not be disclosed (eg. the information is confidential under section 100F(2) of the Local Government Act 1972, or the member in question has a pecuniary interest in relation to it)

! the relevant Chief Officer considers the request to be unreasonable in terms of the resources required to provide the information and is supported in this view by the relevant Chair. If information is refused in these circumstances and the member wishes to pursue the request, the request will be referred to the relevant committee for a decision on whether or not the information should be provided. (If a member wishes the fact that s/he has requested the information to be kept confidential from other members, the Chief Executive shall take the final decision on whether or not the information should be provided).

9. Where an officer sends information on his/her own initiative to the Chair, copies will be provided to the other group spokesperson(s).

C. Consultation with members before exercising delegated powers

1. There are several references in Standing Orders and their Appendices to officers having delegated authority to take action after consultation with the Chair.

2. Except as set out in para.3 below, the Chair and the other group spokesperson(s) should be consulted in these circumstances. If the Chair objects to the proposed course of action (but not if one or both of the other group spokespersons objects), the Chief Officer shall not be authorised to exercise the delegated power without reference to the relevant committee or sub-committee.

3. In exercising the delegation in para. 33 of Appendix D to Standing Orders (cases of urgency or emergency), a Chief Officer shall either consult members (in which case the Chair and, so far as practical in the time available, spokesperson(s) shall both or all be contacted) or the Chief Executive (if available) before taking action. If only the Chief Executive is consulted, the Chief Officer shall, as soon as possible after taking the action in question, inform the Chair and spokesperson(s) of what has happened. (This shall be in addition to reporting the action taken to the next meeting of the relevant committee or sub-committee).

D Changes to committee membership

1. The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (and Regulations made under it) obliges the Council, in making appointments to committees, to give effect to the wishes of the political group to whom the seat has been allocated in accordance with the rules on political balance.

2. It has been this Council’s practice to interpret the legislation flexibly to allow a group to change its membership on a committee or sub-committee during the municipal year by notice from the Group Leader to the Chief Executive. This procedure is available as a result of paragraph 6 (a) of Appendix C to Standing Orders.

3. This procedure shall be operated by the political groups so that:

(a) as the Council does not operate a system of substitutes, any change made by any political group to its representation on a committee should not be for the duration of one meeting, unless it is the last meeting in the municipal year;

(b) a change can only be effected by the Group Leader (or Deputy - the “Representative” according to the Regulations) giving the Chief Executive at least three clear working days’ notice in writing before the first meeting for which the change is to be operative. “Clear working days” means excluding the day of the meeting, the day on which notice is given, Saturdays, Sundays & Bank Holidays and any other day when the Guildhall is closed for business.

APPENDIX 2

DRAFT TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE STANDARDS COMMITTEE

The Standards Committee will have the following roles and functions:

(1) advising the Council and its committees as appropriate on the ethical framework within which councillors and officers should operate;

(2) advising the Council and its committees as appropriate on the ethical aspects of the corporate governance framework within which councillors and officers should operate;

(3) promoting a culture of openness, ready accountability and probity, in order to ensure the highest standards of conduct of councillors and officers;

(4) promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by councillors and co-opted members;

(5) assisting councillors and co-opted members to observe the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(6) advising the Council on the adoption or revision of the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(7) monitoring the operation of the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(8) advising, training or arranging to train councillors and co-opted members on matters relating to the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(9) granting dispensations to councillors and co-opted members from requirements relating to interests set out in the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(10) dealing with any reports from a case tribunal or interim case tribunal, and any report from the Monitoring Officer on any matter which is referred by an Ethical Standards Officer to the Monitoring Officer;

(11) supporting the Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer in their statutory roles;

(12) taking an overview of complaints handling within the Council and issues relating to the Internal or external Ombudsman;

(13) overseeing the Employee Code of Conduct;

(14) overseeing the Confidential Reporting (“whistleblowing”) Policy.