Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed all Members and guests to the meeting.

Following the recent election, the Chairman thanked former Councillors Edwards, Andrew Fulljames, O’Neill and Rose for their service to the district during their time as councillors.

The Chairman reported that Councillor Ann Bonner had submitted apologies for the meeting and requested a leave of absence for six months due to ill health.

Resolved

That Councillor Ann Bonner be granted a leave of absence for six months.

The following declarations were made:

15. Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 - Mandatory Standing Orders re Dismissal of Statutory Officers.

Sue Smith, Declaration, as the report affected her contract of employment as a statutory officer and would leave the meeting for the duration of the item.

Martin Henry, Declaration, as the report affected his contract of employment as a statutory officer and would leave the meeting for the duration of the item.

Kevin Lane, Declaration, as the report affected his contract of employment as a statutory officer and would leave the meeting for the duration of the item.

Recording at meetings

The Chairman advised the meeting that under the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014members of the public were permitted to film, broadcast and report on the meeting, subject to the efficient running of the meeting not being affected.

Annual Council

The Chairman reminded Members that by convention the minutes of Committees, questions, petitions and motions were not taken at Annual Council and these, if any, would be considered at the next meeting.

Due to a printing error, a revised agenda front sheet had been tabled. The Group nominations to committees for the coming year had also been tabled.

Chairman’s Engagements

The Chairman advised Members that a copy of the events attended by himself or the Vice-Chairman had been tabled.

Planning Training, Thursday 21 May 2015

The Chairman advised Members that Planning Training would be taking place at 1.30pm on Thursday 21 May 2015. It was a requirement for all Members who sit on Planning Committee to have attended training. New members and substitutes on the Committee should attend the training and other Committee Members are encouraged to attend as a refresher.

The training was open to all Members irrespective of whether they sat on Planning Committee and would hopefully prove helpful for the many questions they were likely to receive from constituents about Planning on an on-going basis.

Finance Training, Tuesday 26 May 2015

The Chairman advised Members that training on Local Government Finance would be held on Tuesday 26 May at 6pm in place of the Budget Planning Meeting. All Members were welcome to attend the session which would be led by the Director of Resources.

Post

The Chairman reminded Members to collect post from pigeon holes after the meeting.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of Council held on 23 February 2015.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2015 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(The outgoing Chairman, Councillor Alastair Milne Home, presided for the consideration of this matter and those preceding)

It was moved by Councillor Wood and seconded by Councillor Reynolds, that Councillor Melanie Magee be elected as Chairman for the municipal year 2015/16. There were no other nominations.

Resolved

(1)          That Councillor Melanie Magee be elected Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2015/16.

Councillor Melanie Magee, having made and signed the required Declaration of Acceptance of Office was invested with the Chairman’s Chain and took the Chair,

Councillor Melanie Magee thanked members for her appointment and addressed the Council. She reported that her chosen charity for this year was SeeSaw, which provides grief support for children and young people in Oxfordshire. Her consorts for the year would be her husband, David Magee and her daughter, Dannie Magee.

The Chairman of the Council presented Councillor Milne Home with a gift and his past Chairman’s badge as a token of his term of office.

Members paid tribute to Councillor Milne Home and thanked him for the dedication he had shown representing the Council, the services he had rendered to the District and the gracious way he had presided over the deliberations of Council during his year of office.

Councillor Alastair Milne Home addressed Council to report on his term of office.

Councillor Milne Home reported that he had attended numerous and varied functions during his term of office and hosted events to raise money for his chosen charities. Councillor Milne Home presented cheques to representatives from the Let’s Play Project in Banbury and the Royal National Institute of Lifeboats (RNLI).

Councillor Milne Home paid particular thanks to Gillian Milne Home, his consort for the year and Liz Matthews, the Chairman’s PA and presented them with a token of his appreciation.

It was moved by Councillor Wood and seconded by Councillor Reynolds, that Councillor Chris Heath be elected as Vice-Chairman for the municipal year 2015/16. There were no other nominations.

Resolved

(1)          That Councillor Chris Heath be elected Vice-Chairman of the Council for the municipal year 2015/16.

Councillor Chris Heath, having made and signed the required Declaration of Acceptance of Office was invested with the Vice-Chairman’s Chain.

** Appendix 1 and 2 to this report will follow as Political Groups are considering appointments to Committees **

Report of Chief Executive

Purpose of report

To note the results of the 7 May 2015 district elections, the constitution of Political Groups, to note the appointment of the Deputy Leader and Executive for the Municipal Year 2015/16 and to consider and agree the suggested constitution of Committees for the Municipal year 2015/2016.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To note the results of the District elections held on 7 May 2015.

1.2         To note the constitution of Political Groups and notification of Group Leaders.

1.3         To note the appointment of Deputy Leader of the Council, the membership of the Executive and the Executive Portfolios for 2015/16 (Appendix 1 – to follow).

1.4         To agree the allocation of seats on committees that are subject to the political balance requirements as set out in Table 1.

1.5         To agree the allocation of seats on committees not subject to political balance requirements as set out in Table 2.

1.6         To appoint members (and where appropriate, substitute members) to serve on each of the committees and other bodies set out in Tables 1 and 2 in accordance with the nominations to be made by political groups (Appendix 2 - to follow).

1.7         To appoint a representative to the County Council Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

1.8         To appoint a representative to the Police and Crime Commissioner Scrutiny Panel.

The Chief Executive submitted a report which presented the results of the 7 May 2015 district elections, the constitution of Political Groups, requested Members to note the appointment of the Deputy Leader and Executive for the Municipal Year 2015/16 and to consider and agree the suggested constitution of Committees for the Municipal year 2015/2016.

Resolved

(1)          That the results of the District elections held on 7 May 2015 be noted:

Ambrosden and Chesterton – Councillor Lynn Pratt

Banbury Easington – Councillor Nigel Morris

Banbury Grimsbury and Castle – Councillor Andrew Beere

Banbury Hardwick - Councillor Nicholas Turner

Banbury Ruscote – Councillor Mark Cherry

Bicester East – Councillor Rose Stratford

Bicester North – Councillor Melanie Magee

Bicester South – Councillor James Porter

Bicester Town – Councillor Richard Mould

Bicester West – Councillor Les Sibley

Caversfield (By-election) – Councillor Ian Corkin

Cropredy – Councillor Ken Atack

Hook Norton – Councillor Ray Jelf

Kidlington North – Councillor Sandra Rhodes

Kidlington South – Councillor Neil Prestidge

The Astons and Heyfords – Councillor Mike Kerford-Byrnes

Yarnton, Gosford and Water Eaton - Councillor Michael Gibbard

(2)          That the constitution of Political Groups (41 Conservatives, 7 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 Independent) and notification of Group Leaders: Councillor Barry Wood, Leader of the Conservative Group and Leader of the Council and Councillor Sean Woodcock, Leader of the Labour Group and Leader of the Opposition, be noted.

(3)          That the appointment of the Deputy Leader of the Council, the membership of the Executive and the Executive Portfolios for 2015/16 be noted.

(4)          That the allocation of seats on committees that were subject to the political balance requirements be agreed:

(5)          That the allocation of seats on committees not subject to political balance requirements be noted:

Report of Chief Executive

Purpose of report

This report recommends the implementation of the Joint Councils Employee Engagement Committee to undertake consultation and engagement with employees on behalf of Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council as set out in the final business case for joint working agreed by both authorities at their Council Meetings in February 2015.

Recommendations

1.1         Following adoption of the final business case for joint working by Council in February 2015 and a  period of consultation with the relevant Trade Union Representatives Members are recommended, subject to South Northamptonshire Council resolving in similar terms, to:

1)    Establish the Joint Councils Employee Engagement Committee with the terms of reference as set out in the Final Business Case ‘Developing the Approach to Joint Working and the Delivery of Local Authority Services’ agreed by Council in February 2015 (see appendix 1 for the terms of reference endorsed as part of the final business case)

2)    Disband the existing arrangements for employee consultation (the Council and Employee Joint Committee at Cherwell District Council and the Council and Employee Local Joint Committee at South Northamptonshire Council).

The Chief Executive submitted a report which recommended the implementation of the Joint Councils Employee Engagement Committee to undertake consultation and engagement with employees on behalf of Cherwell District Council and South Northamptonshire Council as set out in the final business case for joint working agreed by both authorities at their Council Meetings in February 2015.

Resolved

(1)          That following adoption of the final business case for joint working by Council in February 2015 and a  period of consultation with the relevant Trade Union Representatives, subject to South Northamptonshire Council resolving in similar terms:

1)    The Joint Councils Employee Engagement Committee be established with the terms of reference as set out in the Final Business Case ‘Developing the Approach to Joint Working and the Delivery of Local Authority Services’ agreed by Council in February 2015 (and annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book)

2)    The existing arrangements for employee consultation (the Council and Employee Joint Committee at Cherwell District Council and the Council and Employee Local Joint Committee at South Northamptonshire Council) be disbanded.

(2)          That the allocation of seats on the Committee and the membership of the Committee be agreed as follows:

Allocation of Seats of Non-Proportional Committee

Membership of Non-Proportional Committees

Joint Councils Employee Engagement Committee

Membership (3 seats, unnamed substitutes)

Report of Head of Law and Governance

Purpose of report

To enable the Council to comply with the legal obligation imposed upon it to incorporate new constitutional provisions dealing with the dismissal of statutory officers for alleged misconduct, to approve the composition of the required Panel to be introduced as part of the process and to delegate authority to appropriate officers to appoint the Panel and arrange meetings (if necessary).

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To approve the inclusion of the procedure at Appendix 1 as part of the Officer Employment Procedure Rules in the Council’s constitution and note that the Head of Law and Governance has exercised his delegated authority to make consequential amendments to the constitution as necessary to reflect the requirements contained in the Local Authorities (Standing Order) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations).

1.2         To approve the constitution of the Panel as solely comprising the independent persons appointed by this Council and South Northamptonshire Council pursuant to section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011.

1.3         To delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance (or one of the Deputy Monitoring Officers should the Head of Law and Governance be the subject of the relevant disciplinary action) to appoint the Panel and convene meetings of it in the event that this ever becomes necessary.

1.4         To note that the Head of Transformation will automatically amend the Joint Local Discipline and Dismissal Guide for Statutory Officers and that she has already taken steps to amend the contracts of employment of the statutory officers as necessary to reflect the changes introduced by the 2015 Regulations.

The Head of Law and Governance submitted a report to enable the Council to comply with the legal obligation imposed upon it to incorporate new constitutional provisions dealing with the dismissal of statutory officers for alleged misconduct, to approve the composition of the required Panel to be introduced as part of the process and to delegate authority to appropriate officers to appoint the Panel and arrange meetings (if necessary).

Resolved

(1)          That the inclusion of the procedure (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) as part of the Officer Employment Procedure Rules in the Council’s constitution be approved and it be noted note that the Head of Law and Governance has exercised his delegated authority to make consequential amendments to the constitution as necessary to reflect the requirements contained in the Local Authorities (Standing Order) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (“the 2015 Regulations).

(2)          That the constitution of the Panel as solely comprising the independent persons appointed by this Council and South Northamptonshire Council pursuant to section 28(7) of the Localism Act 2011 be approved.

(3)          That authority be delegated to the Head of Law and Governance (or one of the Deputy Monitoring Officers should the Head of Law and Governance be the subject of the relevant disciplinary action) to appoint the Panel and convene meetings of it in the event that this ever becomes necessary.

(4)          That it be noted that the Head of Transformation would automatically amend the Joint Local Discipline and Dismissal Guide for Statutory Officers and that she had already taken steps to amend the contracts of employment of the statutory officers as necessary to reflect the changes introduced by the 2015 Regulations.