ST. HELENS BOROUGH COUNCIL. At the Annual Meeting of the St. Helens Borough Council held on 23 June 2004

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1 At the Annual Meeting of the St. Helens Borough Council held on 3 June 004 (Present) (Not Present) The Mayor (Councillor McGuire) (Chairman) Councillors N Ashcroft, W Ashcroft, Astbury, Atherton, Banks, Bowden, Brown, Caunce, Deakin, De Asha, Doyle, D Evans, S A Evans, Ferry, Fletcher, Glover, Hargreaves, Jones, Kavanagh, Knight, Lowe, Maloney, McCauley, McLachlan, Murphy, Parr, Pearl, Pinder, Rimmer, Roberts, Robinson, Ronan, Roughley, Seddon, Sheldon, Shields, Simpson, Sims, Smith, Spencer (Chairman), Swift, Taylor, Stephanie Topping and Stephen Topping Councillors Beirne, Dunn and Griffin ELECTION OF MAYOR Councillor Rimmer withdrew her Notice of Motion as shown at Item on the Council Summons, in accordance with Paragraph 4.8 of Part 4 - Rules of Procedure of the Constitution of the Council. Councillor Parr moved and Councillor N Ashcroft seconded a motion that Councillor Lowe be elected as Mayor of the Borough. Councillors Rimmer and Spencer spoke in support of the motion. On a division the motion was declared to be carried unanimously. * Resolved that Councillor Betty Lowe, MBE, be elected as Mayor of the Borough for the ensuing Municipal Year 004/00. Councillor Lowe entered the Council Chamber and made and subscribed the necessary declaration of acceptance of office. The Mayor (Councillor Lowe) here took the Chair. APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY MAYOR Councillor Caunce moved and Councillor Seddon seconded a motion that Councillor Swift be appointed as Deputy Mayor of the Borough. On a division the motion was declared to be carried unanimously. * Resolved that Councillor William Swift be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Borough for the ensuing Municipal Year 004/00. Councillor Swift made and subscribed the necessary declaration of acceptance of office. 3 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Beirne, Dunn and Griffin.

2 4 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FROM MEMBERS Item Minute Corporate Performance Management Reports - Annual Report Member Councillor Knight Interests Declared a personal and non-prejudicial interest and in accordance with the Code of Conduct remained in the meeting, took part in the discussion and voted thereon. MINUTES * Resolved that the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 4 April 004 be approved. 6 ELECTION OF COUNCILLORS It was reported that on 0 June 004, the following Councillors had been elected for the Ward shown and that their Terms of Office, as Councillors, would expire in the year indicated. Ward Billinge and Seneley Green Blackbrook Bold Earlestown Eccleston Haydock Councillors Susan Elizabeth Murphy Alma Cecelia Atherton Bessie Griffin Albert Smith Linda Lovina Maloney Andrew John Bowden Matthew Dunn Stephen Topping Thomas Hargreaves Charles Banks Keith Deakin Leon McGuire Geoffrey Pearl Shirley Amelia Evans Teresa Veronica Sims Eric George Sheldon William Swift James Caunce, MBE, JP Year of Retirement

3 Ward Moss Bank Newton Parr Rainford Rainhill Sutton Thatto Heath Town Centre West Park Windle Councillors Richard Ferry Eric Bernard Simpson Carole Ann Kavanagh Neil Taylor Peter James Astbury Suzanne Knight, JP Terence Shields Keith Roberts John Kenneth Pinder John Stanley Parr John Anthony Brown Betty Lowe, MBE Steven Paul Glover Joseph Patrick De Asha Michael John Doyle, JP Julie Mary Jones Stephanie Topping Brian Thomas Spencer Richard McCauley Patricia Anne Robinson Sheila Seddon Margaret McLachlan John Fletcher John Beirne Marie Elizabeth Rimmer David Evans Lesley Marie Veronica Ronan Kenneth David Roughley Nancy Jane Ashcroft Wallace Ashcroft Year of Retirement 7 DATES AND TIMES OF COUNCIL MEETINGS It was reported that the Council meeting previously scheduled for September 004 had been brought forward to August 004 to enable the meeting to consider the Council s Statement of Accounts 004/00 which, by law, now had to be approved by 3 August

4 * Resolved that: () the meetings of the Council for the forthcoming Municipal Year 004/00 be held on: August November January 00 March 00 3 April 00; and () the above meetings of the Council commence at 6. p.m. 8 CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION/FINANCIAL REGULATIONS A report was submitted which informed the Council that the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Administrative Services), in his role as Monitoring Officer, had a duty under Article of the Constitution to review its operation and report to the Annual Meeting any proposed amendments for approval, where those amendments were other than minor changes. The Assistant Chief Executive (Best Value, Procurement and Asset Management) had identified proposed changes to the Contracts Procedure Rules which would clarify the respective responsibilities of Chief Officers in accepting quotations and letting contracts, and set out arrangements to safeguard quotations and tenders submitted electronically. The proposed changes to the Contracts Procedure Rules were highlighted in bold in brackets in Appendix attached to the report. The Assistant Chief Executive (Finance) had requested changes to the Treasury Management Rules (Rule 6) and to the Income and Expenditure Controls within the Financial Systems and Procedures Rules (Section D). The proposed changes in the Treasury Management Rules formalised an explicit element of CIPFA s Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services in the Constitution. Compliance with those requirements had previously been implicit within paragraph 6C 6.. On Audit advice, the current proposals would now make this an explicit provision. The changes on Income and Expenditure Controls were included to introduce formal anti-money laundering procedures into the Authority s cash collection activity. The amendments were shown in brackets and bold type in Appendix attached to the report. * Resolved that the amendments to the Constitution as set out in Appendices and attached to the report be approved. 9 ALLOCATION OF SEATS ON COMMITTEES 004/00 A report was submitted allocating seats on ordinary committees in order to comply with Section of the Local Government and Housing Act 989 and seeking to make appointments to those seats in accordance with Section 6 of the Act together with the appointment of Chairman. 4

5 Ordinary Committees had a special statutory meaning. It only included Committees that had delegated powers to discharge the Council s Statutory functions. It did not include informal bodies that were not Committees, such as, Overview and Scrutiny Panels and did not include the Sarah Cowley Committee. The total number of seats on ordinary Committees was 4. The political proportionality rules did not apply to the Standards Committee or to the appointments of the Executive under the Council s Constitution. The total allocation of seats on ordinary Committees was: Labour - Liberal Democrat - 7 Conservative - 6 In order to comply with Section of the Local Government and Housing Act and the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 990 it is recommended that the seats on Committees be allocated as shown below: () Planning Committee Total Lab 8 Lib Dem 6 Con () Licensing and Environmental Protection Committee (+ non-voting co-opted from the Police) 0 4 (3) Appointments Committee 0 3 (4) Personnel Appeals Committee () Appeals Committee Total Key Lab: Lib Dem: Con: Labour Liberal Democrat Conservative In order to provide flexibility in the composition of the Appointments, Personnel Appeals and Appeals Committee it was proposed that a pool of Members be allocated by each group up to twice the size as the Committee allocation to enable the Committees to be reconstituted each time they meet with the membership as shown above.

6 It was proposed that the Standards Committee continue to comprise four Councillors plus two co-opted independent members and one member of a Parish Council, and that the Councillors seats be allocated as follows: Labour - Liberal Democrat - Conservative - It was proposed that the Sarah Cowley Committee continue to comprise ten Councillors and that the seats be allocated as follows: Labour - Liberal Democrat - 4 Conservative - In accordance with the decision of the Council from its meeting on 3 October 00 and the provisions now built into the Constitution, the Overview and Scrutiny Commission was not politically balanced. The Membership of the Commission was all Members not on the Executive. The Membership of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels was a matter for the Commission to determine and it was proposed that the Commission deal with the appointment of Members of the Panels at its first meeting scheduled to take place on July 004. * Resolved that () In order to comply with Section of the Local Government and Housing Act 989, the seats on Committees be allocated as detailed below: Total Lab Lib Dem Con () Planning Committee 8 6 () Licensing and Environmental Protection Committee (+ non-voting co-opted from the Police) 0 4 (3) Appointments Committee 0 3 (4) Personnel Appeals Committee () Appeals Committee Total () In order to comply with Section 6 of the Local Government and Housing Act 989, the appointments to those seats allocated in accordance with Section be as shown below: 6

7 Planning Committee Councillors: Lab - Bowden, Caunce, Deakin, McCauley, McGuire, McLachlan, Roberts and Seddon Councillors: LD - Dunn, Ferry, Knight, Sheldon, Sims and Spencer Councillor: Con - Parr Licensing and Environmental Protection Committee Councillors: Lab - De Asha, Glover, Murphy, Shields and Smith Councillors: LD - Jones, Knight, Simpson and Taylor Councillor: Con - N Ashcroft Co-opted Non-Voting Appeals Committee Representative of Merseyside Police The Committee to be re-constituted each time it meets with the Membership being drawn insofar as possible from the following pool of Members: Councillors: Lab - Banks, Deakin, Robinson and Swift Councillors: LD - Sims and Spencer Councillors: Con - W Ashcroft and Brown 7

8 Appointments Committee The Committee to be re-constituted each time it meets with the Membership being drawn insofar as is possible from the following pool of Members: Councillors: Lab - Atherton, Bowden, Doyle, Fletcher, Hargreaves, McCauley, McGuire, Pinder, Rimmer and Shields Councillors: LD - Ferry, Knight, Pearl, Sims, Spencer and Stephanie Topping Councillors: Con - W Ashcroft, Brown, Lowe and Roughley Personnel Appeals Committee The Committee to be re-constituted each time it meets with the Membership being drawn insofar as is possible from the following pool of Members: Councillors: Lab: - Griffin, Hargreaves, Maloney and Roberts Councillors: LD - Evans and Sims Councillor: Con - W Ashcroft and Brown (3) A Standards Committee comprising four Councillors, two co-opted Independent Members and one Member of a Parish Council be established and the Councillor seats be allocated on a ratio of Lab : Lib Dem : Con with the following Chairman: An independent Member appointed by the Committee. Councillors: Lab - Fletcher and McGuire Councillor: LD - Spencer Councillor: Con - W Ashcroft Co-Opted Voting Two Independent Members A Member of a Parish Council 8

9 (4) A Sarah Cowley Committee comprising ten Councillors be established and the seats be allocated on a ratio of Lab : LD 4: Con with the following Membership. Chairman: To be appointed by the Committee. Councillors: Lab - Atherton, Deakin, Roberts, Seddon and Shields Councillors: LD - Evans, Knight, Simpson and Stephanie Topping Councillor: Con - W Ashcroft () It was reported that two nominations had been received for the position of Chairman for both the Planning and Licensing and Environmental Protection Committees namely: Planning Committee Councillors Knight Roberts Licensing and Environmental Protection Committee Councillors De Asha Sims On a division the following appointment was made. Planning Committee Chairman: Councillor Roberts On a further division the following appointment was made. Licensing and Environmental Protection Committee Chairman: Councillor De Asha 9

10 0 APPOINTMENTS TO JOINT AUTHORITIES * Resolved that the following Members be appointed as the Council s representatives on the Joint Authorities indicated. Authority Merseyside Police Authority Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority Councillor Deakin Fletcher It was reported that three nominations had been received for the positions of the Council s two representatives for both the Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority and Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority namely: Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority Councillor Astbury Maloney Smith Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority Councillor S Evans Hargreaves McGuire On a division the following appointments were made: Merseyside Fire and Civil Defence Authority Councillors Maloney and Smith On a further division the following appointments were made. Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority Councillors Hargreaves and McGuire REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE FROM ITS MEETING HELD ON JUNE 004: CORPORATE PERFORMANCE REPORTS A report of the Executive from its meeting held on June 004 was submitted. The Executive had considered the Corporate Performance Management Report - Annual Report 003/004 and the Comparative Performance Report - Lifelong Learning May 004, which were attached to the report at Appendices and respectively, and recommended them for approval by Council. * Resolved that the Corporate Performance Reports be approved. 0

11 DRAFT ANNUAL PERFORMANCE PLAN 004/00 It was reported that the Local Government Act 999 required all Best Value Authorities to prepare an Annual Performance Plan and this was a key element of Best Value. Further guidance was issued by the Government in February 004 to help Best Value Authorities prepare their Performance Plans by June 004 and in subsequent years. A detailed analysis of the Council s past and planned performance against a range of national indicators was contained in the Draft Performance Plan. Under-pinning the analysis was that through the Performance Management Framework the achievement of targets against individual indicators directly supported the delivery of the Council s aims and objectives and the delivery of improved services to local people. * Resolved that the Annual Performance Plan 004/00 be approved. -ooo-