Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Galton and carried:-

 

“That Mr David Snartt be elected Chairman for the period until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.”

 

Mr Snartt read out and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and signed by the Chief Executive.

 

Mr Snartt took the Chair and thanked his proposer and seconder and members of the Council for electing him.

 

The Chairman thanked Mr Boulter for his services to the County during his period of office as Chairman.  Mr Rushton, Mr Galton and Mr Hunt each joined the Chairman in associating their Groups with the thanks to Mr Boulter.  Mr Boulter thanked members for their generous remarks.

 

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Galton and carried:-

 

“That Mr Bill Liquorish be appointed Vice-Chairman for the period until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.”

 

Mr Liquorish read out and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office which was witnessed and signed by the Chief Executive.

 

Mr Liquorish thanked his proposer and seconder for their generous remarks and members of the Council for appointing him as Vice-Chairman.

 

Professor Robert Pritchard

 

The Chairman reported the sad death on 12^th April, 2015, of former County Councillor, Professor Robert Pritchard.

 

Professor Pritchard had been elected to the County Council in 1989 and served until 1997 representing the East Knighton Electoral Division in Leicester City.  He had been Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group from 1993 to 1997 and had served on the Policy and Resources Committee, the Resources Committee and the Social Services Committee.

 

Mr George Farnham DL

 

The Chairman reported the sad death on 2^nd May, 2015, of former County Councillor, Mr George Farnham.

 

Mr Farnham had been elected to the County Council in 1958 and served until 1985.  He had held the office of Chairman of the County Council from 1977 to 1980, and was also a Deputy Lieutenant of Leicestershire.

 

Those present joined the Chairman in standing in silent tribute to the memory of Professor Robert Pritchard and Mr George Farnham.

 

Mr David Morgan

 

The Chairman reminded members that this would be the last meeting before David Morgan retired.

 

David had been County Solicitor since October 2011.  He had joined the Council in May 1985 as an Assistant Solicitor, progressing to Principal Solicitor and then Head of Legal Services in 1997.  He had also been instrumental in establishing and shaping the Council’s scrutiny function having been appointed as Head of Scrutiny.

 

The County Council had a great deal to thank David for.  The fact that the County Council had a reputation for good governance and high standards of conduct was a result of his hard work, professionalism and integrity. 

 

The Chairman expressed, on behalf of himself and his predecessors as Chairmen since 1997, sincere thanks to David for his sound advice on the conduct of meetings and generally calming presence beside them.

 

Members of the Council joined the Chairman in wishing David a long and happy retirement. 

 

Armed Forces Day

 

The Chairman reminded members that they had been invited to a special service to be held on Saturday, 4^th July at Leicester Cathedral to mark Armed Forces Day.  The service would be held jointly with the Lord Mayor of Leicester and the Lord-Lieutenant and would be followed by a parade of Standards, service personnel, veterans and cadets through the streets of Leicester, behind the pipes and drums of the Seaforth Highlanders.  All members were encouraged to attend.

 

Chairman’s Reception – Beaumanor Hall

 

The Chairman was pleased to inform members that he would be holding a Reception at Beaumanor Hall on Thursday, 23^rd July at 6.30pm.  All members of the County Council would be receiving invitations in due course.

 

County Service

 

The Chairman asked members to note that the County Service this year would be held at Leicester Cathedral on Sunday, 18^th October.  The Bishop of Leicester would be preaching and the Service would be followed by a Reception.  Invitations would be issued to all members in due course and he hoped that members would support the annual service.

 

Visitors

 

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting all visitors and guests of members and anyone who was viewing the meeting via the webcast.

 

The Chief Executive presented the report of the Returning Officer on the election of a County Councillor for the Narborough and Whetstone Division on 7^th May 2015.

         

The Chairman welcomed Mr Terry Richardson CC to the Council.

 

It was moved by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice- Chairman and carried:-

 

“That the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 25^th March 2015, copies of which have been circulated to members, be taken as read, confirmed and signed.”

 

 

The Chairman invited members who wished to do so to make declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda for the meeting.

 

No such declarations were made.

 

No questions had been received.

The Leader presented a position statement on the following matters:-

 

·       Election Results;

·       Cities Devolution Bill;

·       Boundary Review;

·       Strategic Direction;

·       Great Central Railway;

·       Multi Agency Traveller Unit.

 

A copy of the position statement is filed with these minutes.

 

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Osborne and carried:-

 

“That Council meetings in 2015/16 and 2016/17 be held on the following dates:-

 

          Wednesday 8 July 2015

          Wednesday 23 September 2015

          Wednesday 2 December 2015

          Wednesday 17 February 2016 (Budget Meeting)

          Wednesday 16 March 2016

Wednesday 18 May 2016 (Annual Meeting)

          Wednesday 13 July 2016

          Wednesday 21 September 2016

          Wednesday 7 December 2016

          Wednesday 22 February 2017 (Budget Meeting)

          Wednesday 22 March 2017

          Wednesday 17 May 2017 (Annual Meeting).”

 

It was moved by Mr Rhodes, seconded by Mr Osborne and carried:-

 

“That Mr N J Rushton be appointed Leader of the Council for the period until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.”

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Rhodes and carried:-

 

"That it be noted that the Leader proposes to appoint the members named on list ‘A’ attached to the Order Paper as members of the Cabinet."

 

A copy of List ‘A’ is filed with these minutes.

 

It was moved by Mr Rushton, seconded by Mr Rhodes and carried:-

 

"That the following members be appointed as Cabinet Support Members until the next Annual Meeting of the County Council, as provided for in Article 7 of the Council's Constitution:-

 

Mr G A Hart

Mr P G Lewis

Mrs R Page.”

 

The motion was put and carried.

 

It was moved by Mr Osborne, seconded by Mr Charlesworth and carried:-

 

 “That the membership of the Scrutiny Commission, Boards and Committees as set out in List ‘B’ attached to the Order Paper be approved.”

 

A copy of List ‘B’ is filed with these minutes.

 

Spokesmen

 

Mr Osborne named the members shown in the second column of List ‘S’ as Conservative Spokesmen of the bodies as shown.

 

Mr Hunt named the members shown in the third column of List ‘S’ as Labour Spokesmen of the bodies as shown.

 

Mr Charlesworth named the members shown in the fourth column of List ‘S’ as Liberal Democrat Spokesmen of the bodies as shown.

 

A copy of List ‘S’ is filed with these minutes.

 

Substitutes

 

It was moved by Mr Osborne, seconded by Mr Charlesworth and carried:-

 

“That the Chief Executive be authorised to make and terminate appointments to the Commission, Committees, Boards and other County Council bodies (not including the Cabinet) in accordance with the wishes of the political groups to whom the seat in question has been allocated, subject in the case of those bodies set out in List ‘B’ to the Group giving one day’s notice to the Chief Executive of its wishes.”