Agenda and minutes

Mr N.J. Rushton was nominated as Chairman elect at the Council meeting on 19 May 2015.

That Mr N. J. Rushton CC be elected Chairman for the period ending with the date of the Annual Meeting of the County Council in 2016.

Mr N. J. Rushton CC – in the Chair

That Mr. J. B. Rhodes CC be appointed Deputy Chairman for the period ending with the Annual Meeting of the County Council in 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2015 were taken as read, confirmed and signed.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35.

The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5).

There were no urgent items for consideration.

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

No declarations were made.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive, the purpose of which was to present a proposed scheme for new electoral divisions in response to an invitation from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE). A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

The Committee was informed that the proposals for the districts of Blaby, Charnwood, Harborough, and Hinckley and Bosworth had all party support. There had been disagreement between the parties regarding the districts of Melton, North West Leicestershire, and Oadby and Wigston. The submission document made reference to the areas of disagreement and contained a link to a page on the Council’s website where the comments from Groups could be found. Members were advised that if Groups wished to make their own submissions to the LGBCE they should state where they agreed with the Council proposals as well as where they disagreed. This would mean that the LGBCE would gain a true reflection of opinion and not just negative comments.  

Mr Sharp CC stated that he was disappointed that the Labour Group had been unable to persuade the Working Party of the merits of the Labour Group proposals for North West Leicestershire.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council be recommended to agree the proposals for new electoral divisions for submission to the LGBCE.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive, the purpose of which was to provide an update on new regulations regarding the procedures for dismissal of the Head of the Paid Service, the Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

The Committee was informed that the new regulations were required to be implemented at the first Council meeting following the Annual Meeting.

It was reported that the Employment Committee had concerns that the new regulations could breach employment laws, and that there were likely to be difficulties encountered in implementing and applying the new procedures.

RESOLVED:

a)     That the proposed changes to Rule 11 of the Officer Employment Procedure Rules be referred to the County Council for final approval;

b)     That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to discuss with the existing independent persons the implications of the new regulations and their willingness to take on this new responsibility;

c)     That in the event that one or more of the existing independent members decline to undertake the new role the Monitoring Officer be authorised to undertake a recruitment exercise for new independent persons and report the outcome to the Council for approval.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive the purpose of which was to seek approval to submit proposed changes to the Meeting Procedure Rules and Articles of the Constitution to the County Council for approval. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

It was noted that should the proposed changes be agreed to be submitted to Council, any motion to amend Standing Orders had to stand adjourned until the next ordinary meeting of Council, so they would not take effect until after the Council meeting in September 2015.

Mr Sharp CC raised concerns regarding the proposed amendment to Standing Order 22 which would enable a member to raise a point of information so as to correct a speaker from developing their argument on incorrect facts. Mr Sharp stated that in his view this amendment could create more problems than it solved particularly with situations where a speaker makes a statement which is not a categorical fact and the amendments to the Standing Orders could result in any member being able to dispute this statement.

RESOLVED:

That the County Council be recommended to approve the proposed changes to the Constitution as set out in the Appendix to the report.