Agenda and minutes
Venue: Grand Hall - Brent Civic Centre, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0FJ. View directions
Contact: Peter Goss, Democratic Services Manager 020 8937 1353, Email: peter.goss@brent.gov.uk
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To elect the Mayor of the borough for the municipal year 2014/15 Minutes: The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Thomas called for nominations for the office of the Mayor of the Borough for the municipal year 2014/2015.
Councillor Butt nominated Councillor Naheerathan and this was seconded by Councillor Kansagra. Councillor R Patel spoke in support of the nomination.
There being no other nominations it was
RESOLVED:
that Councillor Naheerathan be and is hereby elected, Mayor of the London Borough of Brent, for the municipal year 2014/2015.
Councillor Naheerathan was robed and invested with the Mayor’s chain.
Councillor Naheerathan signed the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Mayor.
The past Mayor, Councillor Thomas vacated the Chair which was taken by the newly elected Mayor.
The Mayor then thanked Members of the Council for his election and congratulated members on their success at the recent local elections. He announced his wife and son as his Mayoress and consort. He thanked the outgoing Mayor for the opportunities afforded to him during the past year and stated that he would be announcing the charities he would be supporting at a later date. |
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Appointment of a councillor of the borough to be Deputy Mayor Minutes: The Mayor announced the appointment of Councillor Jones as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the municipal year 2014/2015. |
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Votes of thanks Minutes: Councillor Pavey moved a vote of thanks, which was unanimously supported. He added that without an army of volunteers the work of the Council would quickly be affected, especially those who served as school governors where the role had become much more demanding.
RESOLVED:
that the Council place on record their thanks and regard for the outstanding public service rendered by the co-opted members, independent members, observers and others who have served on council committees, sub-committee, consultative committees, boards, governing bodies, resident associations etc during the past municipal year.
Councillor Butt moved a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor for his services to the community. He reminded the Council that Councillor Thomas had presided over the Council during a year in which it had relocated to the new Civic Centre. Councillor Kansagra congratulated the new Mayor on behalf of his group and thanked him for the work he had undertaken during his year.
RESOLVED:
that the Council records its appreciation of the outstanding service rendered by Councillor Thomas as Mayor of the London Borough of Brent during the past municipal year and for the manner in which he has presided over Council meetings. The Council also appreciates his attendance at a vast number of events and functions and his service to all sections of Brent’s diverse community.
Councillor Thomas, having been invested with the past Mayor’s Badge, thanked councillors for their tributes and reflected on his year of office. |
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Minutes of the previous meeting PDF 248 KB Minutes: RESOLVED:-
that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 3 March 2014 be approved as an accurate record of the meeting. |
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Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on this agenda. Minutes: None declared. |
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Appointment of Leader of the Council and notification of appointments to the Executive To appoint the Leader of the Council for the 2014-18 term and to receive notification of appointments to the Cabinet, Highways Committee and the Barham Park Trust Committee. Minutes: Councillor Kabir moved the appointment of Councillor Butt as Leader of the Council for the term 2014-18.
RESOLVED:
(i) that Councillor Butt be appointed Leader of the Council for the term 2014-18;
(ii) that the membership of the Executive as set out in Appendix A to the minutes be noted. |
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Changes to the constitution PDF 350 KB To consider changes to the Constitution, including amendments to the executive arrangements, Full Council, the scrutiny arrangements and the terms of reference of some of the Council’s committees. Additional documents: Minutes: Members considered the circulated report which set out proposed changes to the Constitution; these included amendments to the executive arrangements, Full Council, the scrutiny arrangements and the terms of reference of some committees.
Objections were voiced to some of the proposed changes such as reducing the number of scrutiny committees, the position of chair of Scrutiny Committee being a member of the majority party and bringing forward the time for the guillotine. The view was put that the ability of members to ask supplementary questions at Full Council meetings should be restored and that the changes proposed to Full Council should be reviewed later in the year. The Leader responded that the proposals had been the subject of careful consideration and that some of the changes could be reviewed if necessary at a later date.
RESOLVED:
(i) that the Constitution be changed as shown in Appendix 1 of the report submitted;
(ii) that authority be delegated to the Director of Legal and Procurement to make such miscellaneous and incidental changes to the Constitution as are necessary relating to the changes set out in the report submitted. |
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Representation of political groups on committees and political assistants PDF 94 KB This report deals with rules to be applied on the allocation to political groups of seats on committees established by the Council and the position regarding political assistants following the outcome of the elections. Additional documents:
Minutes: A supplementary report from the Director of Legal and Procurement was circulated at the meeting. As well as dealing with the rules to be applied on the allocation of places on committees established by the Council and the position regarding political assistants following the outcome of the local elections, the report also addressed a change in the number of political parties within the Council and the impact this had on the political balance of the Council.
Councillor Kansagra explained that three members of the Conservative Group had decided to form their own group and the supplementary report reflected this. He referred to paragraph 3.13 and strongly objected to amalgamating the support offered to the two groups. Councillor Warren confirmed that he and Councillors Davidson and Shaw had decided to form their own group to be called the Brondesbury Park Conservatives.
RESOLVED:-
(i) that the size of the committees to be established by the Council and the allocation of seats to each of the political groups be as follows:
*plus 1 non voting co-opted member #plus 4 statutory co-opted members and 2 non statutory co-opted members
(ii) to note that the political balance on sub-committees will be reviewed at the first meetings of the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Committee and General Purposes Committee;
(iii) that the Labour Group and the group comprising the Conservative Group and the Brondesbury Park Conservative Group be allocated political assistants and that the Constitution be amended in accordance with Appendix 1 of the supplementary report submitted;
(iv) that the Constitution be amended in accordance with changes shown in Appendix 2 of the supplementary report submitted. |
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Appointments to committees and outside bodies and appointment of chairs/vice chairs PDF 58 KB Additional documents: Minutes: RESOLVED:
(i) that the appointment of Chairs, Vice-Chairs and the memberships of committees be as set out in Appendix A to these minutes;
(iv) that the following statutory co-optees be appointed to the Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2014/15:
(v) that Dr J Levison, representing the Jewish faith, and Mrs Hawra Imame, representing the Muslim faith, be appointed as non-statutory co-opted members of the Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2014/15; (vi) that Sheila Darr be appointed as a non-statutory co-opted member of the Standards Committee for the municipal year 2014/15; (v) that David Ewart be appointed as a non-statutory co-opted member and chair of Audit Committee (vii) that appointments/nominations to outside bodies be made as set out in Appendix B to these minutes. |
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Members' code of conduct and Licensing and Planning codes of practice PDF 132 KB The Members’ Code of Conduct forms part of the Constitution and under the Localism Act 2011 all Councils are required to adopt a Code. An allegation of breach of the Code may result in an investigation into that member’s conduct by the Standards Committee. The Licensing and Planning Codes of Practice also form part of the Council’s Constitution and set out the processes and Member conduct in relation to these regulatory functions. These Codes are periodically reviewed and this report sets out the recommendations for changes. Additional documents:
Minutes: The report before Members dealt with the adoption of a Members’ Code of Conduct and recommended changes to the Licensing and Planning Codes of Practice.
RESOLVED:
(i) that the changes made to the Licensing Code of Practice, as shown in Appendix 1 to the report submitted, be agreed;
(ii) that the changes made to the Planning Code of Practice, as shown in Appendix 2 to the report submitted, be agreed;
(iii) that the revised Members Code of Conduct, as shown in Appendix 3 to the report submitted, be agreed. |
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Calendar of meetings PDF 45 KB (a) To agree dates on which the Council shall meet during the ensuing year, (b) To settle, as far as is considered advisable and practical, the dates and times at which the Cabinet, committees and other bodies shall meet. Additional documents:
Minutes: A supplementary report listing amendments to the previous report was circulated.
RESOLVED:
(i) that the dates for Full Council and other meetings to take place during the municipal year 2014/2015, as set out in Appendix 1 to the supplementary report submitted be agreed in principle;
(ii) that the Democratic Services Manager be authorised to make any alterations deemed necessary to the calendar during the course of the municipal year, subject to the usual consultation. |
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Urgent business At the discretion of the Mayor to consider any urgent business. Minutes: None. |