Agenda and minutes

The Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Singh, welcomed all Members present. He then called for nominations for the office of the Mayor of the Borough for the municipal year 2011/2012.

Councillor John nominated Councillor Choudry and this was unanimously supported.

RESOLVED:

that Councillor Choudry be and he is hereby elected, Mayor of the London Borough of Brent, for the municipal year 2011/2012.

Councillor Choudry was robed and invested with the Mayor’s chain.

Councillor Choudry signed the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Mayor.

The past Mayor, Councillor Singh vacated the Chair which was taken by the newly elected Mayor.

The Mayor then thanked Members of the Council for his election and informed the Council that his charities for the year would be Brent MIND and the Central Mosque of Brent.

The Mayor announced the appointment of Councillor Adeyeye as Deputy Mayor of the London Borough of Brent for the municipal year 2011/2012.

Councillor Arnold moved a vote of thanks, which was unanimously supported.

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 John moved a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor for his services to the community.  Councillors Lorber and Kansagra spoke on behalf of their groups and paid tribute to the work of Councillor Singh during his year as Mayor.

RESOLVED:

that the Council records its appreciation of the outstanding service rendered by Councillor Singh 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 Singh having been invested with the past Mayor’s Badge thanked councillors for their tributes and reflected on his year of office.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant financial or other interest in the items on this agenda.

None declared.

RESOLVED:-

that the minutes of the previous meetings held on 28 February 2011 and 13 April 2011 be approved as accurate records of the meetings, subject to the following amendments to the 28 February meeting:

2. Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests

Add - Preston Park Primary School                      HB Patel

Amend the spelling of Shree Sattar Gam Patidar Samaj (Europe) to Shree Sattavis Gam Patidar Samaj (Europe)

To agree changes to the Constitution.

Members had before them a report proposing minor changes to the Council’s Constitution arising out of a review of the operation of some aspects of the Constitution, amendments to Standing Orders in relation to contracts, changes to reflect the new Regulations regarding Adoption and Fostering Panels, and the adoption of the Members’ Allowance Scheme.

RESOLVED:-

(i)         that the Constitution be amended to incorporate the changes to the Standing Orders relating to Full Council and the Annual Meeting as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted;

(ii)        that the Constitution be amended to incorporate the changes to Standing Orders in relation to contracts as set out in Appendix 2 to the report submitted;

(iii)       that the Constitution be amended to reflect the legal changes to the membership of the Adoption and Permanency Panel and the Fostering Panel, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report submitted;

(iv)       that the Members Allowance Scheme set out in Appendix 4 to the report submitted be agreed.

The terms of reference for decision making for the Planning Committee were last reviewed in their entirety as part of the drafting of the Council’s Constitution in 2002.  With the reduced staff resources now available, and a desire expressed by some members of the Committee to reduce the overall workload and frequency of meetings, it is now appropriate to review arrangements. 

The terms of reference for decision making for the Planning Committee were last reviewed in their entirety as part of the drafting of the Council’s Constitution in 2002.  With the reduced staff resources now available it was considered appropriate to review the workload and frequency of Planning Committee meetings.  The report before members proposed amendments to the Planning Committee terms of reference and alterations to the member call-in procedure.

                           RESOLVED:-

(i)         that the following changes to the terms of reference to the Planning Committee and the consequential changes to the Planning Code of Practice be made in the manner set out in appendix A to the report submitted to reflect the following:

(a)       to allow the determination of applications of more than 20 dwellings (currently 10).  The implication being that officers will determine applications of less than 20 dwellings;

(b)       that, in cases where approval is recommended, the number of objectors required to determine that the decision is made by the Committee be raised from 2 to 3;

(c)        that all applications for alterations and additions to residential buildings be determined by officers unless they are called in by members for a decision by the Committee;

(d)       that the number of members required to call in an application be increased from 2 to 3;

(ii)        that the overall number of Planning Committee meetings be reduced from 19 to 15 per year;

(iii)       that the terms of reference of the Planning Committee include consideration of development proposals at a pre-application stage that allows for informal feedback on schemes prior to their formal submission.

To review the allocation of seats on Council committees in accordance with the Local Government Act 1989.

The report before Members dealt with the rules to be applied on the allocation of places on committees established by the Council.

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

#plus 4 independent 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.

(a)       to appoint chairs/vice chairs of committees as required and members/alternates to all committees, joint committees, forums and panels  and to appoint co-opted and independent members.  (A schedule of nominations will be tabled at the meeting)

(b)       to appoint or nominate representatives or members to outside bodies and associations.  (A schedule of nominations will be tabled at the meeting)

Notification of the appointment of the Executive and nominations for the places on committees and other bodies, including chairs and vice chairs, and outside bodies were tabled.

Councillor Colwill was nominated to serve on the Brent Housing Partnership Board.  Upon a vote it was agreed that Councillors Colwill, Jones, Ogunro and Thomas be appointed to the Brent Housing Partnership Board.   

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the appointment of the Executive, as notified by the Leader of the Council, be noted:

(i)         that the appointment of Chairs, Vice-Chairs and the memberships of committees be as set out in Appendix A to these minutes;

(ii)        that Angela Ruotolo be appointed Chair and Sola Afuape appointed Vice-Chair of the Standards Committee;

(iii)       that Stephen Woods be appointed Chair of the Audit Committee;

(iv)       that the following statutory co-optees be appointed to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2011/12:

(v)        that Dr J Levison, representing the Jewish faith, and Mrs Hawra Imame, representing the Muslim faith, be appointed as non-statutory members of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee for the municipal year 2011/12;

(vi)       that appointments/nominations to outside bodies be made as set out in Appendix B to these minutes.

(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 Executive, committees and other bodies shall meet.

Councillor Moloney moved the adoption of the calendar of meetings as amended by the tabled supplementary report.

RESOLVED:

(i)         that the dates for Full Council and other meetings to take place during 2011/2012 as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted, as amended, 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.

There was none.