Agenda and minutes

Prayers were said by Reverend Adrian Guthrie.

It was with sadness that the Mayor advised that Group Captain Tom Barrett, Station Commander at RAF Northolt, had recently died in an accident.  All present stood for a minute’s silence in his memory.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Barker, Lewis, Nelson and Sandhu.

To note any declarations of interest in any matter before the Council

Councillor G Cooper declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 11 – Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Report, as he was a trustee of Groundwork Thames Valley, and remained in the room during the consideration thereof.  

To elect a Mayor of the London Borough of Hillingdon to hold office from 12 May 2011 until his or her successor becomes entitled to act as Mayor.

i)              The retiring Mayor, Councillor Yarrow, to provide a summary of his year in office.

ii)             Nominations for Mayor invited by the retiring Mayor – election (if necessary)

iii)           Retiring Mayor declares the result

The Mayor thanked the Council for the opportunity that he had been afforded over the last 12 months.  He and the Mayoress had personally attended 560 of the 718 mayoral events conducted during the year and had travelled 12,605 miles in the Mayoral car. 

During his term of office, the Mayor had attended a number of military engagements to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.  One such event was the sunset ceremony at RAF Northolt where the RAF band played and two planes (a Hurricane and a Spitfire) flew overhead.  The Mayor noted that the pilot that had flown this Spitfire in the Second World War had also attended the ceremony.  

Another highlight of the Mayor’s year in office was his visit to Mansion House for the Lord Mayor’s Show.  On arrival, the Mayor’s car had to be escorted the wrong way down Fleet Street by a police outrider. 

The Mayor thanked everyone that had been involved in fundraising for his charities, which had raised £55,000.  Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support would receive £26,000 and Hillingdon Food Bank would receive £29,000 (part of this was in the form of food donations). 

The Mayor also thanked Council officers and the Mayoress, Mrs Rita Kilroy, for their support.  He concluded by stating that his time as Mayor had been an honour and a privilege.

Nominations were invited for a Mayor to hold office for the 2011/2012 municipal year.  Councillor O’Connor was nominated by Councillor Retter and seconded by Councillor Simmonds.  Councillors Barnes, Benson, Corthorne, Fyfe and Gilham spoke in support.  There were no further nominations. 

RESOLVED:  That Councillor O’Connor be elected as Mayor for the municipal year 2011/2012. 

The Council adjourned for robing of the new Mayor at 8.12pm and reconvened at 8.26pm.

i)              The newly elected Mayor to make and sign the declaration of the acceptance of office.

ii)             The Head of Democratic Services to declare the election of the Mayor to be complete.

The newly elected Mayor signed the declaration of acceptance of office.  

i)              To receive the Mayor’s appointment in writing of a Councillor of the Borough to be Deputy Mayor for the coming year.

ii)             To note the appointment of Mayor’s escorts for the forthcoming year.

The Mayor informed the Council that she had appointed Councillor Markham as Deputy Mayor and that her Escorts for the forthcoming year would be Miss Elizabeth (Lily) Meares, Mr Paul O’Connor and Mr Tim McCarthy.

RESOLVED:  That the Deputy Mayor and the Mayor’s Escorts for the year be noted. 

To receive announcements from the new Mayor

The Mayor thanked the Council for the honour of being appointed as Mayor and advised Members that her charities for the year would be in relation to mental health.  Her charities would be MIND, Riverside (Acute Unit), Woodlands (Alzheimer's and Dementia Unit) and CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services). 

i)              vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor to be moved and seconded

ii)             presentation of Past Mayor’s and Past Mayoress’ badges

Councillor Puddifoot moved a vote of thanks to the retired Mayor, Councillor Yarrow and his Mayoress, Mrs Rita Kilroy.  This was seconded by Councillor Simmonds.  Councillors Barnes, Khursheed, Harper-O’Neill and Retter spoke in support.

The Mayor (Councillor O’Connor) presented the Past Mayor’s badge to Councillor Yarrow and Past Mayoress’ badge to Mrs Rita Kilroy.

RESOLVED:  That the vote of thanks to the Outgoing Mayor, Councillor Yarrow, be agreed. 

To note the appointment by the Leader of the Council of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet for 2011/2012.

Councillor Puddifoot advised Members that the Deputy Leader and Cabinet positions would be filled as follows:

To consider an amendment to the Scheme of Allowances for the current year.

Councillor G Cooper moved the recommendation as set out on the Order of Business.  This was seconded by Councillor Puddifoot, put to the vote and agreed.

RESOLVED:  That the current Member’ Allowances Scheme be amended as indicated in the report with effect from 12 May 2011. 

To decide the number and size of Council committees and allocate Members to serve on those committees based on the political balance of the Council where required.

Councillor Puddifoot moved that Part 2, Article 8 of the Constitution be amended to remove the restriction on any Member serving more than four consecutive years on the Audit Committee.  This was seconded by Councillor Simmonds. 

Councillor G Cooper moved that the proposals on memberships, as set out on the lilac coloured sheets, with the amendment to the Constitution made by Councillor Puddifoot, be agreed.  This was seconded by Councillor White. 

Councillor Harmsworth advised that Mr John Thomas, UNISON representative on the Pensions Committee had recently passed away.  On being put to the vote, the amended motion was agreed.

RESOLVED:  That:

1. Part 2, Article 8 of the Constitution be amended to remove the restriction on any Member serving more than four consecutive years on the Audit Committee; and
2. the Members be appointed to the Committees as set out in Appendix A of the minutes.

To receive the annual report

The Council received a report of the work covered by the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committees in 2010/11.  It was commended by Councillor J Cooper and seconded by Councillor Dann. 

RESOLVED:  That the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Annual Report 2010/2011 be endorsed. 

To consider the recommendation of Cabinet for the adoption of a policy in relation to the above.

It was noted that an additional recommendation had been included on the Order of Business to delegate authority to the Head of Democratic Services, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to update the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee.  Councillor Bianco moved and Councillor Retter seconded the recommendations.  Following debate (Councillor Allen), the motion was put to the vote and agreed.

RESOLVED:  That Council:

1. Adopts Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982;
2. Approves the draft Sex Establishment Licensing Policy (Appendix 1 of the report);
3. Agrees that the terms of reference of the Licensing Committee be extended to include the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982;
4. Agrees the table of delegations as set out in Appendix 2 of the report;
5. Notes the proposed timetable for implementation (Appendix 3 of the report); and
6. Agrees to delegate authority to the Head of Democratic Services, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to update the Terms of Reference of the Licensing Committee in respect of the operation of the Committee and its Sub-Committees and the new powers in respect of Sex Establishment Venue Licences under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982.

In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, to receive, without comment, a statement by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Puddifoot.

When the Leader delivered his Statement in 2009/2010, a new administration had just started and he had outlined what the Council aimed to achieve in the next four years under four themes: our people; our natural environment; our built environment; and financial management.

In his closing remarks, the Leader had stated that the effects of the economic recession would bring problems for the people of the United Kingdom over the years ahead.  He had advised that the Council would need to protect service delivery at a level that residents would support and expect. 

The period following the last Council AGM had seen the national economic position worsen and a reduction in Government funding for local authorities.  Many councils had struggled with this reduction in funding and it had resulted in them making massive staff redundancies and closing facilities.  However, this Council had put procedures in place to deal with the problem more effectively than the vast majority of local authorities.  The Leader believed that Hillingdon was the only council that was not closing libraries, but instead was rebuilding or refurbishing them all and increasing their opening hours.

Furthermore, the Leader advised that the Council had not closed any children’s centres, dining centres for the elderly or leisure facilities.  As well as continuing the same level of road sweeping and the weekly refuse and recycling services, additional investment had been put into initiatives in relation to the care of the elderly and road management.  Council Tax had also been frozen for the third year running and parking fees had been frozen for residents.

The Council had continued to obtain high levels of residents’ satisfaction for Council services and had received a steady stream of letters praising its services and staff.  The Council had also received dozens of awards again this year for its services and facilities.  Most recently, the Council had been awarded the prestigious Community Benefit award from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors for the Botwell Green Sports and Leisure Complex.  The Leader believed that this was a clear example of the Council putting the needs of its residents first.

Although the Members were the drivers of policy, it was noted that delivery was the responsibility of the staff.  The Leader thanked the staff for the part that they had played in the success of the Council during what was deemed to be an uncertain time for local authority staff across the country.  He went on to note that the Council had been successful in protecting front line services, with Hillingdon redundancies being one of the lowest in London. 

The Leader stated that, at the senior level, the management team was the best that he had worked with over the past eleven years and expressed his gratitude to them for their hard work.

The Leader expressed his personal appreciation for the work that Councillor Khursheed had done for the Council as Leader of the Opposition.  He acknowledged that this had not been the easiest of years personally for Councillor Khursheed and that his professional approach and honesty were an asset to his Group and to the Council.

Although there would be challenges ahead, the Leader was confident that the Council’s policy of putting the needs and aspirations of its residents first, combined with a sound managerial and financial approach, would see Hillingdon through any challenge.  He was proud of the people and the environment that made up the borough of Hillingdon and was proud that the Council had protected its residents and services so well.