Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors Janet Gardner and Pat Jackson. 

To elect a Mayor of the London Borough of Hillingdon to hold office from 9 May 2019 until his or her successor becomes entitled to act as Mayor.

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

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

iii)     Retiring Mayor declares the result.

The Mayor thanked his Mayoress and Mayor’s Escort, the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress, his fellow Councillors and officers for the support that they had given him.  He also thanked the organisations and volunteers that did so much for the Borough. 

The Mayor provided the Council with some brief highlights of his Mayoral year, during which he had attended 668 events and had raised over £48k for his charities.

Nominations were invited for a Mayor to hold office for the 2019/20 municipal year.  Councillor Yarrow was nominated by Councillor Goddard and seconded by Councillor Graham.  There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED: That Councillor David Yarrow be elected as Mayor for the 2019/2020 municipal year.

The Council adjourned for robing of the new Mayor at 7.52pm and reconvened at 8.08pm.

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

To receive the Mayor’s appointment in writing of a Councillor of the Borough to serve as Deputy Mayor for the coming year.

The Mayor informed the Council that he had appointed Councillor Teji Barnes as Deputy Mayor.

RESOLVED: That the Deputy Mayor for 2019/2020 be noted.

To receive announcements from the new Mayor

The new Mayor thanked those present for electing him.  He advised that his Mayoress for the year would be Mrs Mary O’Connor.  The Mayor stated that his nominated charities for the year would be Hillingdon Autistic Care and Support and Hillingdon Brain Tumour and Injury Support.

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

ii)      Presentation of Past Mayor’s, Past Mayoress’ and Past Mayor’s Escort’s badges.

Councillor Puddifoot moved a vote of thanks to the retired Mayor, Councillor Morgan, his Mayoress, Mrs Fiona Morgan, and his Escort, Mrs Pauline Bianco.  This was seconded by Councillor Curling. 

The Mayor (Councillor Yarrow) presented a Past Mayor’s badge to Councillor Morgan, a Past Mayoress’ badge to Mrs Fiona Morgan and a Past Mayor’s Escort badge to Mrs Pauline Bianco.  Councillor Puddifoot advised that, as the Council had come in under budget during the previous year, he would be recommending that Cabinet double the funds raised by Councillor Morgan for his charities to £96k.

Councillors Bianco, Corthorne, Duncan and Flynn spoke in support of the vote of thanks to the outgoing Mayor, Councillor John Morgan.

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

8.1 APPOINTMENT OF THE CABINET

Councillor Puddifoot advised Council that he had made the following appointments:

8.2 APPOINTMENT OF COUNCIL CHAMPION

Councillor Puddifoot moved the motion, which was seconded by Councillor Simmonds, and it was:

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Tuckwell be appointed as Council Champion for Mental Health. 

8.3 STANDARDS COMMITTEE – APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT PERSON

Councillor Puddifoot moved the motion, which was seconded by Councillor Simmonds, and it was:

RESOLVED:  That Mr David Smith be re-appointed as Independent Person for a further three year period, to June 2022, and that thereafter the position be re-advertised.

8.4 REVIEW OF COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

Councillor Puddifoot moved the motion as set out on the Order of Business, which was seconded by Councillor Simmonds.  Following debate (Councillors Allen, Curling, Duncan, Eginton and Money), the motion was put to a recorded vote:

Those voting for: The Mayor (Councillor Yarrow), the Deputy Mayor (Councillor Barnes), Councillors Ahmad-Wallana, Arnold, Bianco, Bridges, Brightman, Burrows, Chamdal, Chapman, Choubedar, Cooper, Corthorne, Denys, Deville, Edwards, Flynn, Fyfe, Goddard, Graham, Haggar, Hensley, Higgins, Hurhangee, Kauffman, Lavery, Lewis, Makwana, Markham, Melvin, D Mills, R Mills, Morgan, O’Brien, Palmer, Puddifoot, Radia, Riley, Rodrigues, Seaman-Digby, Simmonds, Stead and Tuckwell.

Those voting against: Councillors Allen, Birah, Bliss, Curling, Dhillon, Dhot, Duncan, Eginton, Farley, Lakhmana, Mathers, Milani, Money, Morse, Nelson, Oswell, Prince, Sansarpuri, Singh and Sweeting.

Those abstaining: None.

The motion was carried and it was:

RESOLVED: That the following amendments to the Council Constitution (shown in italics) be approved:

a)        Protocol for Member / Officer Relations - Regarding Member Enquiries:

A Member is free to approach any Council Department to provide such information, explanation and advice about the Department’s functions as may reasonably be required in order to assist with discharging his/her role. Such requests must be reasonable and will be met subject to any overriding legal considerations (determined by Monitoring Officer).

If the recipient of any request considers the cost of providing the information requested or the nature of the request to be unreasonable, they will raise the matter with the relevant Corporate Director who will discuss the issue with the relevant Group Leader or, in the absence of a Group Leader, with the Member concerned. Should a Member wish for information that is not specific to their own Ward (e.g. is regarding matters affecting the whole Borough or is cross-cutting for a part of the Borough wider than a single Ward) then such a request must be made through the Group Leader with an explanation as to why such information is required.

Should a Member wish to raise, or be asked to raise by a member of the public, a matter in another Member's Ward there is an expectation that they will refer the matter to the appropriate Ward Member(s), unless a valid reason why this would not be appropriate is provided by the Group Leader.

Where a Member requests such factual information, that information will also be supplied to the relevant Cabinet Member, Chairman of the appropriate Committee or relevant Officers.

b)     Article 2 – regarding Member Attendance at Committees

If Members (including a co-opted member) fail to attend any meeting of the Committee or advisory group to which they are appointed/co?opted throughout a period of six consecutive months, they will cease to be a member of that committee or group unless their absence is due to a reason which has been previously approved by the Head of Democratic Services in consultation with the relevant Group Leader and/or Chief Whip.

To determine 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.

It was moved by Councillor O'Brien, seconded by Councillor Denys, and:

ReSOLVED: That the appointment of Committees, Sub-Committees and their memberships, as set out in Minute Annex A, be approved.

To receive the annual report.

The Council received a report of the work covered by the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committees in 2018/19.  It was moved by Councillor R Mills, seconded by Councillor Palmer, and:

RESOLVED:  That the Policy Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ Annual Report 2018/2019 be endorsed.

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

The Leader of the Council advised that the London Borough of Hillingdon was in a sound position and continued to provide facilities, services and a level of financial and business management that were the envy of many other councils.  As well as freezing Council Tax for ten years for all residents and this year having the lowest rise in London, Hillingdon had frozen Council Tax this year for those over 65 for the thirteenth consecutive year.  The Council had built up substantial levels of cash reserves to help in dealing with the financial challenges that lay ahead.  It also had some of the best staff working in local government.

Nearly all elected Councillors were in the Chamber because they wanted to make a difference in Hillingdon.  It was the ability to work together as a team towards a common vision that was important; the ability to direct individual skills towards common objectives was the formula that allowed a collection of individuals to produce outstanding results.

The Leader thanked the opposition for the part that they had played at a Committee and Council level.  He paid tribute to the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Curling, who had served the Borough well despite having experienced poor health.  The Leader stated that he had a first class Deputy Leader in Councillor Simmonds, who was an asset to Hillingdon as well as local government in general.  Councillor Puddifoot believed he had a highly competent and experienced Cabinet and a unified and skilled Group to captain.

As he approached his twentieth year as Leader of the Council, Councillor Puddifoot had experienced nine changes to the Leader of the Opposition.  He was proud that Hillingdon was recognised as one of the best run councils in the country.  The Conservative administration had delivered a great deal for the residents of the Borough which had been achieved through strong political leadership, sound financial management and good business practice. 

What Hillingdon had achieved, and continued to achieve, through times of financial constraint on local government had been amazing.  The Leader believed that the administration would be measured on its achievements to date as well as its potential to continue to deliver to residents of the Borough in the future. 

The Leader stated that all elected Members in the Chamber were there to serve and protect Hillingdon’s residents, environment and heritage.  He thanked all Members of the Council from both parties for the part that they played in doing so.