Agenda and minutes

The Mayor’s Chaplain, Father Cole, opened the proceedings with a prayer and lead the meeting in observing a minute’s silence in respect for those affected by the recent terrorist attack in Manchester.

The Mayor presented a cheque for £28,723.98 to Jane Gates OBE, Chief Executive of Sebastian’s Action Trust his nominated charity for the year. Jane Gates updated the meeting on the progress her organisation had made in securing new premises in Crowthorne and announced that they hoped to open the facility in December following the building’s renovation. Councillor Brossard presented her with a framed photograph from the Gala dinner.

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting and must not participate in discussion of the matter or vote on the matter unless granted a dispensation by the Monitoring officer or by the Governance and Audit Committee.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

It was proposed by Councillor Bettison, and seconded by Councillor Birch, that Councillor Mrs McKenzie-Boyle be elected Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest for the Municipal Year 2017 – 2018.

There being no further nominations it was

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs McKenzie-Boyle be elected Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest  for the 2017 - 2018 Municipal Year.

Councillor Mrs McKenzie-Boyle was then invested with the Mayoral Chain of Office and then made and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Mayor and thanked Members of the Council for her election.

THE MAYOR, COUNCILLOR MRS McKENZIE-BOYLE, IN THE CHAIR

In her acceptance speech Councillor Mrs McKenzie-Boyle thanked colleagues for supporting her appointment and the immediate past Mayor Councillor Virgo for allowing her to support engagements both as Deputy Mayor and accompanying him as his consort. She announced that her husband Bruce McKenzie-Boyle would be her consort for the year and they were looking forward to representing and serving the Borough of Bracknell Forest.

Father Cole came forward and prayed for their success in the forthcoming Mayoral year.

Councillor Bettison delivered a vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor, Tony Virgo.

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Virgo, in his response reflected that it had been an amazing voyage through the borough during which he had met extraordinary people and had the opportunity to learn about the services provided within the borough. He recognised the hard work of all the people he had met. In particular he highlighted that promoting democracy within schools and attending citizenship ceremonies had been inspiring to meet talented young pupils and people from around the world. He was proud to have organised the first Mayor’s Breakfast which aimed to bring together local businesses with the community and was pleased that the new Mayor was continuing with the concept. He noted that during his year the borough had suffered the loss of Freeman of the Borough, John Nike OBE DL, who had been such a significant figure within the community. Amongst the engagements he highlighted the special Citizenship Ceremony to mark the Queen’s 90^th birthday as well as the ground breaking event at Binfield Learning Village.

Councillor Virgo presented Sally Cathcart-Cunnison, Mayoral Support Officer and Kirsty Hunt, Principal Democratic Services Officer (Governance) with gifts to thank them for their support during his mayoral year. He thanked his Chaplain, Father Cole, for his support and guidance throughout the year.

He wished the new Mayor luck in her forthcoming year and thanked her for her support as both Deputy Mayor and friend.

Councillor Virgo was presented with the badge of Immediate Past Mayor by the Chief Executive together with a gift on behalf of the Council.

It was proposed by the Mayor and seconded by Councillor Bettison that Councillor Finch be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest for the Municipal Year 2017 – 2018.

There being no further nominations, it was

RESOLVED that Councillor Finch be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Bracknell Forest for the Municipal Year 2017 - 2018.

Councillor Finch was invested with the Deputy Mayoral Chain of Office and then made and signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Deputy Mayor.

The Deputy Mayor announced that his wife, Mrs Finch, would be his Consort for his term of office. The Deputy Mayor thanked the Council for his appointment and said he was looking forward to supporting the Mayor to represent the Council across the borough.

ADJOURNMENT

The Council meeting was adjourned for 10 minutes to allow for photographs to be taken.

Executive Member for Corporate Service, Culture and Public Protection

Councillor McCracken was proud to announce that the Neighbourhood Policing team in Bracknell had received the High Sherriff’s Award on their implementation of the new policing model. Members present joined him in congratulating the team.

He added that the Local Area Commander for Wokingham and Bracknell, Superintendent Rob France, would be leaving on 19 June 2017 having been promoted to a new post at Thames Valley Police HQ and would be succeeded by Acting Superintendent Sean Virtue.

Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning

CouncillorDr Barnard reflected on the recent Pride of Bracknell Awards and in particular noted the recognition received in two categories. The School of the Year award looked for schools that have performed exceptionally well in providing an effective and engaging learning environment for their children. The winner was St Michaels CofE School in Sandhurst with Meadow Vale Primary School identified as the runner-up. The Teacher of the Year category recognised those teachers who had made the classroom an engaging environment and inspiring for children. Claire Mockridge from Uplands Primary School won this category with Liz Combes from Ranelagh noted as the runner-up. The meeting joined him in congratulating all those recognised. 

CouncillorDr Barnard reported on recent success at the Mock Trial competition which gave young people a chance to learn more about the legal process as well as developing their critical thinking, acting skills and confidence. Year 8 and 9 students from Ranelagh had succeeded in March to progress to the regional final. This had been held in May and although they had not been successful he added that the students had delivered a credible performance.

CouncillorDr Barnard asked the Members present to join him in asking Nikki Edwards, Director Children, Young People and Learning to thank both staff and partners involved in the Ofsted inspection.

CouncillorDr Barnard advised the meeting that he had visited two schools since the attack in Manchester and their pupils were talking about the events with a resilience and determination and defiance not to have their lives affected which made him proud of the borough’s students.

Mayor’s Nominated Charity

The Mayor announced that her nominated charity for 2017 - 2018 was the Fire Fighters Charity and shared a short video to explain her choice.

Councillor Dudley, Chairman of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority explained that the scope of works that the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) covered extended beyond fighting fires. He explained that Bracknell Fire Station was a key location which was continuously staffed and covered by a fire appliance at all times. He recognised that the charity was important for looking after the people that look after the residents of Bracknell Forest.

Sarah Cuthbert, Watch Manager and charity coordinator, explained the impact that the charity could have to provide officers with physical and emotional support. She described the potential impact of working within a traumatic environment and was pleased to announce that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

This report asks the Council to note:

a) the Members appointed by the Leader to serve on the Executive for the 2017/18 Municipal Year;

b) the appointment of Executive Committees, Sub-Committees and Advisory Panels; and

c) the appointments by the Leader to external organisations

Members of the Executive

The Leader of the Council announced that he had appointed the following Members

to the Executive for the 2017/2018 Municipal Year:

Delegation of Executive Functions

The Leader of the Council announced that the responsibility for the discharge of

Executive functions was as set out in Part 2, Section 5 of the Council’s Constitution. Each portfolio had been amended to include the following responsibility to cover organisations the Executive Members were invited to attend as a result of their role:

“To represent the Council on, and to liaise with, external organisations delivering services directly impacting on or related to the portfolio for which the Executive Member is responsible”

Appointments to Executive Committees, Sub Groups and Advisory Panels

The Leader of the Council announced that he had made appointments to Committees of the Executive and its Advisory Panels (Annex A to these minutes).

Appointment of Members to External Organisations

The Leader of the Council announced that he had made appointments to external

organisations, whose functions solely related to the Executive (Annex B to these

minutes).

This report asks Council to agree:

a) the establishment and membership of Committees;

b) appointments to External Organisations;

c) the appointment of Council Champions.

The Council considered the report to establish Committees and their membership, agree appointments to External Organisations and the appointment of Council Champions. It was noted that there was a typo at paragraph 6.7 which should read 12 and not 13 seats for the Conservative Group.

On the proposition of Councillor Bettison, Leader of the Council, seconded by Councillor Birch, it was:

RESOLVED that:

i)              ordinary committees are established and their size and allocation of seats agreed as a local variation to the proportionality rules, as set out in paragraph 6 of the report;

ii)             the Education Governor Nominations Committee is dissolved with effect from May 2017;

iii)            the nomination of potential governors was delegated to the Director of Children, Young People & Learning in consultation with the Executive Member for Children, Young People & Learning and relevant local members, plus former members of the Education Governor Nominations Committee;

iv)           the Constitution be updated as per appendix A of the agenda report to reflect recommendations 2.2 and 2.3;

v)            the Licensing and Safety Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Commission are established, their size and allocation of seats are agreed as a local variation to the proportionality rules, as set out in paragraph 6 of the agenda report;

vi)           the membership of each committee is agreed, in accordance with Members’ wishes;

vii)          appointments to external organisations are agreed; and

viii)         the appointment of Council Champions, in accordance with Part 1 Section 7 of the Constitution are agreed.