Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies were received from Councillors N Brooks and C Matthews.

Council will be advised of the outcome of the by-elections held on 6 May 2021 and welcome the new members to the Council.

Councillor Flagg welcomed Councillors Sean Gabriel and Vanessa Ricketts who had been elected to the Canford Heath and Commons wards respectively following the by-elections.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

No declarations of interest were received for this meeting.

Councillors are asked to nominate and elect the Chairman of the Council until the next Annual Council.

Nominations were received as follows:

• Councillor David Flagg – proposed by Councillor Lesley Dedman and seconded by Councillor Simon Bull.
• Councillor Nigel Hedges – proposed by Councillor Jackie Edwards and Seconded by Councillor Karen Rampton

The proposers and seconders commented on the reasons for the above nominations and the nominees’ ability to fulfil the role. A secret ballot was undertaken in accordance with the Constitution. The Chief Executive reported on the outcome of the ballot as follows:

• Councillor David Flagg 33
• Councillor Nigel Hedges 41

No abstentions were recorded.

RESOLVED that Councillor Nigel Hedges be elected as Chairman of the Council until the next Annual Council meeting.

Councillor Hedges made the declaration of acceptance of office.

“I CouncillorNigel Hedges havingbeen electedto theoffice ofChairman of BCPCouncil declarethat Itake thatoffice uponmyself andwill dulyand faithfully fulfilthe dutiesof itaccording tothe bestof myjudgement and ability.”

Councillor Hedges reported that it was an honour and thanked Councillors for being elected Chairman and paid tribute to Councillor Flagg.

Councillor Dedman proposed a vote of thanks to the outgoing Chairman, Councillor Flagg.

Councillors are asked to nominate and elect the Vice-Chairman of the Council until the next Annual Council. 

Nominations were received as follows:

• Councillor Kieron Wilson – proposed by Councillor Rigby and seconded by Councillor Vikki Slade.
• Councillor Laurence Fear – proposed by Councillor David Kelsey and seconded by Councillor Mark Anderson.

The proposers and seconders commented on their reasons for the above nominations and the nominees’ ability to fulfil the role. The nominees outlined why they should be elected Vice-Chairman. A secret ballot was undertaken in accordance with the Constitution.  The Chief Executive reported on the outcome of the ballot as follows:

·       Councillor Kieron Wilson 34

·       Councillor Laurence Fear 40

No abstentions were recorded.

RESOLVED that Councillor Laurence Fear be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Council until the next Annual Council meeting.

Councillor Fear made the declaration of acceptance of office.

“I CouncillorLaurence Fear havingbeen electedto theoffice of Vice-Chairmanof BCP Councildeclare thatI takethat officeupon myself,and willduly and faithfullyfulfil theduties ofit accordingto thebest ofmy judgementand ability.”

The Council is asked to consider and approve the review of the political balance of the Council, the allocation of seats on Committees to each political group, the appointment of Councillors on Committees and appointments to outside bodies as part of the annual review and following the outcome of the by-elections on 6 May 2021. The detailed calculations relating to the above will be included in Appendix A to the report and will be circulated to Councillors following the by-elections on 6 May 2021.

Note – As highlighted above Appendix A to the report will be circulated following the by-elections as a supplementary paper.

The Leader of the Council presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Council was asked to consider and approve the review of the political balance of the Council, the allocation of seats on Committees to each political group, the appointment of Councillors on Committees and appointments to outside bodies as part of the annual review and following the outcome of the by-elections on 6 May 2021. The detailed calculations relating to the above were included in Appendix A to the report which had been circulated to each Councillor.

The Leader of the Council moved the recommendations in the report and Appendix A circulated to all Members of the Council subject to Councillor Steve Baron being replaced with Councillor Daniel Butt on the Standards Committee and Councillor Stephen Bartlett being removed as a member of the Lower Central Gardens Trust Board. Councillor Broadhead seconded the proposal and reserved the right to speak later in the debate.

Councillor Hilliard expressed his disappointment that the Leader’s proposal had not been presented at the Group Leaders meeting on Monday and that it had only been circulated earlier that afternoon which had given limited opportunity to discuss and agree a way forward.  He indicated that the proposal meant that Christchurch Independents had reduced representation on the Planning Committee and the administration continued to have control of two main Overview and Scrutiny Committees.  He suggested that the Poole Independents swap their new seat on the Planning Committee with Christchurch Independents new seat on the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Hadley agreed with the comments made by Councillor Hilliard and expressed his concerns regarding the late circulation and detail of the documents.  He reported that he was not supportive of the proposals relating to Outside Bodies which did not take account of the allocation to the Poole independents. 

A Member raised a point of order in respect of dealing with amendments.  The Chief Executive reported that a formal amendment had not yet been made. Members questioned the accuracy of the information contained in Appendix A to the report and the approach taken by the Leader of the Council in respect of the proposals he had presented. The Head of Democratic Services reported that Table 3 reflected the current memberships on each of the Committees. Members were advised that Table 2 reflected the changes in the political balance and the allocation of seats to political groups it would then be for the political group leaders to notify Democratic Services of their representatives on Committees and Boards.  Councillors were informed that the only exception which the Leader of the Council had addressed in his proposal was the change to the unaligned members in relation to the Standards Committee. 

The Leader of the Council confirmed that he was willing to accommodate the suggestion made by Councillor Hilliard in his proposal and that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.