Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Charter Trustees.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors S Baron, J Beesley, D Butt, N Greene, D Mellor, K Rampton, F Rice and M White.

Charter Trustees 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.

The Honorary Clerk reported that no declarations of interest had been received for this meeting.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 22 June 2022 and to consider any matters arising.

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 June 2022 were confirmed as a correct record.

An update was requested with regards to the Motion relating to Barclays under Minute No. 21. Charter Trustees were advised that a copy of the response, when received, would be provided to Charter Trustees.

Councillors A Hadley and V Slade arrived at 5.08pm and Councillor M Earl arrived at 5.12pm.

The Charter Mayor will report on his recent activities and any associated issues.

The Mayor referred with regret to the recent death of Her Late Majesty The Queen and former Leader of the Borough of Poole Brian Clements. Charter Trustees stood in silent tribute.

The Mayor subsequently reported on his activities since the last meeting of the Charter Trustees. The Mayor advised of his honour to serve as Mayor for Poole. He informed Charter Trustees of the wide variety of engagements he had undertaken which were in the region of 60 to 80 in number, highlighting in particular:-

·       Squirrel Scouts event for 4 to 6 years old children in Canford Heath

·       100^th Birthday presentation to a Poole resident which was supported by numerous volunteers

Councillor S Gabriel left the meeting at 5.16pm.

This report summarises the issues discussed at the first Civic Working Group as established at the previous meeting of the Charter Trustees and seeks support for any recommendations arising.

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

The report summarised the issues discussed at the first Civic Working Group as established at the previous meeting of the Charter Trustees and sought support for a series of recommendations arising.

Councillor Iyengar arrived at 5.25pm.

Concern was expressed with the low attendance at the Working Group and it was suggested that members of the Working Group be permitted to nominate substitutes from the body of the Charter Trustees if unable to attend.

It was subsequently proposed and seconded that substitutes on the Working Group be permitted.

The Sheriff further advised that the establishment of the Civic Working Group allowed Charter Trustees to lead on the business for consideration. Charter Trustees were advised that if Charter Trustees wished to raise an issue for consideration, they should contact the Sheriff, Head of Democratic Services or the Civic Support Team.

It was suggested that the Civic Working Group should explore developing guidance for inclusion in the councillor induction programme to clarify the remit of the Charter Trustees and the relationship with the Chairman of BCP Council and other bodies.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Charter Trustees discuss the Mayor’s Award scheme which had seen very few nominations. It was suggested that the Civic Working Group should consider the operation and promotion of the Mayor’s Award scheme.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)    the Charter Trustees support the establishment of a meeting between the Civic Parties of both Poole and Bournemouth to agree a new engagements matrix for reporting to the Charter Trustees/BCP Councillors to agree.

(b)    the Charter Trustees support the amended wording in paragraph five, page seven, of the Charter Trustee Handbook in relation to Civic nominations and selection processes;

(c)    members of the Civic Working Group be permitted to nominate substitutes from the body of the Charter Trustees if unable to attend any Civic Working Group meeting.

Voting: Unanimous

The Charter Trustee’s Handbook details the procedure for the receipt of nominations and for the election to the respective offices of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Sheriff. The Civic Working Group requested that the provisional timetable for the nomination and election of Sheriff for 2023/24 be set out on this agenda.

The Head of Democratic Services advised Charter Trustees that the Handbook details the procedure for the receipt of nominations and for the election to the respective offices of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Sheriff. The Civic Working Group requested that the meeting be advised of the provisional timetable for the nomination and election of Sheriff for 2023/24 as set out below.

The forecast for the 2022/23 financial year is that the Charter Trustees of Poole will underspend against the budget set. This is due to spend to date and planned activity for the rest of the year being lower than originally envisaged. The forecast position is to draw down £7,515 less in reserves than originally budgeted for.

The Responsible Financial Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Charter Trustee and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report set out the forecast for the 2022/23 financial year which illustrated that the Charter Trustees of Poole will underspend against the budget set. This underspend was due to spend to date and planned activity for the remainder of the year being lower than originally envisaged. The forecast underspend for the year was reported as approximated £7,500.

The report further highlighted that the reserves were estimated to be £103,088 which equates to 83% of the budget.

Charter Trustees were advised that budget workshop would be convened to provide a steer for the formation of the budget for 2023/24 and consider reducing specific budget lines.

Councillor M Earl left the meeting at 6.08pm.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)       the Charter Trustees note the in-year budget position for 2022/23, note the completion of the external audit and other finance updates set out in the report; and

(b)       the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Sheriff, budget signatories (Councillors M Andrews and T O’Neill) and Councillor M Iyengar be appointed to serve on the budget workshop meetings.

Voting: Unanimous

The Charter Trustees to receive an update on the future use and availability of the Civic Centre in Poole and in particular the accommodation used by the Mayoralty and meetings.

The Honorary Clerk provided a verbal update on the Poole Civic Centre and advised that BCP FuturePlaces was looking at the long-term use of the site. Charter Trustees were reminded that the original plan was to establish a vertical slice area for use by the Coroners Service and the Mayoralty/Charter Trustees, and the remainder of the site for potential housing provision.

BCP FuturePlaces are currently looking at alternative options including the potential for a hotel development on the site, whilst preserving facilities for a civic space for the Charter Trustees and Mayoralty.

The business plan for proposals will be presented to BCP Council in due course including a timetable for the development. It was suggested that the Civic Working Group could be asked to consider the existing use of Upton House, and whether alternative locations would be more appropriate in the interim.