Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any Declarations and advise Members accordingly.

None.

None.

As the outgoing Chair, Councillor Mared Eastwood presented her review of the year 2022-23.

In addition to thanking her husband and Consort Mr Tim Eastwood, her Chaplain and officers who had all supported her in the role, Councillor Eastwood paid tribute to those who had been adversely impacted by the pandemic.  During her review, she highlighted a range of civic services and events at which she had been proud to represent Flintshire during her term of office.  She welcomed opportunities to speak Welsh and encouraged all across the Chamber to raise awareness of the Welsh language.  She also commented on fundraising activities in support of her chosen charities, including the Coastal Path walk challenge which she was currently undertaking.

In concluding her review, Councillor Eastwood also expressed her gratitude to the Chief Executive, Chief Officer (Governance), the Leader of the Council and Leader of the largest opposition group for their support in helping her to carry out her role as Chair.

That Councillor Gladys Healey be elected Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Ian Roberts thanked the outgoing Chair for her work during the year and for encouraging use of the Welsh language in the Chamber.  In nominating Councillor Gladys Healey as Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24, he spoke about her background and was confident that she would carry out the role successfully with the support of her Consort, Councillor David Healey.

Speaking in support, Councillor Bernie Attridge seconded the proposal.

No further nominations were received.

On being put to the vote, Councillor Gladys Healey was appointed as Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.  In response, Councillor Healey congratulated the outgoing Chair on her successful year and led a vote of thanks from Members.  She thanked officers for their work and paid tribute to acquaintances in her community and to Lord Barry Jones and Lady Jones who were in attendance.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Gladys Healey be elected Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Gladys Healey was invested with the Chain of Office by the retiring Chair and signed her Declaration of Acceptance of Office in the presence of the Chief Executive.

Councillor Mared Eastwood was presented with her retiring Chair’s Badge of Office and accepted a gift on behalf of her Consort, Mr Tim Eastwood.

The Chair’s Consort, Councillor David Healey, was invested with his Chain of Office.

(At this point Councillor Gladys Healey chaired the remainder of the meeting)

That Councillor Dennis Hutchinson be elected Vice-Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Bernie Attridge congratulated the Chair on her appointment and wished her well.  He proposed that Councillor Dennis Hutchinson be elected Vice-Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24 and referred to his personal qualities and experience.

In seconding the proposal, Councillor Ian Roberts paid tribute to Councillor Hutchinson’s long service in local government.

No further nominations were received.

On being put to the vote, Councillor Dennis Hutchinson was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.  In response, Councillor Hutchinson thanked Members for the honour and congratulated the Chair on her appointment.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Dennis Hutchinson be elected Vice-Chair of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Hutchinson was invested with the Chain of Office by the Chair and signed his Declaration of Acceptance of Office in the presence of the Chief Executive.  Councillor Hutchinson’s Consort, Mrs Jean Hutchinson, was invested with her Chain of Office.

That Councillor Ian Roberts be appointed Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

It was proposed by Councillor Sean Bibby and seconded by Councillor Mel Buckley that Councillor Ian Roberts be appointed Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Bernie Attridge referred to efforts by his group to establish a leadership team with a Memorandum of Understanding.  His proposal that Councillor Helen Brown be appointed Leader of the Council was seconded by Councillor Mike Peers.

No other nominations were received.

Councillor Attridge requested a recorded vote for which the requisite number of Members stood in support.

The following Councillors voted for Councillor Helen Brown:

Mike Allport, Bernie Attridge, Glyn Banks, Pam Banks, Marion Bateman, Helen Brown, Steve Copple, Bill Crease, Rob Davies, Adele Davies-Cooke, Chrissy Gee, Ian Hodge, Andy Hughes, Richard Jones, Dave Mackie, Roz Mansell, Allan Marshall, Debbie Owen, Andrew Parkhurst, Mike Peers, David Richardson, Dale Selvester, Jason Shallcross, Linda Thew, Ant Turton, Roy Wakelam and Antony Wren.

The following Councillors voted for Councillor Ian Roberts:

Sean Bibby, Chris Bithell, Gillian Brockley, Mel Buckley, Teresa Carberry, Tina Claydon, David Coggins Cogan, Geoff Collett, Paul Cunningham, Ron Davies, Chris Dolphin, Rosetta Dolphin, Mared Eastwood, David Evans, David Healey, Gladys Healey, Dave Hughes, Ray Hughes, Alasdair Ibbotson, Paul Johnson, Christine Jones, Simon Jones, Richard Lloyd, Gina Maddison, Hilary McGuill, Ryan McKeown, Billy Mullin, Ted Palmer, Michelle Perfect, Vicky Perfect, Carolyn Preece, Ian Roberts, Dan Rose, Kevin Rush, Sam Swash, Linda Thomas and Arnold Woolley.

The following Councillors abstained:

Dennis Hutchinson

On being put to the vote, Councillor Ian Roberts was appointed Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24 and expressed his thanks for the honour, adding that he would continue to work with all political groups for the good of the people of Flintshire.

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Ian Roberts be appointed Leader of the Council for the municipal year 2023/24.

To note the appointment of the Cabinet by the Leader of the Council.

That the choice of Councillors to serve on the Cabinet and their portfolios detailed below, be noted.

In accordance with the Constitution, Councillor Ian Roberts set out his choice of Councillors to serve on the Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

That the choice of Councillors to serve on the Cabinet and their portfolios detailed below, be noted.

(i)        Appointment of Committees

That Council appoints the following Committees for 2022/23:

Appeals Committee

Climate Change Committee

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Governance & Audit Committee

Grievance Committee

Grievance Appeals Committee

Investigation and Disciplinary Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Overview & Scrutiny Committees as follows:

·                     Community & Housing

·                     Corporate Resources

·                     Education, Youth & Culture

·                     Environment & Economy

·                     Social & Healthcare

Planning Committee

Standards Committee

(ii)       Size of Committees

(a)       That the size of each committee be as set out in paragraph 1.03 of the report; and

(b)       That the review of size of committees to odd numbers be referred to Group Leaders prior to the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee to enable a report back to Council.

(iii)      Terms of Reference of Committees

That the terms of reference for each Committee, as set out in the Constitution, be approved.

(iv)      Political Balance

(a)       That seats be allocated in accordance with political balance as set out in Appendix 1 and the rules on membership of the Committees as set out within the report; and

(b)       That the seats on the Grievance, Grievance Appeals and Investigation and Disciplinary Committees be allocated to give a broad political spread of membership.

(v)       Determination of Groups to appoint Overview & Scrutiny Chairs

That the Chairs of Overview & Scrutiny Committees be allocated as follows:

Overview & Scrutiny Committee:       Group to choose Chair:

Community & Housing                            Independent

Corporate Resources                              Independent

Education, Youth & Culture                    Labour (Councillor Teresa Carberry)

Environment & Economy                        Labour (Councillor David Evans)

Social & Healthcare                                 Eagle

(vi)      Appointment of Chairs of Standing Committees

(a)       That the Chairs of the following Committees be appointed (noting any restrictions on eligibility):

·           Climate Change Committee - Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson

·           Clwyd Pension Fund Committee - Councillor Ted Palmer

·           Constitution & Democratic Services Committee - Councillor Rob Davies

·           Licensing Committee - Councillor Rosetta Dolphin

·           Planning Committee - Councillor Richard Lloyd

(b)       That the Grievance Committee, the Grievance Appeals Committee and Investigation & Disciplinary Committee should each appoint its own Chair from amongst its membership.

(vii)     Approval of the Constitution

That the rules, procedures, delegations and codes/protocols within the Constitution be approved.

(viii)    Nominations to Internal Bodies

That the make-up of the Appointments Committee be approved.

(ix)      Standards Committees

That the three Councillors already appointed to serve on the Standards Committee for this term be noted.

(x)       Appointments to Outside Bodies

That Council delegates authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with Group Leaders, to make any amendments to appointments to outside bodies as required.

The Council considered the report of the Chief Officer (Governance) which dealt with matters that required decision at the Annual Meeting of the County Council, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.1 (vii) - (xiv).  The report also dealt with the appointment of other Committees and Chairs and other issues such as allocation of seats under political balance.

The report was split into sections, each one dealing with one decision that needed to be made and the relevant issues for consideration.

(i)        Appointment of Committees

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Constitution provided for the appointment of the committees listed in paragraph 1.01 of the report.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillors Ian Roberts and Billy Mullin.  On being put to the vote, this was carried.

RESOLVED:

That Council appoints the following Committees for 2022/23:

Appeals Committee

Climate Change Committee

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Governance & Audit Committee

Grievance Committee

Grievance Appeals Committee

Investigation and Disciplinary Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Overview & Scrutiny Committees as follows:

• Community & Housing
• Corporate Resources
• Education, Youth & Culture
• Environment & Economy
• Social & Healthcare

Planning Committee

Standards Committee

(ii)        Determination of the size of Committees

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the size of each committee must be decided at the Annual Meeting and that Council had previously agreed that the major Committees should be large enough for all political groups to be represented.  Reference was made to legislative requirements relating to the size and composition of the Planning Committee, Governance & Audit Committee and Standards Committee, as detailed in 1.04 of the report.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillor Ian Roberts and Billy Mullin.

Councillor Glyn Banks referred to the political balance rule which stated that a majority group was entitled to a majority upon every committee.  He pointed out that where the majority group held half the seats, including the Chair, on a committee of 12, the Chair’s casting vote would in effect give them overall control.

The Chief Officer advised that Council could change the size of committees after the Annual Meeting if a consensus could be reached amongst Group Leaders.  He added that the political balance rule did not take account of Chairs’ casting votes and said that there were a number of committees where the majority group did not have the casting vote.

In response to a question from Councillor Mike Peers, the Chief Officer advised that the Planning Strategy Group was an advisory group appointed under Executive arrangements whose role was recognised in the Constitution, therefore was not included in the list of formal decision-making bodies in the report.

Councillor Bernie Attridge proposed an amendment that Councillor Banks’ request be referred to the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee so that a report could be brought back to Council.  He was seconded by Councillor Richard Jones.

The amendment was accepted by Councillor Ian Roberts who requested that the matter also be discussed with Group Leaders.  This became the substantive motion which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

That the report be noted.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented the report on outcomes of petitions which had been submitted during 2022/23.

Councillor Glyn Banks asked that officers be thanked for their excellent responses to the petitions submitted by him and Councillor Maddison.  He clarified that the last petition in the report had been submitted on behalf of residents in Gwaenysgor.

The recommendation was moved by Councillor Paul Cunningham and seconded by Councillor Sean Bibby.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

That the draft Schedule of Meetings for 2023/24 as appended to the report be approved.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented the schedule of meetings for 2023/24 following consultation.  He advised that various requests made by Members had been accommodated where possible and that more provisional slots for Council meetings had been scheduled to allow more flexibility.

Councillor Sean Bibby moved the recommendation and was seconded by Councillor Mared Eastwood.

RESOLVED:

That the draft Schedule of Meetings for 2023/24 as appended to the report be approved.

There were nine members of the public present at the start of the meeting.