Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the Ordinary Meeting held on 24 April 2012 and the Annual Meeting held on 15 May 2012.

The minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of Council held on 24 April 2012 and the Annual Meeting held on 15 May 2012 were taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Lord Mayor, on behalf of the Council, congratulated Ron Crabb, Relief Mace Sergeant, on the award of the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, for services to the community in Exeter.

The minutes of the Planning Committee held on 16 April 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillor declared personal interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 16 April 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Planning Committee held on 21 May 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillors declared personal (*prejudicial) interests:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 21 May 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Planning Committee held on 25 June 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillor declared a personal and *prejudicial interest:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 25 June 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 12 June 2012 were taken as read.

In response to questions regarding the Law Commission’s consultation on changes to taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, the Chair of the Committee reported that the issue had been discussed at the cross-party taxi forum and a further report would be submitted to the Licensing Committee in due course.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 12 June 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Community held on 29 May 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillors declared personal (*prejudicial) interests:

The Portfolio Holder Environment and Leisure was delighted to announce that the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) had been awarded the Arts Fund prize and title “Museum of the Year” at the awards ceremony at the British Museum on 19 June. On behalf of the Council, the Lord Mayor thanked all of the officers involved in the re-development of the Museum for their hard work.

In response to a question on flood relief works for the River Exe, the Portfolio Holder stated that the Council recognised flood risk as a major concern and would be mindful of the issue in considering future years’ budgets.   

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Community held on 29 May 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Economy held on 31 May 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillors declared personal interests:

In relation to Minute 24 (Bus and Coach Station Area Development Principles), the Leader undertook to clarify Devon County Council’s proposals in relation to bus stops in Sidwell Street.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Economy held on 31 May 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Resources held on 20 June 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillor declared a personal interest:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee - Resources held on 20 June 2012 be received.

The minutes of the Standards Committee held on 21 June 2012 were taken as read.

Council agreed to adopt the new Members’ Code of Conduct effective from 1 July 2012, the revised terms of reference for the newly-appointed Standards Committee and the outline procedure for dealing with complaints against members.  The appointment of Mr Andrew Mimmack and Professor Brian Kirby as the Council’s Independent Persons was also approved, with effect from 1 July 2012 for the duration of the municipal year. 

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Standards Committee held on 21 June 2012 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the Executive held on 19 June 2012 were taken as read.

The following Councillors declared personal (*prejudicial) interests:

In relation to Minute 64 (Appointment of Representatives to serve on Outside Bodies), the following appointments were made:-

·         Cllr Ruffle to Councillor Development Steering Group

·         Cllr Mottram to Exeter Council for Sport and Recreation

·         Cllr Pearson to Exeter Canal and Quay Trust

·         Cllrs Payne and Leadbetter to Exeter Fairtrade Steering Group

·         Peter Wadham to Exeter Municipal Charities (General List)

·         Cllr Ruffle to JL Thomas Liaison Group

·         Cllr Shiel to Maynard School (re-appointment)

·         Cllr Crow to Parking and Traffic Regulation outside London Adjudication Joint Committee

·         John Shepherd to St Sidwell’s Parish Lands and other Charities (re-appointment)

·         Cllr Clark to Turntable Furniture Recycling Project

A question was asked on Min 55 (Private Sector Housing Policy: Financial Assistance Packages 2012/13), regarding the Council’s funding for private sector housing and the potential for some clawback or a voluntary licensing scheme. In response, the Portfolio Holder Housing and Community Involvement stated that the Council was keen to tackle poor quality housing and officers would look at best practice elsewhere on this issue and report back to Scrutiny Committee - Community in due course.

In relation to Minute 60 (Renaming of Car Parks and Remaking of Parking Places Order), the Leader acknowledged the concerns of some local residents regarding traffic flow issues. He reported that considerable thought had gone into the re-naming of part of the King William Street Car Park to the John Lewis Car Park and this had been agreed in the interests of effective traffic management.  The car park would remain in the ownership of the Council and the revenue generated would come to the city.  It was noted that the reference to the “Fairport” car park in the minutes should refer to the “Fairpark” car park.

In relation to a question regarding performance-related remuneration (Minute 62 – Pay Award for Low Paid Staff), the Leader responded that the new organisational structure may provide the opportunity to review staff pay.  He agreed that members should be briefed on staff pay mechanisms.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive held on 19 June 2012 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.

The minutes of the Executive held on 3 July 2012 were taken as read.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Executive held on 3 July 2012 be received and, where appropriate, adopted.