Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence

The minutes of the meeting held on 23^rd February 2021 were approved and signed as a correct record.

(Moved by Councillor J Oates  and seconded by Councillor Dr. S Peaple)

Councillor Dr Simon people made the following announcement -

“Thank you Madam Mayor and I had given notice of a request to speak. I appreciate your inclusion of me in this particular item.

The reason I wanted to speak tonight as I indicated to you in advance was to mark the fact that this is the last Council meeting for Councillor John Faulkner who had originally planned to step down last year and at a meeting in the March when we had to announce the special Covid measures we had said to him it looks like you’re going to have to stick around a while because they’re going to cancel the elections. So in a very unusual way he has completed his term with a total of 23 years of service as he did an all-out election in which he was returned and therefore did Two years then he’s done this extra year as well, as well as all his service in between so whilst he wasn’t the biggest fan of Boris Johnson before it’s probably fair to say he didn’t appreciate the extra year but nonetheless he served the Council loyally and well for a further year.

Councillor Faulkner is one of those Councillors who is widely respected because of his knowledge as he is proud to tell us he is a member of the CA rather than the FCA because the chartered accountants of Scotland were formed before the chartered accountants of England and he bears that tradition well. His extreme care and thoughtfulness on matters financial have taken the positive comments from many sides, of course he has also been accused of being political because he’s got beliefs but at the end of the day he’s respected and I remember former UKIP Councillor Madge saying to me how much he enjoyed John speaking because he felt like he always learnt such a great deal.  He’s also been a major player in recent years on the Audit & Governance Committee as one of the few Councillors who can generally say they understood all the financial regulations and is widely respected by the Officers Over the years for the expertise which he brings to those meetings.

He is of course also a former Deputy Leader of the Council and Leader of the opposition after Labour lost control and Councillor Seekings stood down so is a very long and hard working experienced Councillor and he has been a tremendous friend over the years.

I would also like to say because it’s very important and you know this Madam Mayor as well as any of us, it’s very important when you share that vocation with your other half and John would be the first to say that Pam was the better half and I know that one thing that will be a sadness to him tonight is that he is not able to share that greater amount of free time that he will have with the woman he loved and whom we  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL NO.1

Under Procedure Rule No 11, Councillor S Pritchard will ask the Leader of the Council, Councillor J Oates, the following question:-

“At the recent State of the Borough Debate a statement was made that the previous Labour run Council had left the Castle Grounds tiered borders barren.

During the debate it was questioned as to whether the tiered borders had in fact been left barren, due to poor management and control.

We, the Borough, were informed that the Chief Executive would be receiving a letter to ask if the tiered borders in the Castle Grounds had in fact been left barren by the previous Labour administration.

Can I ask, is there is any information available to provide evidence of the last labour Council taking the decision to leave the Castle Grounds borders barren, and the reasons behind that decision?”

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

“Thank you Madam Mayor, I have a recollection of a proposal for the flower beds to be grassed over but at present I cannot but my hand on any evidence of this.  I’m aware that prior to the 2004/2005 budget the only flower beds that were planted within Tamworth were those within the Castle grounds, it was at this stage that Alderman John Garner pushed for a Neighbourhood in Bloom agenda and in 2006 he successfully drove a campaign for us to enter Britain in bloom the key driver for this was too was to raise pride in our place, Civic pride in Tamworth.   This was supported by other initiatives such as Councillor Pritchard’s Grot Spot cameras which saw cross party support that and targeted historic litter problems in Tamworth and bearing in mind Madam Mayor this was pre camera phones and each Councillor was issued with a disposable camera so we could target those grot spots and raise that sense of pride in our Town.”

Councillor S Pritchard asked the following supplementary question-

“I refer back to the State Of Tamworth Debate a comment was made by a Labour Councillor saying that the Town had planters that were damaged, looking shabby with weeds.  During my previous 10 years as a serving Councillor I recall the opposition reporting at council meetings issues around the Borough identified as problems can I ask if any labour councillors have recently submitted to council officers or Street scene any reports of issues that requiring attention or are we back to the days of trying to score political points in public meetings at the expense of our town and its reputation.”

Councillor J Oates gave the following reply:-

“I don’t have any knowledge of any specific issues that have been raised, however, I do know that over the last 12 months we have not planted and supported bloom in the way we normally do due to the pandemic, so as a result last year traffic islands and bridge planters were not used.  This year we are replanting the islands and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The report of the Leader of the Council to brief Elected Members on Tamworth Borough Council’s position with respect to the Gender Pay Gap as at 31^st March 2020.

(Report of the Chief Executive Officer)

The report of the Chief Executive Officer to seek Council approval to appoint to the statutory post of Monitoring Officer in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and local government legislation.