Agenda and minutes

There were none.

Sea Cadet Daniels Hayes was inaugarted as the Mayor’s Cadet for 2024/2025

Councillor G Coates was Nominated as Mayor.

 

(Moved by Councillor S Daniels and seconded by Councillor M Couchman)

 

Councillor Gareth Coates was declared Mayor of Tamworth 2024/25

 

The Mayor, Councillor G Coates moved a motion to extend a vote of thanks for the outgoing Mayor Councillor John Harper, this motion was seconded by Cllr  J Wadrup.

 

Councillor C Bain was nominated for the office of Deputy Mayor.

 

(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor L Wood)

 

Councillor C Bain was elected Deputy Mayor of tamworth 2024/25

Councillor C Dean was nominated as Leader of the Council.

 

(Moved by Councillor D Foster and seconded by Councillor N Statham)

 

Councillor D Dean was elected Leader of the Council

Councillor J Oates declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item number 20 and stated that he would leave the meeting for the item.

To receive the minutes of the two previous meetings on the 11^th March 2024 and the 19^th March 2024

The Mayor highlighted that minute number 95 of the minutes of 19^th of March should read:

 

1.    The council commits to doing and sends officers to explore options for future delivery of a town centre location.

 

On this basis , the minutes of the meeting held on 19^th March  and 11^th March 2024 were approved and signed as a correct record.

 

(Moved by Councillor T Jay and seconded by Councillor C Dean)

The Mayor of Tamworth, Councillor G Coates made the following announcement

 

First let me welcome the new councillors to council, I hope you enjoy your time on the council whatever roles you have over the next few years. To the returning councillors, hello again and I thank you for all the advice and support you gave me in my first 12 months as a councillor. I would like to see the same olive branch that was given to me, also give to the new councillors.

 

As many previous Mayors have said in the past, it is a great honour and privilege to in this position. So, thank you to the councillors that have elected me as Mayor of Tamworth for the next 12 Months.

 

I was asked what I would like to do and accomplish in the next 12 months as Mayor, asking for the Assembly room to put Die Hard back on at Christmas time wasn’t the correct answer apparently.

 

So as there are no local borough elections at the end of my time as Mayor, I would hope and like to see all in this chamber working 100% for the residents of Tamworth, not using local issues to make political statements that only benefit them and not the residents of our town. Let’s show the people of Tamworth that we are listening to them and working for them.

 

As you can tell I like my food, and I know we have a lot of food festivals in the town, I feel it would be nice if we could hold one in the town centre not on the castle grounds but around the market areas. Encouraging more people to spend time in our town centre.

 

I also want to promote all the positive things that Tamworth has to offer, from the events, businesses and local charities that do great work in our communities. Tamworth has so much to offer not just to the residents but the rest of the country. Tamworth FC now in the National League, making Tamworth an away day destination to a larger group of football fans. We have the Tamworth Town ale Trail that takes you around many great pubs we have in the town,

 

I will be promoting other businesses around Tamworth, as a councillor not only should we be sharing the many events that happen in Tamworth but the many and varied businesses that we have here.

 

Finally, a BIG thank you to my wife Sally, my daughters Alex and Katie, who have supported so much with their help and also the residents of Spital ward who voted for me in 2023, which has now led me today becoming Tamworth’s 143rd Mayor.

 

The Leader of the Council made the following announcement,

 

I would like to start by congratulating you - and wishing you and Sally an enjoyable and successful year as Tamworth’s first citizens.  I know you will be a fabulous ambassador for our town.

 

Thank you also to John Harper for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 1

 

 

Under Procedure Rule No 10, Ron Brown, of Tamworth will ask the

Leader of the Labour Party, Councillor C Dean, the following question:-

 

By which date will this new controlling Group publish its own itemised Plan,

including measurement criteria and delivery timescales, for changing things

for the better?

 

Answer:-

 

As you can imagine we are still in the transition stage with Labour only taking control this evening, but as I have said earlier in my address to the council we will be giving priority to the pledges that we were elected on.  We know that people want to see change that was reflected in the voting on 2^nd May.  But it would be wrong of me to put any timescales on projects at this time we will need to meet with officers to find a way forward to implement the changes we all want.  But I can confirm that pour group as already had meetings start this process and we will work with officers to develop the Corporate Plan. 

 

QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC NO. 2

 

Under Procedure Rule No 10, Ron Brown, of Tamworth will ask the

Leader of the Labour Party, Councillor C Dean, the following question:-

 

Does the majority Group have any plan to migrate the Public Survey Process

of various Council-controlled topics away from inbound, unpublished, posted,

or emailed opinions and towards public examination and dialogue on Social

Media, such as Facebook, where very many more opinions can be expected?

 

Answer:-

 

Thank you for your question again.

 

We engage with customers in many ways, formal surveys are just one way we understand how people feel, but we also engage with people face to face such as through our tenants’ groups and councillors through their surgeries and by talking to people when they attend our events, shows, and receive a direct service from us.

 

Council services closely monitor information and comments on social media to shape how services are delivered, and we also use these to shape communications going forward. For example, people were sharing they didn’t know enough about what’s happening in the town centre, so we’ve installed information on our hoarding, increased information on social media and shared information with the local press.

 

Council services are delivering the priorities of the administration, and now I and my new cabinet are here as a new administration, and we will shape new priorities for staff to deliver. I and my fellow councillors welcome feedback to us from residents; we use this information to make decisions about council services.

 

Supplementary

 

What are the timescales envisaged for our Council to actually begin polling resident’s opinions using social media so that all can be seen participated in and measured in terms of both the Council’s and residents’ satisfaction with respect to time.   

 

Answer

 

I can say that this is something we have talked about a lot as a group about the transparency about how we get information out to members  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To receive the Membership of Cabinet for 2024/25 and the Allocation of Responsibilities

The Membership of Cabinet for 2024/2025 was received and circulated as below:

 

Name Cabinet role     Carol Dean Leader and Operations, Finance and Cost of Living.   Dave Foster Deputy Leader and Environmental Sustainability, Waste and Recycling   Nova Arkney Infrastructure, Heritage and Local Economy   Ben Clarke Housing, Homelessness & Planning   Sarah Daniels Cooperative Council, Community Partnerships and Anti-Social Behaviour   Lewis Smith People Services, Engagement and Leisure

 

To receive the constitution and Membership of Committees for 2023/24

Membership of Committees for 2024/2025 is as follows:

 

Cabinet

Councillors

 

C Dean

D Foster

B Clarke

N Arkney

S Daniels

L Smith

 

 

Appointments and Staffing Committee

Councillors

 

C Dean

N Arkney

B Clarke

T Jay

J Oates

 

 

Audit and Governance Committee

Councillors

 

C Adams

C Bain

M Couchman

A Wells

P Turner

S Doyle

J Wadrup

 

Planning Committee

Councillors

 

L Wood

C Adams

M Clarke

G Coates

D Foster

K Norchi

P Pallett

L Smith

R Claymore

S Smith

P Turner

M Summers

R Kingstone

 

 

Licensing Committee

Councillors

 

B Price

C Bain

B Clarke

L Clarke

M Clarke

S Daniels

P Pallet

N Statham

L Wood

M Summers

S Smith

T Clements

J Wadrup

 

Nominations & Grants

Councillors

 

A Wells

N Arkney

C Bain

C Dean

R Claymore

T Clements

M Bailey

 

Infrastructure, Safety and Growth Scrutiny Committee

Councillors

 

M Couchman

C Adams

L Clarke

M Clarke

N Statham

L Wood

B Price

M Bailey

J Oates

 

 

Corporate Scrutiny Committee

Councillors

 

S Smith

G Coates

M Couchman

H Hadley

K Norchi

A Wells

B Price

T Jay

M Summers

 

Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

Councillors

 

C Bain

H Hadley

P Pallett

N Statham

A Wells

R Claymore

M Bailey

P Turner

S Doyle

 

 

Chief Officer Conduct Committee

Councillors

 

D Foster

L Clarke

K Norchi

T Clements

R Kingstone

 

Statutory Officer Conduct Committee

Councillors

 

M Clarke

H Hadley

D Foster

T Clements

R Kingstone

 

(Moved by Councillor C Dean and Seconded by Councillor T Jay)

To receive details of the proposed Chairs

Appointments and Staffing Committee

 

Councillor Carol Dean

 

Audit and Governance Committee

 

Councillor Craig Adams

 

Licensing Committee

 

Councillor Ben Price

 

Planning Committee

 

Councillor Lee Wood

 

Corporate Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Samuel Smith

 

Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee

 

Councillor Chris Bain

 

Infrastructure, Safety and Growth Scrutiny Committee

 

Marion Couchman

 

Nominations & Grants Committee

 

Andy Wells

 

Chief Officer Conduct Committee

 

Dave Foster

 

Statutory Officer Conduct Committee

 

Margaret Clarke

 

 

(Moved en Bloc by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor B Clarke)

To receive the updated Outside Bodies List 2023/24

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor T Jay)

(Report of the Leader of the Council)

The Leader of the Council informed members that The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) Regulations 2012 specifies and requires inter alia under Regulation 19 that the executive leader must submit a report on a regular basis to Council containing details of particulars of each urgent executive decision together with a summary of the matters in respect of which the decision was made.

 

 

Resolved:	that Council
	Endorsed the Annual Executive Arrangements Report.
	(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor L Wood)

 

(Report of the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee)

 Annual Report of Audit & Governance Committee 2023-24 was presented to Council.

 

 

Resolved	that Council:
	Endorsed the annual Report of the Audit & Governance committee 2023-2024
	(Moved by Councillor B Price and seconded by Councillor L Smith)

 

(Report of the Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees)

The Annual Report of the Scrutiny Committees 2023-24 was presented to full Council. The report updated Council on the activities of the Corporate Scrutiny, the Health & Wellbeing Scrutiny and Infrastructure Safety & Growth Scrutiny Committees over the year 2023/24.

 

 

Resolved	that Council:
	Endorsed the recommendations as set out in each of the attached annual reports, appendices 2-4.
	(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor C Bain)

 

To receive the calendar of the Council and Committee meetings for 2024/25

The Calendar of Meetings for 2024/25 was received and circulated at the meeting.

 

Resolved	that Members:
	Accepted the Calendar of Meetings for 2024/2025
	(Moved by Councillor C Dean and seconded by Councillor L Wood)

 

 

 

 

To consider excluding the Press and Public from the meeting by passing the following resolution:-

 

“That in accordance with the provisions of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meeting and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, and Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public  interest in disclosing the information to the public”

 

At the time this agenda is published no representations have been received that this part of the meeting should be open to the public.

 

 

 

To consider excluding the Press and Public from the meeting by passing the following resolution:-

 

 

“That in accordance with the provisions of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meeting and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, and Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of the following business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information to the public” At the time this agenda is published no representations have been received that this part of the meeting should be open to the public.”

 

At the time this agenda is published no representations have been received that this part of the meeting should be open to the public.

 

(Moved by Councillor B Price and seconded by Councillor L Smith)

(Report of the Chair of the Nominations and Grants Committee)

 

 

Report of the Chairman of the Nominations and Grants Committee, to ask council to consider the Nomination received, considered, and supported by the Nominations and Grants Committee.

 

Resolved	that Council:
1.	considered the recommendation from the Nominations and Grants Committee and;
2.	Agreed that the Nomination was  worthy of an award under S249 of the Local Government Act 1972;
	(Moved by Councillor T Jay and seconded by Councillor T Clements)

A motion was moved that the nomination should include a second person who was also rendered worthy of the award

 

(Moved by Councillor R Kingstone and seconded by Councillor S Doyle)

 

This motion was agreed by a unanimous vote.

(Report of the Chair of the Nominations and Grants Committee)

 

Councillor J Oates declared a non-pecuniary interest and left the meeting.

 

Report of the Chair of the Nominations and Grants Committee to ask council to consider the nomination received, considered, and supported by the Nominations and Grants Committee.

 

Resolved	that Council:
1.	Considered the Nomination and;
2.	Agreed that the Nomination is worthy of an award under S249 of the Local Government Act 1972
	(Moved by Councillor T Jay and seconded by Councillor T Clements)