Agenda and minutes

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chairman thanked Councillor Clive Hooker and his wife, Christine, for being so supportive over the past year. He also thanked Sarah Clarke the Monitoring Officer for her reassuring support both before and during meetings. He also thanked members of her team, Moira Fraser and Linda Pye and special thanks to Jo Watt for managing the Chairman’s diary and making sure that he was briefed and ready for any occasion.

The past year had been like no other - the Covid pandemic had changed many things from the way the Council worked and conducted its business and to the different way in which it interacted with people and organisations. He confirmed that he had recently made a short video thanking staff, the voluntary sector and communities for all they had done over the last 14 months to make life more bearable for many who had been suffering during the pandemic, such as those living in isolation or those not able to get their medication or shopping. He especially wanted to thank the staff who had gone over and above and beyond the call of duty for the past 14 months – he could not name them all but they had risen to the challenges magnificently. He especially thanked those involved in the community hub who had made such a difference to the way people could ask for help and always ensured that help was at hand. Many others had seen their roles changed, for example the grants that had been made during the pandemic to help our local businesses. Behind the scenes a team from Revenues and Benefits had been working really hard to ensure that the grants were distributed with minimal delay. Staff efforts over this period had been truly wonderful and he thanked all members of staff for all the work that they had done.

Councillor Pask wanted to highlight some of the more pleasurable memories of being Chairman over the last two years. This year, apart from making several videos to support and recognise local organisations he had actually only attended three live events in person. One was VJ Day in Newbury, another was Remembrance Sunday in Newbury and he also had the sad privilege to attend the very poignant service to represent West Berkshire at Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford, just over two weeks ago, for a remembrance service for the Duke of Edinburgh. There were only 40 people there and he was the only Councillor from Berkshire in attendance. The previous year was much more business as usual which included lots of citizenship ceremonies which were very enjoyable, staff recognition events, a visit by Princess Alexandra to Thrive at Beech Hill and a visit by the Princess Royal to Priors Court to celebrate their 20^th Anniversary, beating retreat at Dennison Barracks, the Shaw House summer fayre, the Berkshire Gardens Trust garden tours, events at the Royal County of Berkshire Show and especially memorable, as always, anything to do  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

To elect the Chairman for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

The Monitoring Officer advised that following the vote for the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Council a short video would be played showing the Covid safe exchange of the Chains of Office. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman would then read their Declarations of Acceptance of Office.

Councillor Lynne Doherty proposed Councillor Clive Hooker as Chairman for the Municipal Year 2021/22. This was seconded by Councillor Graham Pask.

Councillor Lynne Doherty added her thanks to Councillor Graham Pask for his two years of service which was much appreciated by all Members. It gave her great pleasure to propose Councillor Clive Hooker as she had first met Councillor Hooker at one of the many induction sessions that Members were required to attend in the 2015 intake. Since that time she had got to know Clive Hooker as both a member of the Conservative Group and also through his role of Chairman of Western Area Planning. Within that role Clive had demonstrated a number of traits that she held dear which included fairness and integrity. He was always considered and balanced in his views and sought to treat everyone fairly in his dealings with them. It was these very traits that gave her confidence to propose him as Chairman as she was sure that he would continue to act in this manner in the coming year.

When she had first spoken to Clive about becoming Vice-Chairman in 2019 with the intention to then become Chairman in 2020 he had been truly honoured to be asked and he felt sure that he and Christine would enjoy being the Council’s civic representatives for the year and looked forward to the many events and occasions that they would attend on behalf of West Berkshire Council. At this point Clive had no idea that his move into the role would in fact take two years. She was grateful to both Clive and Graham for their patience and endurance over this time as the Council moved through the roadmap out of Covid and she saw a growing number of events being reinstated across the district in the future. She hoped that Clive would now have the opportunity that so many of his predecessors had had - to act as the Council’s ambassador and represent West Berkshire. Councillor Doherty was sure that he would do well when it came down to his role as Chairman and that he would take his duties very seriously – preparing beforehand and then treating everyone with respect whilst retaining a firm control. Clive had been a magistrate for 34 years and she was sure that he had had more difficult crowds than this one to control. It therefore gave her great pleasure to propose Councillor Clive Hooker as Chairman of the Council for 2021/22.

Councillor Graham Pask said that it gave him great pleasure to second the nomination for Councillor Clive Hooker as he had been an outstanding Vice-Chairman for the last two years. Last year had not gone as planned and he hoped  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

To elect the Vice-Chairman for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

Councillor Graham Bridgman stated that he would like to nominate Councillor Rick Jones for the position of Vice-Chairman of Council for the Municipal Year 2021/22. The nomination was seconded by Councillor Clive Hooker. There were no further nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman.

Councillor Graham Bridgman stated that Councillor Rick Jones and his wife Val had lived in Purley on Thames for some 35 years and had brought up their family there. Councillor Rick Jones had had a very varied career in IT, banking and consultancy in London together with short periods in Paris and White Plains in the USA. Councillor Jones had been a member of Purley Parish Council since 2003 and indeed was Chairman from 2006 through to 2015. The reason he gave up that Chairmanship was because he was first elected to West Berkshire Council in January 2015 through a By-Election. He was then appointed to the Executive in 2017 where he took on the Resources portfolio, followed by the Adult Social Care portfolio and latterly the Health and Wellbeing portfolio. He was on the Executive until May 2020 but he remained as deputy to Councillor Bridgman on Health and Wellbeing and had taken a very keen interest in community development for wellbeing and resilience and addressing inequalities.

Councillor Jones had told Councillor Bridgman that his wife Val was looking forward to the coming year not least because that would involve spending on new dresses. Councillor Bridgman was sure that both Rick and Val would have a great time meeting new people and he was delighted to propose Rick as Vice-Chairman of Council.

Councillor Clive Hooker stated that Councillor Jones had started out his working life, like him, in the engineering industry as a production engineer. He was a good listener and he found it easy to talk to people which were two very important attributes for the role he had ahead of him and he fully supported the nomination of Councillor Rick Jones for Vice-Chairman for the forthcoming year.

RESOLVED that Councillor be elected as Vice-Chairman of Council for the Municipal Year 2021/22.

The video showing the exchange of civic regalia was then shown following which the Chairman and Vice-Chairman read out their declarations of acceptance of office. Councillor Clive Hooker and Councillor Rick Jones confirmed that they would make appointments to come in and see the Monitoring Officer in order to sign the declaration of office book.

The Chairman thanked Jo Watt and Ben Tunstall for producing the video of the exchange of the regalia. This enabled Council to experience at least a variation on the customary ceremonial elements of the Annual Council meeting which would otherwise have been missed.

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 2 March 2021.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 2 March 2021 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Councillor Richard Somner declared a potential interest on certain matters within the agenda due to his employment at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust but reported that, as his interest was a personal or an other registrable interest, but not a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Councillor Nassar Hunt declared a potential interest on certain matters within the agenda due to his having taken a job at the Ministry of Justice but reported that, as his interest was a personal or an other registrable interest, but not a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Councillor Lee Dillon declared a potential interest on certain matters within the agenda due to his employer being listed as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board but reported that, as his interest was a personal or an other registrable interest, but not a disclosable pecuniary interest, he determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

The Leader of the Council to announce the composition of the Executive for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 7) concerning the appointment of the Executive by the Leader of the Council for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Lynne Doherty:

“That the Council noted the appointment of the Executive by the Leader of the Council for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.”

Councillor Lynne Doherty took the opportunity to thank Portfolio Holders for their support and work over the past year. As a team the Executive worked collectively with Members to ensure that it delivered the promises that were set out in the Council Strategy. She was proud of what it had been able to achieve so far this year which had also seen additional pressures as a result of responding to the global Coronavirus crisis. This had created additional pressure in every service area and adjustments had had to be made to enable the vital work to continue and she thanked Portfolio Holders for their input into that.

Councillor Doherty noted that she had been in the position of Leader for two years and had gained experience in many different areas that residents looked to their Council to deliver. That experience would enable her to make the changes necessary to continue to focus on priorities and to make further improvements to ensure that West Berkshire remained a great place to lie, work and learn.

A few weeks ago Councillor Doherty had made changes to the People Directorate in terms of portfolios primarily driven by the changing health agenda. She now highlighted some proposed changes she was making to the Place Directorate. She had listened to both Parish Councils and residents on the importance of place shaping – ensuring infrastructure supported development and development supported infrastructure – this would create a vision of shaping that could result in healthier people. She therefore intended to restructure by bringing both Planning and Transport under one Portfolio Holder to ensure a holistic view of place for the coming years. Councillor Richard Somner had agreed to take on this challenge and would take the role going forward. Councillor Doherty thanked Councillor Hilary Cole for all the work she had done with the Planning portfolio since 2016. Planning was one of the most contentious areas of the Council and Councillor Cole had taken it all in her stride in order to prioritise the need to deliver against policy. To ensure that the Council ultimately protected taxpayer’s money from the lengthy appeals process and to ensure that it was a plan lead authority, as opposed to letting uncontrolled development which would have a negative impact on our beautiful district. Councillor Cole would retain Housing and Strategic Partnerships but would also take on a new responsibility of Transformation. For a number of years the Council had been looking at new ways of working to ensure that it remained efficient and effective and fit for the future. As the authority moved out of Covid and towards recovery there was a need to drive this agenda across all directorates. Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider a proposal to form a new Health Scrutiny Committee, reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission, which would be responsible for scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire.

(Councillor Richard Somner declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that he was employed by the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Nassar Hunt declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that he had recently taken a job at the Ministry of Justice. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Lee Dillon declared a personal interest in Agenda item 8 by virtue of the fact that his employer was listed as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 8) concerning a proposal to form a new Health Scrutiny Committee reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission and which would be responsible for scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Howard Woollaston and seconded by Councillor Alan Law:

“That the Council:

(a)       support the proposal for a Health Scrutiny Committee, reporting to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission (OSMC), to undertake scrutiny of the planning, development and operation of Public Health and NHS services for the citizens of West Berkshire;

(b)       delegate scrutiny of Public Health and NHS services in West Berkshire to the Health Scrutiny Committee;

(c)       approve the terms of reference for the Health Scrutiny Committee as set out in Appendix B of this report; and

(d)       delegate authority to the Service Director, Strategy and Governance in consultation with the Group Leaders to agree membership and terms of reference for an Independent Remuneration Panel to consider the need for a Special Responsibility Allowance for the Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee”.

Councillor Howard Woollaston stated that the NHS was having a major restructure which included the creation of the Integrated Care System which ran across Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB).

Health Scrutiny has always been part of the Overview and Management Scrutiny Commission’s role but it will become even more important under the new system. During his time as Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing the NHS was a mysterious beast with a large number of acronyms and a language of its own. It is very hard to get to grips with the detail unless you immerse yourself in it and the broad remit of OSMC did not allow for this. Hence the conclusion that a new Health Scrutiny Committee was required which would focus on this key statutory responsibility. This covers public health and NHS matters including the activities of the Health and Wellbeing Board, NHS dentistry and pharmacies. It cannot be delegated to Officers and all Members of the Executive were barred. It was supposed to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

To consider the proposal to form a new, mandatory, joint committee with health scrutiny powers to consider matters affecting patient flows across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System geography.

(Councillor Richard Somner declared a personal interest in Agenda item 9 by virtue of the fact that he was employed by the Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Nassar Hunt declared a personal interest in Agenda item 9 by virtue of the fact that he had recently taken a job at the Ministry of Justice. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Lee Dillon declared a personal interest in Agenda item 9 by virtue of the fact that his employer was listed as a member of the Health and Wellbeing Board. As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 9) concerning the proposal to form a new, mandatory joint committee with health scrutiny powers to consider matters affecting patient flows across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System geography.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Howard Woollaston and seconded by Councillor Alan Law:

“That the Council:

(a)       support the proposal for a joint health overview and scrutiny committee to consider health issues at the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS) level;

(b)       delegate scrutiny of health issues at the BOB ICS level to the joint health overview and scrutiny committee; and

(c)       approve the terms of reference for the joint health overview and scrutiny committee as set out in Appendix B of this report”.

Councillor Woollaston stated that the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System covered an area with a population of 1.8m people. A joint health overview and scrutiny committee (JHOSC) was required to consider proposed changes affecting the patient-flow geography at the BOB level. This would require each of the affected local authorities to delegate health scrutiny powers on services provided at the ICS level to the JHOSC and to agree the terms of reference.

The proposal was for a committee of 19 Members (7 Members for Oxfordshire, 6 Members for Buckinghamshire and 6 Members for Berkshire West (2 Members from each of the three Unitary Authorities)). Co-opted, non-voting members could also be temporarily appointed to bring specialist knowledge onto the committee or inform specific work streams or agenda items.

Councillor Alan Macro welcomed the opportunity to scrutinise this new health body but he did have a concern in respect of the Terms of Reference in that the scrutiny committee would be completely reactive. It seemed to be making comments on proposals consulted on and Councillor Macro would have liked to know if the committee believed there was some kind of deficiency in the services being provided at a system wide level following which they could raise that with BOB.

Councillor Lee Dillon referred to the number of seats which indicated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

To consider the appointment and allocation of seats on Committees for the next Municipal Year in accordance with the duty under Section 15 of the Local Government Housing Act 1989 and to agree the Council’s Policy Framework for 2021/22 as set out in paragraph 5.20 of the report.  

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 10) concerning the appointment of and allocation of seats on Committees for the 2021/22 Municipal Year. It was noted that amended appendices had been circulated.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Lynne Doherty and seconded by Councillor Lee Dillon:

“That the Council:

2.1      noted that under paragraph 8 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, notice had been received that the Members set out in paragraph 5.1 were to be regarded as Members of the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green Party Groups respectively.

2.2      the Council agreed to the appointment of the various Committees and to the number of places on each as set out in paragraph 5.4 (Table A).

2.3      the Council agreed to the allocation of seats to the Political Groups in accordance with section 15(5) of the Local Government Act 1989 as set out in paragraph 5.12 of the report (Table B).

2.4      the number of substitutes on Committees and Commissions be as set out in paragraph 5.15 (Table C).

2.5      in respect of the Area Planning Committees, a substitute Member must represent a ward within that Committee’s area, and in respect of the District Planning Committee, they must be a Member of the same Area Planning Committee as the Member they were substituting for.

2.6      the Council approved the appointment of Members to the Committees as set out in Appendix A and noted the appointments set out in Appendix B which were in accordance with the wishes of the Political Groups.

2.7      the Council, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000 as amended, agreed that the Council’s Policy Framework for 2021/22 be as set out in paragraph 5.20 of this report, and that any necessary amendments be made to the Council’s Constitution.

2.8      the Council noted that other plans, policies and strategies requiring approval which were not included in the approved Policy Framework and which were not otherwise reserved by law to Council, would be the responsibility of the Council’s Executive in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000.

2.9      the Council noted that Paragraph 2.6.5 of Article 6 of the Constitution, would be amended to reflect any changes made to the Executive Portfolios by the Leader of the Council and announced at the Executive meeting on 25 March 2021 or at the Annual Council meeting.

2.10    the appointment of two non-voting co-opted Parish/Town Councillors be made to the Governance and Ethics Committee as detailed in Appendix A.

2.11    to re-appoint three Independent Persons (Standards) namely Lindsey Appleton, James Rees and Mike Wall and to appoint an Independent Person (Audit) to focus on the risk and audit functions of the Governance and Ethics Committee.

2.12    to note the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board as set out in Appendix A.

2.13    authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make any changes required to the Constitution as a result of the changes to the number of Members of the Council and following  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider and agree West Berkshire Council’s nominations to the following Outside Bodies:

•           Royal Berkshire Fire Authority

•           Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel

•           Local Government Association General Assembly

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 11) concerning the annual nominations to the following Outside Bodies:

·         Royal Berkshire Fire Authority

·         Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel

·         Local Government Association General Assembly

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Lynne Doherty and seconded by Councillor Lee Dillon:

“2.1   That the Council is requested to approve the appointments in accordance with Appendix A of Member representatives to the following outside bodies:

·      Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (Dennis Benneyworth, Tony Linden, Garth Simpson and Jeff Brooks)

·      Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel (Claire Rowles)

2.2    Council is asked to note the appointments as detailed in Appendix A of Member representatives to the:

·      Local Government Association General Assembly (Lynne Doherty, Graham Bridgman, Dominic Boeck, Lee Dillon)”.

Councillor Lynne Doherty stated that it was not proposed to make any changes to the representatives on those the above Outside Bodies.

Councillor Lee Dillon raised a concern as to how Members would attend those Outside Bodies and actual Committee meetings as the High Court Judgment had ruled that virtual meetings were not actually allowed and that it was necessary to meet in the Council Chamber or in room suitable for the size and number. His group would have liked to have seen emergency legislation tabled by the Government to enable Councils still to meet remotely. The Council had also seen public participation increase due to the hosting of online meetings and whilst it was in the Council’s gift to continue to stream meetings he was not sure if this was the best medium for public questions. He felt that it was unfortunate that Councils had not been extended the courtesy of being able to decide the most appropriate way for it to be able to meet during the recovery phase of Covid.

Councillor Graham Bridgman said that having been somewhat involved in looking at how meetings could take place in a Covid safe way and having listened to some of the court case that ended up with the judgment he fully supported the view expressed by Councillor Dillon. Council had commented earlier on the fact that it was disappointed that the Government had not brought forward legislation to allow local authorities to continue to meet remotely until at least 21 June. However, there were a number of people who wanted to hold physical meetings again but only in a Covid safe manner.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

To provide an update on local and national issues relating to ethical standards and to bring to the attention of Members any complaints or other problems within West Berkshire. 

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 12) concerning an update on local and national issues relating to ethical standards and to bring to the attention of Members any complaints or other problems within West Berkshire. The report also presented the Annual Governance and Ethics report to Full Council.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Howard Woollaston and seconded by Councillor Jo Stewart:

That the Council:

“note the content of the report which would be circulated to all Parish/Town Councils in the District for information”.

Councillor Howard Woollaston introduced the Annual Monitoring Officer’s report to the Governance and Ethics Committee which had been approved by them. It was also brought to Council as required by the Constitution. It showed that there were no significant issues in regard to standards of ethical behaviour and the declaration of gifts and hospitality was down on previous years.

Councillor Jo Stewart thanked the Monitoring Officer for producing the report and the Governance and Ethics Committee for keeping the Council on a straight path for what had been a really strange and often difficult year. She concurred with the conclusion that despite the significant rise in the number of complaints over the past year Members in West Berkshire continued to maintain high standards of ethical conduct and she was therefore happy to second the report.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Licensing Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Personnel Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Personnel Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of Council, the Governance and Ethics Committee met on 19 April 2021.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Legal and Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Governance and Ethics Committee had met on 19 April 2021.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the District Planning Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the District Planning Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission met on 20 April 2021.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Legal and Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee had met on 20 April 2021.

The Council is asked to note that since the last meeting of the Council, the Joint Public Protection Committee met on 31 March 2021.  Copies of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Legal and Strategic Support or via the Council’s website.

The Council noted that, since the last meeting, the Joint Public Protection Committee had met on 31 March 2021.

To approve the refresh of the Council Strategy.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 19) concerning the refreshed Council Strategy 2019-2023 which articulated the progress that had been mad and introduced new or updated projects to support the delivery of the Council’s core business and priorities for improvement. The refreshed Council Strategy reflected the changes in the social, economic and environmental context and built on the enhanced strategic framework developed during the first two years of the Strategy. This was an overarching strategic document that set out the priorities for improvement over the lifetime of the strategy and reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to continue to deliver the core services that people in West Berkshire needed and valued.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Lynne Doherty and seconded by Councillor Steve Ardagh-Walter:

That the Council:

“approve the refreshed Council Strategy covering the period 2021-2023 set out in Appendix B and noted that the Council Strategy reflected the updated Covid-19 Recovery and Renewal Strategy”.

Councillor Lynne Doherty recommended approval of the refreshed strategy as the first two years of the strategy had delivered some really positive outcomes for the people of West Berkshire. For example, the strong performance of the Council’s Children and Family Services, the continued high performance of getting children into the school of their choice and the continued capital investment into education. Even when the Council’s KPI’s indicate that the Council was making good progress it was still prudent to review any strategy at the half way point to ensure that the priorities and commitments remained relevant and to ensure that the Council was on track to deliver all that it had set out to do. In addition to that it was also necessary to factor in the impact of Covid on local communities and therefore this refresh strategy had also been informed by the Recovery and Renewal Strategy. Councillor Doherty was pleased to announce that there was very little in way of a change of direction. It was essential to focus on core business such as protecting children, economic recovery following Covid, delivery of the environment strategy and waste collection. The strategy would help the Council to drive forward and to maintain the message that West Berkshire was a great place to live, work and learn for its residents.

Councillor Jeff Brooks felt that the strategy was low on objectives and goals. A strategy should involve setting goals and priorities, determining actions to achieve the goals and mobilising resources to execute the actions. This strategy was short on objectives and long on text and narrative. It should be clear to the public what the Council wanted to achieve and what had already been achieved. He queried where the meaningful targets were so that Officers had a clear steer as to what needed to be achieved.

Councillor Dominic Boeck stated that as lead Member for Children and Young People in Education he was pleased that Council was being asked to support the continued prioritisation of protection and achievement as set out in the refreshed strategy. The strategy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To seek authority for redundancy payments to be made that may result from the internal recruitment process to fill the new Service Director, Development & Regulation post identified within the Senior Management Review 2019.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 20) concerning authority being sought for redundancy payments to be made that might result from the internal recruitment process to fill the new Service Director, Development & Regulation post identified within the Senior Management Review 2019. .

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Hilary Cole and seconded by Councillor Richard Somner:

That the Council:

“authorise the redundancy payments detailed within this report and included in the Part II paper”.

Councillor Hilary Cole stated that this paper was in two parts and she reminded Members that the report around payments was confidential and would be discussed following the exclusion of the press and public.

The Council had undertaken a senior management review in 2019 which had proposed the establishment of the Place Directorate including the creation of an Executive Director, Place and Services Directors for Environment and Development and Regulation. The Service Director, Environment post had been recruited to in April 2020 and the Executive Director, Place had been recruited in December 2020. It was proposed that two posts would be deleted from the organisation structure on completion of the recruitment process to the Service Director, Development and Regulation. The report set out the potential redundancies which might occur by 31 August 2021 as a result of recruitment to the post. It sought approval to make the redundancy and, if appropriate, retirement payments as a result of the staffing changes. The estimated total financial payments were set out in the Part I report and in more detail in the Part II report. Any costs would be covered by the Council’s restructuring reserve but would be overall cost neutral as a result of deleting the two posts.

Councillor Jeff Brooks said that he understood that reorganisations needed to happen but he queried how long it would take to become cost neutral as it involved a large upfront payment. Councillor Hilary Cole responded that the cost neutrality issue was covered in the Part II paper and she reiterated that the costs would be met through the restructuring reserve.

Councillor Richard Somner confirmed that this was a necessary restructure and it would enable the Council to continue to develop and transition. The figures set out in the report were a worst case scenario and should Officers be redeployed then the upper most value would not be reached. It was important to note the continued progression of the transformation programme especially as the authority moved forward with the changing face of service provision.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.

RESOLVED that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the under-mentioned item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as contained in Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)(Variation) Order 2006. Rule 8.10.4 of the Constitution also refers.

(Paragraph 1 – information relating to an individual)

(Paragraph 2 – information identifying an individual)

(Paragraph 3 – information relating to financial/business affairs of particular person)

(Paragraph 4 – information relating to terms proposed in negotiations in labour relation matters)

To seek authority for redundancy payments to be made that may result from the internal recruitment process to fill the new Service Director, Development & Regulation post identified within the Senior Management Review 2019.

(Paragraph 1 – information relating to an individual)

(Paragraph 2 – information identifying an individual)

(Paragraph 3 – information relating to financial/business affairs of particular person)

(Paragraph 4 – information relating to terms proposed in negotiations in labour relation matters)

The Committee considered an exempt report (Agenda item 22) concerning authority being sought for redundancy payments to be made that might result from the internal recruitment process to fill the new Service Director, Development & Regulation post which had been identified within the Senior Management Review 2019.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Hilary Cole and seconded by Councillor Richard Somner:

That the Council:

“authorise the redundancy payments detailed within this report and included in Appendix 1”.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.