Agenda item

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any Personal, Disclosable Pecuniary or other interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer announced that in respect of Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2016/17) all Members, except Councillor Nick Goodes, had completed an Application for a Grant of a Dispensation in relation to “any beneficial interest” in land within the Authority’s area. The Monitoring Officer had granted the dispensation to allow all those Members that applied for a dispensation to speak and vote on these items.

Andy Day also reported that Councillor Lynne Doherty had an interest in Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2016/17) by virtue of the fact that Councillor Doherty’s employer was a recipient of the Short Breaks Funding. Councillor Doherty had applied to the Governance and Ethics Committee for a dispensation to speak and vote on this item. The Committee decided that Councillor Doherty could speak and vote on the Phase 1 consultation responses as a whole, but could only speak on the short breaks for children and not vote on this issue should this situation occur.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer stated that Councillors Marcus Franks and Lee Dillon had an interest in Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget 2016/17) by virtue of the fact that their employer, Sovereign Housing Association, received funding from the Council for its Neighbourhood Warden Scheme. Both Councillors had applied to the Governance and Ethics Committee for a dispensation to speak and vote on this item. The Committee decided that a dispensation should be granted but that the dispensation would permit Councillor Franks and Councillor Dillon to speak but not vote on this item.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer also informed Members that Councillor Mike Johnston had notified him that he had a disclosable pecuniary interest in Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget) by virtue of the fact that his wife was employed, on a casual basis, by the Visitor Information Centre and he would be leaving the room during the course of discussing and voting on this matter.

Andy Day explained that Councillor Jeff Beck was a trustee of the Corn Exchange, Readibus and the Volunteer Centre West Berkshire. As he had a fiduciary duty to these trusts he determined, in respect of Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget), to leave the Chamber during the discussion of this item and would not take part in the vote.

The Councillors set out below declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 16 (Revenue Budget).