Agenda and minutes

The Chairman to report on functions attended since the last meeting and other matters of interest to Members.

The Chairman noted the sad death of Parish Councillor Bill Graham who was a representative on the Governance Committee. A one-minute silence had taken place at the Governance Committee on the 20 November 2023.

Councillor Lee Dillon added that a one-minute silence had taken place at the Executive meeting for David and Celia Barlow.

The Chairman reported that he had attended the following events since the last Council meeting:

·         Lord Lieutenants Retirement Party

·         Castle at Theale

·         Greenham Trust Charity Awards

·         Citizenship Ceremony

·         RAF Welford Remembrance Service

·         Thatcham Remembrance Service

·         Royal Berkshire Archives - Welcomed HRH Duke of Gloucester

·         The opening of the new building at the Willink School

·         Faraday Road Football Pitch Opening

·         Carers Rights Day

·         Food Bank

The Vice-Chairman reported that he had attended the following events since the last Council meeting:

·         The Old Library Event

·         Berkshire Judicial Service

·         Newbury Samaritans AGM

·         Volunteer Centre Services Day

·         Poppy Train

·         Newbury Remembrance Service

·         West Berkshire Toy Appeal

The Chairman to sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 5 October 2023.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 5 October 2023 were approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chairman, subject to the following amendments.

·         That Councillors Biyi Oloko and Dennis Benneyworth gave their apologies for the meeting and should not be recorded as absent.

·         Within the concluding comments of Item 36 in the Minutes it should state ‘brickbats’ not ‘bricks back’.

·         Within the attendance it should read ‘Quentin Webb’ not Quinten Webb,

·         Item 22 should read as ‘Drummond’ not ‘Brummond’.

Under Item 38 of the Minutes, it should state that the Compton Referendum took place in February 2022 and not recently and cycle ‘route’ not ‘out’.

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.

Councillors Richard Somner and Joanne Stewart declared an interest in Item 17, but reported that, as their interest was a personal or another registrable interest, but not a disclosable pecuniary interest, they determined to remain to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

Councillors may present any petition which they have received. These will normally be referred to the appropriate body without discussion.

There were no petitions received.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by members of the public in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Council's Constitution.

Please note that the list of public questions is shown under Item 6 in the agenda pack when published.

A full transcription of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.

The Council to agree any changes to the membership of Committees.

Councillor Dillon proposed a brief adjournment due to technical difficulties, which was seconded by Councillor Ross Mackinnon.

The proposal by Councillor Dillon and seconded by Councillor Mackinnon was put to a vote and was passed.

(Council adjourned at 19:23 pm and returned at 19:29 pm.)

Sarah Clarke explained that due to the notification of the formation of a new political group, Agenda Item 18 on the Appointment of and Allocation of Seats on Committees, would be withdrawn as the report was out of date and an updated report would be presented to Council, as soon as reasonably practicable, to reflect the creation of the new political group, of which notification had only arrived the day of Council. 

Councillor Abbs expressed that he was disappointed that the proper allocation of seats could not be decided within the Council meeting, as it would waste Officer’s time to deal with it in a future meeting. Ms Clarke explained that West Berkshire Council had a legal obligation to reflect the political balance of the Council and that the report for Item 18 dealt with a change to the political groups that had occurred in October. It was important that Members of the Council and residents received full transparency in the form of a report that would confirm which Members would be part of which group. Seats on committees were allocated on that basis, as per the legislative framework. Ms Clarke stated that the report would come back to Council as soon as reasonably practicable, therefore the changes made within Item 7 were to reflect the decisions made in the previous Full Council meeting.

Councillor Abbs asked whether the new report would make it to the Extraordinary Council on the 19 December 2023 and stated that there was an official confirmation in the form of a note to the Chief Executive, on the Tuesday before the meeting, of which the Councillor had been informed was all that was needed. 

The Chairman highlighted the importance of having the creation of a new political group officially noted within the agenda otherwise it would be unfair to ask Members to vote on a report they were not familiar with. The Chairman assured the Councillor that he would bring the report back to Council as soon as possible.

Council were advised of the following changes to the membership of Committees since the previous Council meeting:

·         Appointment of Councillor Anthony Amirtharaj to the Western Area Planning Committee in place of Councillor Adrian Abbs.

·         Appointment of Councillor Stuart Gourley as Substitute for the Western Area Planning Committee in place of Councillor Anthony Amirtharaj.

·         Appointment of Councillor Laura Coyle to the Governance Committee in place of Councillor Ian Cottingham.

·         Appointment of Councillor Justin Pemberton to the Health Scrutiny Committee in place of Councillor Stuart Gourley.

·         Appointment of Councillor Billy Drummond as Substitute for the Health Scrutiny Committee in place of Councillor Justin Pemberton.

·         Appointment of Councillor Vicky Poole to the Personnel Committee in place of Councillor Stuart Gourley.

·         Appointment of Councillor Laura  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50.

The Council is asked to note that since the last ordinary meeting of the Council, the Licensing Committee met on 6 November 2023.  A copy of the of the Minutes of this meeting can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinarymeeting, the Licensing Committee had met on 6 November 2023.

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

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

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Governance Committee met on 13 November and 20 November 2023. Copies of the Minutes of these meetings can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.  

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Governance and Ethics Committee had met on 13 and 20 November 2023.

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

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

The Council is asked to note that since the lastordinary meeting of the Council, the Scrutiny Commission met on 11 October 2023 and 28 November 2023. Copies of the Minutes these meetings can be obtained from Democratic Services or via the Council's website when available.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Commission had met on 11 October 2023 and 28 November 2023

The Council is asked to note that since the last ordinary meeting of the Council the Health Scrutiny Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinary meeting, the Health Scrutiny Committee had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last ordinary meeting of the Council the Health and Wellbeing Board has not met.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinarymeeting, the Health and Wellbeing Board had not met.

The Council is asked to note that since the last ordinary meeting of the Council the Joint Public Protection Committee has not met.

The Council noted that, since its last ordinarymeeting, the Joint Public Protection Committee had not met.

Purpose: To consider the comments received during the consultation on the Statement of Licensing Policy and any ensuing modifications that have been made to the draft policy prior to adopting it with or without further modifications.

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 16) concerning the statement of Licensing Policy - Review and Consultation.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Dillon and seconded by Councillor Phil Barnett:

That the Council:

·         “Consider the consultation responses.

·         Resolve to adopt the policy with or without modification and that it comes into effect on the 1 December 2023.

·         Resolve to delegate authority to the Service Lead (Public Protection) and the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Licensing Committee to make any minor amendments to the policy arising from legislative changes and changes to the S182 guidance.”

Councillor Dillon informed the Council that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council was required to have a Licensing Policy in place and the policy needed to be reviewed at least every five years. The Councillor stated that the current policy was adopted in December 2018 and following a thorough review the document was re-ordered, reformatted and re-written. As a result, the changes suggested in the new iteration constituted minor modifications.

The changes included:

·         The statement that each licence would have conditions attached to it.

·         That licensees would be encouraged to work in partnership with a local Pubwatch scheme, if one was in place, and licensed premises would be encouraged to participate in schemes such as Ask Angela, Ask ANI and anti-drink spiking initiatives.

·         Making use of Security Industry Authority licensed door supervisors, or stewards where appropriate to do so.

·         Reference to the agent of change principles, which meant that someone responsible for a change in a vicinity would also be responsible for the impact of that change.

·         Changes arising from the revised S182 guidance, which included changes to numbers and duration of temporary event notices.

Councillor Dillon noted that the amended draft policy agreed at the July 2023 Licensing Committee was subjected to a ten-week consultation period starting on the 12 July 2023 and running until the 20 September 2023.

Councillor Dillon was pleased to receive 47 responses to the consultation, which was considerably more than the three received in 2018 and expressed that they were laid out in Appendix B of the report.

Councillor Dillon thanked all those that took the time to respond and noted that at the Licensing Committee meeting in November, Members requested that in future the Council include those tasked with educating young people in the list of consultees and had asked Officers to ensure that this happened when the policy was next reviewed.

Councillor Dillon indicated that the changes arising from the consultation were set out in paragraphs 4.10 and 4.11 of the report and that the policy received cross party support at the Licensing Committee. He therefore proposed that the policy be adopted for publication on 1 December 2023.

Councillor Phil Barnett had expected the policy to have generated more discussion at Council. The Councillor expressed that Licensing Policy was a testament to a lot of hard work by Officers to make sure it was fit for purpose. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Purpose: This report is to set out the proposed future high-level structure of the Public Health (PH) team in West Berkshire, following a recent review by the Local Government Association.  It does not seek to finalise the team-level structure, which will be articulated once the high-level position has been agreed and progressed.

(Councillor Somner declared a personal interest in Agenda item 17 by virtue of the fact that he worked for the NHS.  As his interest was personal and not prejudicial he was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

(Councillor Stewart declared a personal interest in Agenda item 17 by virtue of the fact that her husband worked for the NHS.  As her interest was personal and not prejudicial she was permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter).

The Council considered a report (Agenda Item 17) concerning the Delivery of Public Health functions in West Berkshire.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Janine Lewis and seconded by Councillor Martha Vickers:

That Council:

·         Recommended that the high-level structure set out at Appendix A is implemented at the earliest available opportunity.

·          Under this recommendation:

a) Council is asked to approve the recruitment of a Director of Public Health (DPH).

b) The DPH post will be hosted by Reading Borough Council and jointly funded by West Berkshire Council.

c) The DPH will oversee the delivery of public health functions in both Reading and West Berkshire.

d) The DPH will be a member of the Corporate Leadership Team in both local authorities.

e) Two PH teams will be formed – one in Reading Borough Council (RBC) and one in West Berkshire Council (WBC). There will be no shared Team.  Selected posts will transfer to respective local authorities; these posts will be identified once the key principles have been agreed.

f) Those teams will have formal line management under the shared DPH.

g) A ‘dotted line’ will run between key posts, indicating regular discussion to agree actions through consensus and negotiation.

h) The RBC and WBC PH teams will formalise arrangements to share best practice, work collaboratively on shared agendas, share information and intelligence, etc. This will be captured in a Service Level Agreement. Those teams will also explore similar opportunities for shared work across Berkshire and potentially with other authorities. In West Berkshire, this will also include the establishment of a Public Health Board.

i) Further work will be required to agree the structure at team level.

j) Further work will be required to carry forward the wider recommendations in the LGA Report.

k) Targeted consultation with directly affected staff and Trades Unions will be undertaken if required”.

Councillor Janine Lewis explained to the Council that following the LGA peer review, it was determined that Public Health required its own DPH, and it was a statutory requirement to do so. The position was to be shared with Reading Borough Council and both authorities would have Public Health teams that would report directly to the DPH, who would report to both Chief Executives. Councillor Lewis added that the recommendation was based on the belief that the approach would support the correct focus on local challenges and resources appropriate to each area, champion Public Health within each Local Authority, ensure compliance with the relevant legal framework, support leadership  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

Purpose: At the Annual Meeting of Council which took place on the 25th May 2023, Council considered and approved a report detailing the allocation and appointment of seats on Committees.  The Council has a duty under section 15 of the Local Government Housing Act 1989, to review the allocation of seats as soon as practicable following any change to the groups.  Following a change in the membership of one of the political groups, this report proposes a number of minor changes to the allocation of seats and appointments to Committees. 

Agenda Item 18 was not discussed by the Council for reasons expressed under Item 7.

Councillor David Marsh reiterated that the new arrangement should be recognised as soon as possible and asked whether this would be before March with a preference for the upcoming Extraordinary Council meeting.

The Chairman expressed that he would try and make sure that the report would be dealt with a swiftly as possible.

Members of the Executive to answer questions submitted by Members of the Council in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Council's Constitution.

Please note that the list of Member questions is shown under Item 19 in the agenda pack when published.

A full transcription of the public and Member question and answer sessions are available from the following link: Transcription of Q&As.