Agenda and minutes

The Mayor will invite all present to join her in a minute’s silence in respect for the late Gerry Ceaser, former Mayor, Leader and Honorary Freeman, who sadly passed away on 25 February 2018.

The Mayor invited those present to stand and join her in a minute’s silence as a mark of respect, and in memory of former Mayor, Leader and Honorary Freeman, Gerry Ceaser who passed away on 25 February 2018.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Council meeting held on 22 February 2018.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 22 February 2018 were agreed as a correct record.

To receive any disclosures of interest from Councillors in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for Members.

There were no disclosures of interest.

To receive any announcements from the Mayor.

The Mayor thanked everyone who had supported her Mayoral Ball at BP. 

On Wednesday 2^nd May, the Mayor’s Ladies Lunch is being held at London Irish in Sunbury upon Thames and all ladies are welcome.  There will, as usual, be entertainment provided rather than a speaker.

The Mayor has entered the Rotary 10k walk in support of her charities on Sunday 6^th May 2018 and is seeking sponsors for this.

The Mayor ended by expressing her appreciation of all those who had assisted throughout her year in office. 

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The Leader made the following announcements:

“I would like to invite everyone to attend the memorial service being held for the late Gerald Ceaser at noon on Friday 11 May at St. Peter’s Church in Staines. A former Mayor and Leader of Spelthorne Council, Gerry was an important local figure and is sadly missed by all who knew him.

I am also sorry to have to announce the death of Fred Smith, former Councillor and Freeman of the Borough, following a long illness. Fred’s funeral will take place in Lancashire but his family will also be holding a church service in Stanwell - more details to follow.

It has since been announced that a memorial service will be held on Friday 11 May at noon at St. Mary’s Church in Stanwell.

All Councillors will have received an email inviting them to a briefing session for an update on the work being undertaken to plan for a new leisure facility to replace the existing Spelthorne Leisure Centre, which is coming to the end of its useful life. 

The White House, situated next to the Council’s refuse depot on the Kingston Road, has been demolished and the Council is progressing with plans to develop the site to provide accommodation to support homeless people. The Council’s Housing team has also recently introduced new processes to ensure that people in danger of losing their homes are being offered help at an earlier stage.

A networking forum for landlords is being held on Tuesday 8 May at Shepperton Studios.

A parking study is to be undertaken in Ashford to establish current parking habits and potential future needs.

Councillors will be aware that the Council has formally responded to the recent Heathrow consultation exercise and outlined a list of ten key requirements. We will be looking to engage further with Heathrow over the next few months to discuss a number of these requirements, including the need to obtain a better compensation package for those residents most affected by the proposals and to secure effective controls to minimise the effects on our residents during construction and operation of an expanded airport. I have appointed Councillor Boughtflower to chair an internal working group to take these things forward.

Members will be aware of the forthcoming changes to data protection legislation, known as GDPR. The Council is working towards implementing the requirements and has already provided four training sessions for Councillors and staff, the most recent of which took place earlier this evening.

Money from the Leader’s Windfall Grant, councillors’ Better Neighbourhood Grants and a contribution from County Councillor Richard Walsh’s Members Allocation has been used to improve Shepperton Lock, enhancing the area in time for the summer season. The makeover includes new signage, groundworks, resurfacing and remarking of the parking area and refurbishment of the toilet block.

Gardeners and residents attended the launch of this year’s Spelthorne in Bloom on Monday 16 April at Notcutts Garden Centre in Staines.

The Council has made use of powers in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 100/18

To receive any announcements from the Chief Executive.

The Chief Executive made the following announcement:

“I should like to thank the Neighbourhood Services and Community Wellbeing teams for their tremendous efforts to keep frontline services running normally during the challenging low temperatures and heavy snowfall at the end of February and beginning of March. Their professionalism and determination to look after our residents is as always very much appreciated.”

The Leader, or his nominee, to answer any questions raised by members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 14.

Note: the deadline for questions to be considered at this meeting is 12 noon on Thursday 19 April 2018.

There were none.

To receive any petitions from members of the public.

There were none.

The Council considered the recommendation of Cabinet from its meeting held on 21 March 2018 on the review of the Code of Corporate Governance.

The Code of Corporate Governance is a standard of good governance which details the systems, processes and policies in place at Spelthorne. Following updates to the Delivering Good Governance in Local Government framework, the code was reviewed and updates proposed to reflect the new principles.

Resolved to approve the updated Code of Corporate Governance.

The Council considered the recommendation of Cabinet from its meeting on 25 April 2016 to approve the changes to the Anti-fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy following its annual review.

The Strategy forms part of the Council’s Constitution and in line with best practice, the Strategy underpins the Council’s commitment to prevent all forms of fraud, bribery and corruption, demonstrating the important role it plays in the overall corporate governance framework.

Resolved to approve the changes to the Anti-fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy.

To receive the report from the Leader of the Council on the work of the Cabinet at its meetings on 21 March (copy attached) and 25 April 2018 (to follow).

The Leader of the Council, Councillor I.T.E. Harvey, presented the reports of Cabinet meetings held on 21 March 2018 and 25 April 2018, which outlined the matters Cabinet had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Audit Committee on the work of her Committee.

The Chairman of the Audit Committee, Councillor M.J. Madams, presented her report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Licensing Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Chairman of the Licensing Committee, Councillor R.W. Sider BEM, presented his report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the work of her Committee.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Councillor S.C. Mooney, presented her report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

To receive the report from the Chairman of the Planning Committee on the work of his Committee.

The Chairman of the Planning Committee, Councillor R.A. Smith-Ainsley, presented his report which outlined the matters the Committee had decided since the last Council meeting.

He also advised members that a Seminar had been arranged on the subject of ‘Design Training’ on 30 April 2018 at 7.00pm in the Council Chamber.  The focus for the seminar would be on design and high rise buildings.  The design training will be undertaken by Bob Allies of Allies Morrison, an architecture and urban planning practice.

To receive any motions from Councillors in accordance with Standing Order 19.

Note: The deadline for motions to be considered at this meeting was Monday 16 April 2018 and none were received.

There were no motions.

The Leader, or his nominee, to answer questions from Councillors on issues in their Wards, in accordance with Standing Order 15.

Note: the deadline for questions to be considered at this meeting is 12 noon on Thursday 19 April 2018.

There were no questions on Ward issues.

The Leader, or his nominee, to answer questions from Councillors on matters affecting the Borough, in accordance with Standing Order 15.

Note: the deadline for questions to be considered at this meeting is 12 noon on Thursday 19 April 2018.

Two questions were received by 18 April 2018:

Question from Councillor Q.R. Edgington:

“A week’s notice is required to submit a general question to Full Council but the reply is only provided to the Councillor who asked the question at the Meeting. So that a considered supplementary question can be asked (if the Councillor considers that the response to his/her question is inadequate), does the Leader agree with me that the reply should be given to the Councillor concerned at least 24 hours before the Meeting?”

Question from Councillor H.R. Williams:

"Those in the chamber may not be aware that the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee has no authority over Spelthorne councillors who insult or attack other Spelthorne councillors. It is toothless and can do nothing when councillors act in ways to other councillors that would not be tolerated if those offenders were targeting members of the public with their aggressive, offensive emails, and social media messages.

In the light of recent physical attacks and threats to councillors, the council introduced extra security measure for councillors.

What is the council doing to protect councillors from email and social media bullying by other councillors and when is the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee going to be given the remit to investigate and punish attacks by councillors on other councillors?"

The Mayor reported that three general questions had been received, in accordance with Standing Order 15, from Councillors Quentin Edgington, Howard Williams and Alfred Friday.

1.    Question from Councillor Q.R. Edgington:

“A week’s notice is required to submit a general question to Full Council but the reply is only provided to the Councillor who asked the question at the Meeting. So that a considered supplementary question can be asked (if the Councillor considers that the response to his/her question is inadequate). Does the Leader agree with me that the reply should be given to the Councillor concerned at least 24 hours before the Meeting?”

Response from the Leader, Councillor I.T.E. Harvey:

“No I do not agree.”

In accordance with Council Standing Order 15.2, CouncillorQ.R. Edgington asked the following supplementary question:

“I would say is the Leader aware of Surrey County Council’s procedure where the ruling is four days’ notice for all questions asked and replies to be provided 24 hours before the meeting?”

The Leader, Councillor I.T.E. Harvey, gave the following response to the supplementary question during the meeting:

“Thank you for your supplementary question, however this is Spelthorne Borough Council and not Surrey County Council.  What someone else does is not our concern.  We will follow our own constitution.”

2.    Question from Councillor H.R. Williams:

"Those in the chamber may not be aware that the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee has no authority over Spelthorne councillors who insult or attack other Spelthorne councillors. It is toothless and can do nothing when councillors act in ways to other councillors that would not be tolerated if those offenders were targeting members of the public with their aggressive, offensive emails and social media messages.

In the light of recent physical attacks and threats to councillors, the Council introduced extra security measure for councillors.

What is the Council doing to protect councillors from email and social media bullying by other councillors and when is the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee going to be given the remit to investigate and punish attacks by councillors on other councillors?"

Response from the Leader, Councillor I.T.E. Harvey:

“Sadly there have been several instances recently of online abuse of Spelthorne councillors including from other councillors. I am sure you and indeed all members will join me in condemning this.

As regards councillors complaining about other councillors, the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee procedure is that such complaints are directed to the relevant Group Leaders to resolve in the first instance. Clearly there is a particular problem where the Member being complained about is indeed a Group Leader.

If Group Leaders cannot resolve matters or if there is a bigger issue affecting the reputation of the Council generally then the matter can still be referred to the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee. 

The Members’ Code of Conduct has recently been reviewed but in the light of some recent abuses in social media we may well need to revisit this. The ruling Conservative Group will consider this again in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113/18