Agenda and minutes

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.

In accordance with Articles 6, 8 and 9 of the Council’s Constitution, and pursuant to Part 4 (a) – Standing Order 8.3, to appoint the following Committees of the size indicated below and with the Terms of Reference and functions set out in Part 3 (a) of the Council’s Constitution.

It was moved by Councillor J.R. Boughtflower and seconded by Councillor J. McIlroy and

Resolved to agree the appointment of the Committees shown at Agenda Item 3 of the size indicated and with the terms of reference and functions set out in Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution.

Pursuant to Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, to agree the representation of the different political groups on Committees.

It was moved by Councillor J.R. Boughtflower and seconded by Councillor J. McIlroy and

Resolved that pursuant to Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Council agrees the political allocation of seats as set out in Appendix A to this item.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, to appoint the members to serve on the above-mentioned Committees, including Mr. Murray Litvak as the non-elected Chairman of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee. The position of Vice-Chairman of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee is currently vacant.

It was moved by Councillor J.R. Boughtflower and seconded by Councillor J. McIlroy to appoint the members to serve on the Committees as shown in Appendix B, including Mr. Murray Litvak as the non-elected Chairman of the Members’ Code of Conduct Committee.

Councillor S. Dunn proposed the following amendment which was seconded by Councillor C. Bateson

“That the Council agrees the Councillors to serve on Committees as shown on Appendix B which can be found on page 5 of the supplementary agenda; and the Council notes that recommendation 8 in the report of the Committee for Standards in Public Life (January 2019) calls for limiting the length of appointments of Independent Persons to a “fixed term of two years, renewable once”.  The Council instructs officers to prepare amendments to Spelthorne’s constitution to incorporate the recommendation and to take action to ensure that a new Independent Person is appointed at the ACM in 2021.”

The amendment was carried and the substantive motion put to the vote.

Resolved that the Council agrees the Councillors to serve on Committees as shown on Appendix B which can be found on page 5 of the supplementary agenda; and the Council notes that recommendation 8 in the report of the Committee for Standards in Public Life (January 2019) calls for limiting the length of appointments of Independent Persons to a “fixed term of two years, renewable once”.  The Council instructs officers to prepare amendments to Spelthorne’s constitution to incorporate the recommendation and to take action to ensure that a new Independent Person is appointed at the ACM in 2021.

To receive any announcements from the Leader.

The Leader made the following announcements:

“We recently marked 100 days of operating on an emergency footing by publishing a press release and infographic image summarising the Council’s response to the pandemic. We closed the Council offices in March and rapidly moved to a virtual footing, successfully adapting our services to ensure residents were well supported whilst maintaining 'business as usual' across our services. On behalf of residents and businesses, I would like to thank all the Council staff for their dedication and professionalism during this difficult time. Together, they have worked with the foodbanks to distribute over 230,000 meals, received over 22,000 requests for help via the community helpline, made over 14,000 checks on vulnerable residents, carried out over 1,000 business compliance visits and delivered over 300 prescriptions, in addition to keeping all the core services running as normal. The Borough's Emergency Centre has been meeting on a daily basis throughout this period and will continue to do so until this pandemic has passed. The Council is now focusing its efforts on the various recovery phases but also preparing for a possible second wave.

The Council has been working hard to support businesses and has paid over £12m in grants to local businesses. We are now processing discretionary business grant applications and as of today have allocated £645k to 114 businesses who were not eligible for the retail, leisure and hospitality grant.

With the help of funding of £88k from the European Regional Development Fund, the Council has been working to support to support the safe reopening of high streets and other commercial areas by assisting with publicity materials, signage, sanitising stations and handwashing facilities, queueing systems and barriers. The Council has also been the only borough in Surrey to receive over £40,000 from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership which the Council will use to improve accessibility and help retailers and shoppers stay safe as shops, bars and restaurants begin to reopen over the coming weeks and months.  

A one minute silence was held on 22 June to mark Armed Forces Week which is an annual national event which gives the country the opportunity to show their support for the men and women who make up today's Armed Forces community. We marked the start of the week by releasing a video of our flag raising ceremony, akin to our VE Day commemorations, with new Mayor of Spelthorne Cllr Colin Barnard; the Council's armed forces champion, Cllr Robin Sider BEM; Chief Executive Daniel Mouawad and bugler Richard Llewellyn in attendance. We proudly supports our armed forces and in April 2014 signed the Armed Forces Covenant. We were awarded the Bronze for Employer recognition scheme and are currently working towards achieving the Silver award. The Council is committed to work closely with the Armed Forces Community and has now also established the Spelthorne Armed Forces Partnership specifically for this purpose.

Two days ago marked the end of Pride month and we showed our support by reflecting the rainbow in our  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117/20