Agenda and minutes

To declare any interests in respect of recommended items

There were no declarations of interest made in accordance with the Code of Conduct.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 4 November 2014

RESOLVED:  That the Minutes of the proceedings of the meeting of the Council held on 4 November 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

The Mayor reported that since the last Council meeting she had attended many Christmas events such as fayres, carol services, school plays including nativities and parties for senior citizens.  She highlighted some memorable events including the Tonbridge Poppy Appeal and Remembrance Sunday Parades, the Light Up a Life Service at The Friars and the Tonbridge Lions Barrel Organ Collection Event.  Reference was also made to the Blessing of the Seas, the Plough Sunday Service at Rochester Cathedral and Tonbridge Local Group of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 40^th Anniversary Celebrations.

The Mayor commented on the Tonbridge Christmas Festival and the switching on of Christmas lights at West Malling and Snodland.  She reminded Members of a number of future events including her Dinner at The River Centre, Tonbridge on 28 February and indicated that the Oast Theatre Performance of ‘When we are Married’ on 24 March was now full.  There was still space for teams of three or individuals at the Buckmore Park Karting Evening on 27 April.  The Mayor concluded by announcing arrangements for a Dressage Horse Show on Sunday, 19 April at Hadlow College.

No questions were received from members of the public pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.6.

No questions were received from Members pursuant to Council Procedure Rule No 5.5.

The Leader began by acknowledging the activity which had taken place in the towns and villages of the Borough throughout the Christmas period and recorded thanks to the town and parish councils, voluntary groups and schools for their hard work in putting on events for local communities and retail centres.

He mentioned that before the next Council meeting Parliament would have been dissolved for the General Election.  He referred to Sir John Stanley’s retirement as a Member of Parliament after over 40 years of public service and to the wide recognition of his tireless energy and dedication to his constituents.

The Leader indicated that on this occasion he wished to reflect on what had been achieved by the Council against a backdrop of four very challenging years.  Councillor Coffin in presenting the Council’s budget would say more about the prudent approach taken to protect those services known to matter to the residents whilst striving to deliver value for money.  Reference was made to savings of £2.8m which had been achieved through shared services, taking advantage of technological changes – the piloting of a web chat link on the website being the latest – and doing things differently.  Members were reminded that the approach had been independently assessed by the Council’s auditors as “a strong focus on effective financial management” and “an effective framework to address financial pressures and to deliver planned savings”.

The Leader said that the Council could be proud of its recycling service where residents recycled or composted 43% of household waste.  Almost 90% of waste collected was subject to reuse, recycling or energy recovery with only 10% going to landfill.  In addition most of the waste was dealt with locally, 85% in Kent.  Reference was also made to the “Love Where You Live” campaign which continued to inspire local support and activity.  The Council was an Ambassador Authority for the national campaign and a lead authority in the Love Kent campaign with numerous local projects including Bash the Trash events, the Street Monitor scheme, Voluntary Litter Code for businesses, and Bag and Flag dog fouling events.

The Leader expressed pride in the quality of the Council’s leisure facilities and increased leisure activity within the Borough, the Easter and Summer programmes for young people and the Youth Forum having been maintained.  For older residents the Council had supported the Tonbridge and Malling Seniors and organised events to encourage take-up of services by elderly people within the communities.  Sports participation rates had been increased across the Borough by 6% as measured by the Sport England Active People Survey, placing the Borough in the upper quartile in Kent.  Initiatives had included Spring into Sport and the Young Cricket Leader Programme together with support for voluntary groups in staging the Tonbridge Half Marathon and continued support for local clubs.

The Leader reflected on the support to local community groups, town and parish councils through the Community Enhancement Fund with £456,000 awarded to over 200 community and voluntary groups and 20 town  ...  view the full minutes text for item C 15/6

Item GP 14/22 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 13 November 2014

Item GP 14/22 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 13 November 2014

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 14/22 be approved.

Item ST 15/3 referred from Joint Standards Committee minutes of 19 January 2015

Item ST 15/3 referred from Joint Standards Committee minutes of 19 January 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute ST 15/3 be approved.

Item OS 15/3 referred from Overview and Scrutiny Committee minutes of 27 January 2015

Item OS 15/3 referred from Overview and Scrutiny Committee minutes of 27 January 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute OS 15/3 be approved.

Item GP 15/4 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 2 February 2015

Item GP 15/4 referred from General Purposes Committee minutes of 2 February 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute GP 15/4 be approved.

Item CB 15/3 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

Item CB 15/3 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 15/3 be approved.

Item CB 15/4 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

Item CB 15/4 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 15/4 be approved.

Item CB 15/5 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

Item CB 15/5 referred from Cabinet minutes of 3 February 2015

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 15/5 be approved.

Item CB 15/24 referred from Cabinet minutes of 12 February 2015

Item CB 15/24 referred from Cabinet minutes of 12 February 2015

It was proposed by Councillor Coffin and seconded by Councillor N Heslop that the recommendations at Minute CB 15/24 be adopted.  In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 8.5 voting was recorded as follows:

Members voting for the motion:

Cllr A W Allison, Cllr Mrs J A Anderson, Cllr J A L Balcombe, Cllr O C Baldock, Cllr M A C Balfour, Cllr Mrs J M Bellamy, Cllr T Bishop, Cllr P F Bolt, Cllr V M C Branson, Cllr Mrs B A Brown, Cllr C Brown, Cllr M A Coffin, Cllr D J Cure, Cllr R W Dalton, Cllr D A S Davis, Cllr M O Davis, Cllr T Edmondston-Low, Cllr Miss J R L Elks, Cllr Mrs M F Heslop, Cllr N J Heslop, Cllr Mrs E M Holland, Cllr P J Homewood, Cllr S R J Jessel, Cllr D Keeley, Cllr Mrs F A Kemp, Cllr S M King, Cllr R D Lancaster, Cllr Mrs S Luck, Cllr B J Luker, Cllr Miss A Moloney, Cllr Mrs S Murray, Cllr Mrs A S Oakley, Cllr M Parry-Waller, Cllr M R Rhodes, Cllr H S Rogers, Cllr A G Sayer, Cllr Miss J L Sergison, Cllr Mrs E A Simpson, Cllr C P Smith, Cllr D W Smith, Cllr Ms S V Spence, Cllr A K Sullivan, Cllr M Taylor, Cllr D J Trice and Cllr Mrs C J Woodger

Total 45

Members voting against the motion:

Cllr J Atkins

Total 1

Members abstaining:

None

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 15/24 be approved.

Item CB 15/25 referred from Cabinet minutes of 12 February 2015

Item CB 15/25 referred from Cabinet minutes of 12 February 2015

It was proposed by Councillor Coffin and seconded by Councillor N Heslop that the recommendations at Minute CB 15/25 be adopted.  In accordance with Council Procedure Rule No 8.5 voting was recorded as follows:

Members voting for the motion:

Cllr A W Allison, Cllr Mrs J A Anderson, Cllr J A L Balcombe, Cllr O C Baldock, Cllr M A C Balfour, Cllr Mrs J M Bellamy, Cllr T Bishop, Cllr P F Bolt, Cllr V M C Branson, Cllr Mrs B A Brown, Cllr C Brown, Cllr M A Coffin, Cllr D J Cure, Cllr R W Dalton, Cllr D A S Davis, Cllr M O Davis, Cllr T Edmondston-Low, Cllr Miss J R L Elks, Cllr Mrs M F Heslop, Cllr N J Heslop, Cllr Mrs E M Holland, Cllr P J Homewood, Cllr S R J Jessel, Cllr D Keeley, Cllr Mrs F A Kemp, Cllr S M King, Cllr R D Lancaster, Cllr Mrs S Luck, Cllr B J Luker, Cllr Miss A Moloney, Cllr Mrs S Murray, Cllr Mrs A S Oakley, Cllr M Parry-Waller, Cllr M R Rhodes, Cllr H S Rogers, Cllr A G Sayer, Cllr Miss J L Sergison, Cllr Mrs E A Simpson, Cllr C P Smith, Cllr D W Smith, Cllr Ms S V Spence, Cllr A K Sullivan, Cllr M Taylor, Cllr D J Trice and Cllr Mrs C J Woodger

Total 45

Members voting against the motion:

Cllr J Atkins

Total 1

Members abstaining:

None

RESOLVED:  That the recommendations at Minute CB 15/25 be approved and the Council Tax resolution 2015/16, as set out as an Annex to these Minutes, be adopted.

The report of the Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer set out proposals for realignment of responsibilities relating to corporate governance together with amendments to the Constitution to reflect changes in working practices in respect of procurement and delivery of summonses for Council meetings.

In the light of new CIPFA guidance it was considered appropriate to give the Audit Committee overall responsibility for corporate governance matters and a correction to paragraph 1.3.2 of the report was made at the meeting to the effect that where the decision was previously a delegated decision, that delegated power would transfer to the Audit Committee. 

Details were given of proposed changes to the Contracts Procedure Rules regarding tendering thresholds.  The report also referred to legislative changes which permitted the use of electronic communications in the sending of summonses to meetings.

RESOLVED:  That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the following amendments to the Constitution:

(1)                                         deletion of the responsibilities of General Purposes Committee in Part 3 – page 6 “Audit: Overview of internal and external audit”;

(2)                                         revision of Part 3 - page 9 the function of the Audit Committee to be changed to reflect the position statement of CIPFA as set out in paragraph 1.2.1. of the report;

(3)                                         deletion of Part 3 – page 32 paragraph 7 relating to General Purposes Committee “To consider initially general and specific audit reports from the Audit Commission, the District Auditor and the Director of Finance and Transformation, to make recommendations to Council for future action and to monitor the Council’s implementation of those recommendations.”  This responsibility to be transferred to the Audit Committee;

(4)                                         amendment of  Part 3 – page 33 paragraph 1 so as to change Director of Finance and Transformation’s annual report to Chief Internal Auditor’s annual report;

(5)                                         amendment of Part 3 – page 34 paragraphs 12, 13, 14 and 15 to be removed from the Corporate Governance Framework and to be included under Audit Committee responsibilities;

(6)                                         under Part 3 - page 73 the reference to the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board responsibility for Benefit Fraud Investigation to be deleted and the core function as set out in paragraph 1.2.2 of the report to be added to the responsibilities of the Audit Committee;

(7)                                         under part 3 – page 32 delete paragraph 9 regarding the responsibility of the General Purposes Committee “To approve the Council’s statement of accounts, income and expenditure account and balance sheet”;

(8)                                         to amend Part 4 of the Constitution to give effect to the changes outlined in the report by amending CPR 3.2, 7.4, 8.3, 11.1, 13.7, 14.2, 14.3 and 14.7 to change those  thresholds which are currently set at £75,000 to refer to £100,000;

(9)                                         to amend rule 7.4 by changing the procedure to be used in column three for contracts valued at £5,000 up to but not including £75,000 to read “at least three written quotes in advance, one to be from a local supplier where possible” and also amending the procedure  ...  view the full minutes text for item C 15/16

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Central Services regarding the re-nomination of a representative to serve as a Trustee of the Tonbridge United Charity for a further term of office.

RESOLVED:  That Councillor R Lancaster be re-nominated as a Trustee of the Tonbridge United Charity for a further four year term of office to July 2018.

To authorise the Common Seal of the Council to be affixed to any Contract, Minute, Notice or other document requiring the same.

RESOLVED:  That authority be given for the Common Seal of the Council to be affixed to any instrument to give effect to a decision of the Council incorporated into these Minutes and proceedings.