Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To elect a Chairman of the Council until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2022.

The Chairman will call for nominations for election of the Chairman of the Council, if there is more than one nomination, there will be a vote in the usual way.

The Chairman to declare their acceptance of office

Resolved: That Councillor Stephen Chipp be elected as Chairman of the Council until the Annual meeting in 2022

To appoint a Vice Chairman of the Council until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2021.

The Chairman will call for nominations for the appointment of the Vice Chairman of the Council, if there is more than one nomination, there will be a vote in the usual way.

The Vice Chairman to declare their acceptance of office.

Resolved: That Councillor Ann Bridges be appointed as the Vice Chairman of the Council until the Annual Meeting in 2022

To receive and note the Return of Persons elected at the 6 May 2021 District Council elections.

Resolved: that the Returning Officers Return of Persons Elected be noted.

Members and officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting.

There were no declarations of Interest made

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Council on 22 April 2021, copies of which have been previously circulated.

Resolved: that the minutes of the meeting of the 22 April 2022 be approved as the correct record

Resolved: that the Council approves the vote of thanks to the retiring Chairman and present the past Chairman’s insignia

The Chairman made the following announcements:

Firstly I would like to thank you all for electing me as your Chairman for the coming year.  It is a great honour and my Mother and Father and family are incredibly proud so thank you.

I want to pay tribute to last year's Chairman Cllr McGregor.  In extraordinary circumstances he rose to the challenge exceptionally well supporting local initiatives set up during the pandemic.  Most notably was Shopital which helped Hospital staff get essential goods when it was very difficult to do so in the early weeks of the pandemic – why we ever needed a run on Toilet Roll I shall never know! – excuse the pun.

I want to also pay tribute to all Councillors, new and old.  Members on all sides of the Chamber were a massive help to their local communities and you should be proud of yourself for doing so.  We are not out of the woods yet and the challenges experienced during the pandemic are still with us, and will be for some considerable time, and our communities will need leadership, initiative and compassion to help them through some troubling times ahead.

I want to congratulate our new members and commiserate those that did not win their seats and who are not here with us this evening.  Anyone who stands for their local area has my utmost respect as I know the work that goes into it.  We all do it for the same reason – we want to help improve our local areas and I ask members on all sides to view each other in this light.

We also lost members recently  and I want to pay tribute to Cllr Les Alden, Cllr Pat Beresford and Cllr George Barton who will all be sadly missed.

I am looking forward to hopefully being able to carry out some Civic duties this year and my wife is already lobbying for some new outfits – ouch.  One highlight for myself is that HMS Shoreham will be returning to port this year and I look forward to meeting the Crew.

My main target/goal for the year is to highlight and support Adur’s local businesses.  It was evident during the lockdowns that our smaller businesses, that were able to keep open, really supported our local communities.  In my view we need to return this support and I look forward to shining a light on the fantastic businesses and markets that our District has to offer.

I have chosen Esteem as my charity for the forthcoming year.  They are a young persons charity that deals in support, mentoring and volunteering opportunities for people aged between 16 and 24.  It was vital for me that after the year we have had I chose a charity that assisted with our mental health.  Whilst all age groups have been affected I think that this age group, had I been their age now, must have been particularly hard hit with the restrictions placed on their lives.  ...  view the full minutes text for item c/8/21-22

To consider any items the Chairman has agreed are urgent

The Chairman announced that there were no urgent items 

To consider a report by the Director for Communities, copy attached as item 10

Before the Council was a report by the Director for Communities, a copy of which had been circulated to all members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes.  The report before members outlined a number of decisions required by Council to ensure that the decision making structure for 2021/22 is determined according to the Council’s Constitution.

The recommendations in the report were proposed and seconded and debated. During the debate an alternative Chair of the Joint Governance Committee was proposed and seconded and on a vote the amendment was not carried. The substantive recommendations were voted upon and it was:

Resolved:

i) That the Council notes the decision making structure of the Council and            the political balance of the Council as set out in paragraphs 4.1 and 4.2

ii) That the Council confirms the Terms of Reference of the Council, Executive, Committees and Sub-Committees as outlined in Part 3 of the Constitution including those relating to Joint Committee Agreements;

iii) That the Council appoints to the Committees in accordance with the wishes of the Political Groups on the Council detailed in Annex B

iv) That the Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons of Committees be appointed until the Annual Meeting of the Council in 2022.

v) That under Council Procedure Rule 39, Council notes the appointment of the Leader of the Labour Group on the Council as the Leader of the Main Opposition.

To consider recommendations to the Council, details of which are set out in the attached items as 11.  Full reports are available on the website as listed below:

A.             Joint Senior Staff Committee - Designation of Interim Head of Paid Service

Before the Committee was a recommendation from the Joint Senior Staff Committee relating to the designation of Interim Head of Paid Service

The Chairman of the Joint Senior Staff Committee introduced the recommendation to the Committee which was seconded and on a vote it was

Resolved:  that Adur and Worthing Councils designate Dr. Catherine Howe as Adur and Worthing Councils Interim Head of Paid Service and Chief Executive with effect from 1st July 2021, until such time, as the substantive post has been filled.