Decisions and Recommendations

RESOLVED that members of the Press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that:

(i)        it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(ii)       the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

None

Councillor Harrison declared that he had professional (and not personal) working relations with two of the candidates (Liz Lawrence and John Smith) in relation to his activities as a Surrey County Councillor.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Baird (Horley Town Council) and Caroline Waterworth (Head of Legal and Governance – Monitoring Officer).

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2018 be approved as a correct record.

The Standards Committee received a report in relation to the appointment of Independent Persons as required by the Localism Act 2011.

The Council was required to seek the views of an Independent Person before it took a decision on an allegation of misconduct by a councillor which it had decided to investigate.

The Monitoring Officer would decide, after consultation with the Independent Person, whether a complaint merited a formal investigation. The Independent Person’s views may also be sought by the Council at any other stage in a misconduct complaint, or by a councillor against whom an allegation had been made.

Full Council in July 2015 appointed the Independent Persons for a four year period with their period of office ending in May 2019 and delegated the making of future appointments to the Committee.

A local arrangement with a number of neighbouring councils had allowed for joint appointments of Independent Persons to be made in the form of a pool to call upon as required.

Following joint recruitment activity four existing Independent Persons had confirmed their wish to continue and three new applications were received with those candidates being interviewed by a panel of Monitoring Officers who recommended them for appointment to the participating Councils. The candidates’ CVs were provided in the Exempt part of the Committee’s agenda.

RESOLVED that the following be appointed as Independent Persons for a four-year term of office May 2019 - 2023:

·         Vivienne Cameron

·         Bill Donnelly

·         Paul Eaves

·         Liz Lawrence

·         Roger Pett

·         Bernard Quoroll

·         John Smith

Reason for decision

To enable the Council to comply with its obligations under Section 28 (7) of the Localism Act 2011.

The Council received 18 Recommendations arising from the Executive’s meeting on 18 March 2019.

These had been set out in the report presented under Minute 114/216-217 (Treasury Management Strategy 2019/20), Minute 117/220-224 (Governance Task Group – Constitution), and Minute 119/225-226 (Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2019/20).  

In relation to Recommendations from the Governance Task Group – Constitution (Minute 117/220-224), moved by Councillor J.E. Durrant and seconded by Councillor K. Foreman, the Council was informed that Councillor S.T. Walsh and Councillor D. Allcard had given notice of an Amendment to be moved at the meeting (which had been provided to Members in advance and was tabled at the meeting).

Councillor Walsh moved and Councillor Allcard seconded an Amendment that proposed Recommendations (v) and (vi), sub items (a) and (b), of the Executive meeting dated 18 March 2019 (Minute 117/220-224) be omitted and the proposed changes to the Constitution that flowed from these proposals not be made.

Upon being put to the Council the Amendment was carried and formed the substantive proposal which was adopted by Council accordingly.

The Council therefore determined each of the Recommendations from the Executive as set out below.

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the Recommendation of the Executive set out under Minute 114/216-217 (Treasury Management Strategy 2019/20) be adopted;

(ii)          That Recommendations (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv) and (xvi), set out under Minute 117/220-224 (Governance Task Group – Constitution) be adopted;

(iii)         That recommendations (v) and (vi.a)/(vi.b) set out under Minute 117/220-224 (Governance Task Group – Constitution), concerning the role of Ward Members at Planning Committee, be not adopted and the proposed changes to the Constitution that flowed from these proposals not be made. 

(iv)         That the Recommendation of the Executive set out under Minute 119/225-226 (Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2019/20) be adopted.

The Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018 provides discretion for the council to increase Council Tax by up to 100% for long term empty properties. The Council intends to adopt this policy and implement from April 2020.

RECOMMENDED that:

(i)            The Council agree that from 1 April 2020 homes that have been empty and substantially unfurnished for more than two years and less than five years be charged a Council Tax long term empty premium equivalent to 100% of the Council Tax in addition to their current Council Tax.

(ii)          The Council agree that from 1 April 2020, homes that have been empty and substantially unfurnished for five years and more be charged a Council Tax long term empty premium equivalent to 200% of the Council Tax.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The existing Street Naming and Numbering Policy (dated October 2016) be revoked.

(ii)          The revised Street Naming and Numbering Policy, set out in Annex 1 to the report presented, be adopted.

(iii)         The delegation, set out in the Council’s Constitution under Part 3b: Officer Scheme of Delegation (paragraphs 8.13, 8.14 and 8.15), with reference to street naming and numbering be reaffirmed to the relevant Head of Service.

The report introduces an updated Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) which sets out how the Council will involve residents and stakeholders in the planning process. The report seeks approval to adopt the updated SCI, to replace the version previously adopted in 2014, in order to comply with the Council's statutory duties.

RESOLVED that the revised Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), set out in Annex 1 of the report presented, be adopted and take effect immediately.

RESOLVED that, subject to replacing the word “Sunday” with “Saturday” in the fifth bullet point of Minute 66 (Mayor’s Announcements), the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 13 December 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed.