Agenda and minutes

To elect the Mayor of the Council.

It was proposed by Councillor Smith, seconded by Councillor D Coleman and

Resolved:  That in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, Councillor Ian Coleman be elected Mayor of the Borough of Blackpool for the municipal year 2017/ 2018.

The Worshipful the Mayor to make a Declaration of Acceptance of the Corporate Office of Mayor.

Councillor I Coleman made a Declaration of Acceptance of the Office of Mayor according to the requirements of the law and thereupon took the Chair.

To appoint a Deputy Mayor.

It was proposed by the Mayor, Councillor I Coleman, seconded by Councillor Blackburn and

Resolved:  That in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, Councillor Gary Coleman be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Blackpool, for the municipal year 2017/ 2018.

The Deputy Mayor to make a Declaration of Acceptance of the Corporate Office of

Deputy Mayor.

Councillor Gary Coleman made a Declaration of Acceptance of the Office of Deputy Mayor according to the requirements of the law.

The Worshipful the Mayor to address the meeting.

The Mayor, Councillor I Coleman, addressed the meeting.

Councillors Blackburn and T Williams, followed by the Bürgermeisterin Monika Budke who will congratulate the new Mayor on behalf of the people of Bottrop.

Councillors Blackburn and T Williams congratulated Councillor I Coleman upon his election as Mayor.  Bürgermeisterin Monika Budkealso offered her congratulations on behalf of the people of Bottrop.  The Council also paid tribute to the late Councillor Tony Brown who had been due to take up the mayoralty this municipal year but had sadly died in October 2016.

To adopt a resolution of appreciation for the ex-Mayor (Councillor Kath Rowson).

It was proposed by Councillor Blackburn seconded by Councillor Cross and

Resolved:

‘It is with great pleasure, that Blackpool Council places on record its appreciation of the duties so very ably and enthusiastically undertaken by Councillor Kath Rowson, as Mayor of Blackpool for the mayoral year 2016 to 2017.  Her dedication for the town, together with her many years of service on the Council have stood her in good stead for her year as Blackpool’s civic head.

The Blackpool Mayoralty again maintained its status as a busy one this year with a variety of civic engagements.

Kath and Joan began the mayoral year with the Royal Garden Party in London and opened the World Dance Championships at the Winter Gardens.

Throughout the year, they attended many high profile local events such as the Pride Launch, Lytham Proms and the Manchester to Blackpool Car Run.  Kath and Joan also met with Simon Cowell, Ant and Dec and the Britain’s Got Talent crew, as well as supporting Graham Liver with his bed push for BBC Lancs Children in Need.

Blackpool still attracts a large number of conferences and the Mayor and Mayoress attended a variety of annual gatherings such as; National Pensioners Convention, UK Bus Driver of the Year Awards, WMCIU, Royal Pigeon Racing Association and USDAW Congress to name a few.

Many Ex-Service organisations still hold their Annual Reunions in Blackpool and Kath and Joan attended reunions of the Canal Zoners, the Royal Artillery Association, Aden Veterans, the Royal Air Force Association and the HMS Penelope Association.  National Armed Forces Week, during June, was again a great success attracting thousands of visitors to the town and the Mayor and Mayoress attended a variety of events during the week.

This March the Mayoralty was privileged to have a visit from our affiliated submarine HMS Triumph.  With 100 submariners in attendance the Mayor and Mayoress, together with Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress, were able to host a reception within a week where the submariners were visiting Blackpool for some much needed down time.

Town Twinning played a significant part in this mayoral year with a visit from Oberbuergmeister Bernd Tischler and his delegation for mayor making and the Blackpool Mayoralty travelled over to Bottrop for the June Stadtfest.

Kath took great pleasure in welcoming our new citizens to the town at the many very popular Citizenship Ceremonies that were held throughout the year. 

This year, the Mayor chose Trinity Hospice as her charity to benefit from the Mayor’s Charity Appeal.  Kath has had considerable support from various friends and groups with her charity events and, after a very successful Cocktail Evening at the Winter Gardens in April, Kath raised over £20,000 this year for Trinity Hospice.

A special reference has to be made to the Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress, Gary and Debbie, for their support and contribution to this mayoral year and to Rev Dr Simon Cox who acted as Mayor’s Chaplain and has assisted at Council Meetings and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The ex-Mayor (Councillor Kath Rowson) to reply to the resolution of appreciation.

Councillor Rowson replied to the resolution of appreciation.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 29 March 2017 as a true and correct record.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Council held on 29 March 2017 be signed by the Mayor as a correct record.

There were no announcements.

The Council will be asked to consider the appointment of its committees, in accordance with the Council's Constitution and the Local Government Act 1972.

The Council received the report on the appointment of committees for the 2017/ 2018 municipal year.  As part of the report, Members considered proposals to combine the scrutiny of the portfolio areas in relation to adult services and health,  in line with the Government’s health and social care integration agenda.

Members also considered the appointment of an appropriately qualified independent co-opted member to the Audit Committee to serve on the committee with non-voting rights.

With regard to other committees (namely the Appeals Committee, Planning Committee, Standards Committee, Chief Officers Employment Committee and Licensing) it was recommended for those to be reappointed according to their current powers and duties. 

A full schedule of committees was submitted to the Council based upon the political balance calculations and which contained the notified names of committee members, Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship nominees.   The Leader of the Council advised members of a proposed change to the nominations since publication of the list of nominees, in that Councillor D Coleman was proposed as Vice-Chairman of the Appeals Committee and Councillor Humphreys was proposed as Vice-Chairman of the Planning Committee.

Motion:  Councillor Blackburn proposed (and Councillor Cain seconded):

‘1.   To appoint the following Council committees, in line with the political balance calculations and adjustments at Appendix 11(a) and to agree that the powers and duties remain as set out in the Council’s Constitution:

·           Audit Committee (membership of ten and with a composition of six Labour, three Conservative plus one co-opted member)

·           Appeals Committee (membership of seven and with a composition of five Labour and two Conservative).

·           Planning Committee (membership of seven and with a composition of five Labour and two Conservative).

·           Standards Committee (membership of seven and with a composition of five Labour and two Conservative).

·           Chief Officers Employment Committee (membership of seven and with a composition of five Labour and two Conservative).

2.    That the Independent Remuneration Panel be asked to consider a suitable allowance for an independent member of the Audit Committee and report back to Council accordingly.

3.    That in relation to scrutiny:

(i)        To appoint the following committees, in line with the political balance calculations and adjustments at Appendix 11(a) and the revised responsibilities for functions set out in Appendix 11(b):

·      Tourism, Economy and Resources Scrutiny Committee (membership of nine and with a composition of six Labour and three Conservative)

·      Resilient Communities and Children’s Scrutiny Committee (membership of nine and with a composition of six Labour and three Conservative). 

·      Adults Social Care and Health Scrutiny Committee (membership of nine with a composition of six Labour and three Conservative)

(ii)      To appoint two diocesan co-opted representatives and the two governor co-opted representatives to the Resilient Communities and Children’s Scrutiny Committee

(iii)    To agree that all three scrutiny committees are assigned the power to deal with any ‘call-in’ requests initiated in line with Part 4 of the Council’s Constitution

(iv)    To agree that the Chairman position in all three scrutiny committees is filled by a majority group councillor and the Vice Chairman position  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

The purpose of the report to agree the scheme of delegation or such part of it as the

Constitution determines it is for the Council to agree.

The Council considered whether to make any changes to the scheme of delegation for which it had responsibility.

Motion:  Councillor Blackburn proposed (and Councillor Cain seconded): 

‘To agree that no changes are made to the scheme of delegation for which the Council has responsibility’.

Motion carried:  The motion was submitted to the Council and carried.

The Council will be asked to consider a programme of meetings for the remainder of

2017 and the calendar year 2018.

The Council considered a programme of meetings for the municipal year 2017/ 2018.

Motion:  Councillor Blackburn proposed (and Councillor Cain seconded):

’ To approve the calendar of meetings and the start times of meeting as set out in Appendix 13(a) to the Council report.’

Motion carried:  The motion was submitted to the Council and carried.