Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R S Walkden and K Mills.

To elect a Chairman of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.

(a)        The Chairman will sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

(b)        The Chairman will address the Council.

(c)        The retiring Chairman (if applicable) will be presented with the past Chairman's badge.

(d)        The Retiring Chairman (if applicable) will address the Council.

The Vice-Chairman called for nominations for the position of Chairman of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.

It was moved by Councillor P M Beresford and duly seconded, that Councillor S R Nicholas be elected Chairman of the District Council.

On being put to the meeting it was

RESOLVED:    That Councillor S R Nicholas be elected Chairman of Dover District Council for the ensuing municipal year.

(Councillor S R Nicholas, who had not been present at the meeting prior to the vote being taken, entered the Council Chamber and, having made her declaration of acceptance of office, took the chair.)

To appoint a Vice-Chairman of the Council for the ensuing municipal year.  The Vice?Chairman will sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

The Chairman called for nominations for the position of Vice-Chairman for the ensuing Council year.

It was moved by Councillor C J Smith, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That Councillor P S Le Chevalier be appointed Vice?Chairman of the Dover District Council for the ensuing municipal year.

(Councillor P S Le Chevalier made his declaration of acceptance of office as Vice-Chairman of the Council.)

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the latter case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To confirm the attached Minutes of the meeting held on 6 March 2013.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 7 March 2013 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any announcements or communications from the Chairman and/or Head of Paid Service.

(a)          Election of Councillor P M Wallace

The Chairman welcomed Councillor P M Wallace to his first meeting of the Council following his success in the by-election held in the Maxton and Elms Vale Ward on 2 May 2013.

(b)          Sandwich Town Mayor

The Chairman congratulated Councillor B W Butcher on his election as the Mayor of Sandwich. 

(c)          Kent County Council Elections

The Chairman congratulated those members present who had been elected as Members of Kent County Council at the elections held on 2 May 2013.

(d)          Discovery Park Briefing

The Chairman advised that a briefing on the Discovery Park would be held on 3 June 2013 at noon and encouraged all Members to attend.

To receive any changes to the Members of the Cabinet and related portfolios.

The Leader of the Council advised that he had made no changes to the number of members of the Cabinet.  Two Portfolio titles had been amended as followed:

Previous Portfolio Title                             New Portfolio Title

Housing, Community and Youth               Housing, Children’s Services and Safeguarding, Youth and Community Safety

Skills, Training and External Relations     Skills, Training, Tourism and Culture

To note the composition of the Shadow Cabinet.  The Shadow Cabinet must directly reflect the composition of the Cabinet (in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules).

It was moved by Councillor M R Eddy, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That in accordance with the notice provided by the Leader of the Opposition Group, the Shadow Cabinet will comprise of the following for the ensuing municipal year:

(a)        Committees

            To appoint the following Committees as the Council considers appropriate to deal with matters which are neither reserved to the Council nor are executive functions:

            Dover Joint Transportation Board

            East Kent (Joint Arrangements) Committee

            Electoral Matters Committee

            General Purposes Committee

            Governance Committee

            Joint Health, Safety and Welfare Consultative Forum

            Joint Staff Consultative Forum

            Licensing Committee

            Planning Committee

            Regulatory Committee

            Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee

            Scrutiny (Policy and Performance) Committee

            Standards Committee

(b)        Review of Allocation of Seats to Political Groups

            To determine the allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.  The attached report of the Chief Executive and Director of Governance sets out the recommended allocation of seats to political groups.

(c)        Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen and Spokespersons of Committees

            To appoint the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Controlling Group Spokespersons and Deputy Controlling Group Spokespersons of the above Committees as appropriate. 

It was moved by Councillor P A Watkins, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That, having noted the allocation of seats calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Council Committees be constituted as indicated below for the ensuring municipal year and the Boards and Forums be constituted with the membership, Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Spokespersons as shown:

To approve a programme of ordinary meetings of the Council for the ensuing year.  The Council, at its meeting on 7 January 2013, provisionally approved the programme subject to ratification at this meeting

It was moved by Councillor P A Watkins, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That the programme of Council meetings for 2012/13 be approved.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Governance.

It was moved by Councillor P A Watkins, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That the following Members be appointed as the Council's representatives on outside bodies for the ensuing municipal year:

                         Association of Port Health Authorities – Councillor P G Heath

                         River Stour (Kent) Internal Drainage Board – Councillor C J Smith and Councillor M D Conolly

To consider the attached joint report of the Chairman of the Standards Committee and the Monitoring Officer.

The report was presented by Councillor B W Butcher in his capacity as Chairman of the Standards Committee.

It was moved by Councillor B W Butcher, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That the report be received and noted.

To consider the attached report of the Monitoring Officer.

The report was presented by Councillor G J Hood in his capacity as Chairman of the Scrutiny (Community and Regeneration) Committee. 

It was moved by Councillor G J Hood, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That the report be received and noted.

To consider the attached joint report of the Chairman of the Governance Committee and the Director of Governance.

The report was presented by Councillor T J Bartlett in his capacity as Chairman of the Governance Committee.

It was moved by Councillor T J Bartlett, duly seconded and

RESOLVED:    That the report be received and noted.