Agenda and minutes

The Mayor, Councillor Marilyn Westley, welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting of the Council, particularly the new Members, Councillor Paul Hennessy, Sarah Lawton, Kerry Lloyd, Jayne Rear, Paul Hesketh, Thomas de Freitas and Melissa Parlour and welcomed back Councillors Terry Devine and Nikki Hennessy.

The Mayor’s Chaplain for the evening, Venerable David Garnett, led Members and officers in prayer.

The Mayor thanked Venerable Garnett and presented him with a gift for being her Chaplain for the year.

There were no apologies for absence.

The Mayor paid tribute to David O'Toole, Damien Owen, Linda Gresty, Gordon Johnson, Adrian Owens, Kate Mitchell, Jane Thompson, Janice Monaghan and John Mee, who are no longer Members of the Council, following the local elections held on 4 May 2023, and thanked them for their service to the Council.

The Mayor advised that the election results were available to view on the Council's website.

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

There were no declarations of interests.

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday, 5 April 2023.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 5 April 2023, were received as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

(See attached Procedural Note.)

A.

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Marilyn Westley, thanked Council Members and staff, friends and family for their part in making her year of office so enjoyable and wished the incoming Mayor a successful year of office and invited nominations for the office of Mayor for the ensuing Municipal year 2023/24.

Councillor Maureen Nixon was nominated, which was moved and seconded.

Councillor Nixon accepted the nomination.

A vote was taken, which was CARRIED

Councillor Nixon indicated her acceptance of office.

RESOLVED:   That Councillor Maureen Nixon be elected as Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.

(Note, during this item, the new Mayor, Councillor Maureen Nixon:

1.     Was dressed in the Mayor's robes and invested in the Mayor's Chain and Badge of Office and made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office, following which she assumed the Chair.

2.     Expressed her thanks to the proposer and seconder, and to the Council for the honour conferred upon her, in electing her as Mayor, before presenting Councillor Marilyn Westley, the retiring Mayor, with her Past Mayor's engraved Shield.

3.   The outgoing Mayor presented the outgoing Mayoress, Doreen Stephenson, with flowers.

4.  The new Mayor, Councillor Maureen Nixon, presented the New Mayor's Consort, Mr Laughton Wilkinson, with the Mayoress' Chain and Badge of Office.)

B.       APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY MAYOR FOR THE ENSUING YEAR

The Mayor invited nominations for the appointment of Deputy Mayor.

Councillor Julian Finch was nominated, which was moved and seconded.

Councillor Finch accepted the nomination.

A vote was taken, which was CARRIED

Councillor Finch signified his acceptance of office.

RESOLVED:   That Councillor Julian Finch be appointed Deputy Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.

(Note, during this item, the new Deputy Mayor, Councillor Julian Finch:

1.     Made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office and assumed the Deputy Mayor's Chair.

2.     Thanked the Council for the honour of allowing him to serve as Deputy Mayor.

3.     Presented the Deputy Mayoress, Mrs Mary Finch, with some flowers and the Deputy Mayoress' Chain and Badge of Office.)

The New Mayor, Councillor Maureen Nixon announced:

1.     That her theme for her Mayoral Year would be "Bringing the Young and the Old Together".

2.     That her Chaplain for the year would be Father Godric Timney of St Anne's Church, Ormskirk.

3.     Civic Sunday would be held in September at St Anne's RC Church, Ormskirk.

4.     Fund raising activities would be for West Lancs ARK, Age UK (Ormskirk) and Skelmersdale Rainbows, Brownies & Guides and asked for the support of Members at the various fund raising events being held throughout the year.

To consider the report of the Chief Operating Officer.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Operating Officer, as contained on pages 5 to 8 of the Book of Reports, which sought to elect the Leader of the Council until the Annual Meeting in 2024, receive notification of the Leader's appointment of a Deputy Leader for the same term and Cabinet for the Municipal Year 2023/24 and to confirm the 'Proper Officer Provisions and Schemes of Delegation'.

The Mayor invited nominations for the appointment of Leader.

Councillor Yvonne Gagen was nominated, which was moved and seconded.

Councillor Gagen accepted the nomination.

A vote was taken, which was CARRIED.

Councillor Yvonne Gagen indicated her acceptance to the position as Leader.

A Motion to move recommendations 2.2 to 2.4 in the report was moved and seconded.

A copy of the Labour nominations had been circulated prior to the meeting.

RESOLVED:   A.    That Councillor Yvonne Gagen be elected as the Leader of the Council for a term of office expiring on the date of the Annual Meeting in 2024.

B.     That the Members appointed by the Leader as Deputy Leader for the same term of office, and the Members appointed by the Leader as Members of the Cabinet for 2023/24, with the Portfolios identified by the Leader, be noted as follows:

C.     That the ‘Proper Officer Provisions and Scheme of Delegation to Chief Officers’, insofar as they are Council functions be confirmed and insofar as they are Cabinet functions it be noted that the Leader has delegated these to the officers stated therein.

D.     That the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation to Cabinet members, as updated to reflect the Portfolios/Portfolio Holders now appointed, be noted.

The Council noted that Councillor David Westley had been appointed Leader of the Conservative Group and that Councillor David Whittington had been appointed as the Deputy Leader of the Group.  Details of the Shadow Cabinet and Spokesmen would be circulated after the meeting.

To consider the report of the Chief Operating Officer.

Consideration was given to the report of the Chief Operating Officer, as contained on pages 9 to 23 of the Book of Reports, which set out the appointment of Committees etc. and their terms of reference and allocation of seats thereon to the political groups for the Municipal Year 2023/24.

The political balance on Committees and the Labour nominations had been circulated prior to the meeting.

A Motion to approve recommendations 2.1 to 2.5 in the report was moved and seconded.

A vote was taken, which was CARRIED.

RESOLVED:  A.     That, for the period ending with the next Annual Meeting of the Council, or such lesser period should the political balance or allocation to political groups change during the year requiring a review under the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the Committees, Sub-Committees etc be appointed as detailed in the Labour Appendix circulated prior to the meeting and that the allocation of seats to the political groups be as indicated.

B.     That the representatives of the political groups on the Committees etc now appointed shall be as indicated on the circulated Labour Appendix (Constitution 4.1A) and the appointment of the Independent Persons & the 2 Parish Council Representatives on the Standards Committee, be as detailed in the Labour proposals appendix and any changes or vacancies be notified to the Legal & Democratic Services Manager in accordance with the wishes of the group.

C.     That the terms of reference for the Committees etc now appointed be agreed as set out in Constitution 4.1: Responsibility for Functions.

D.     That it be noted that the Leader has appointed Cabinet Working Groups as indicated on Appendix 1 to the report, with the terms of reference included in Constitution 4.1: Responsibility for Functions.

E.     That it be noted that the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Leader and Deputy Leader, will appoint representatives to the Outside Bodies listed in Constitution 4.1C Cabinet and Council Appointments to Outside Bodies.

To appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees as indicated in the Appendix to be circulated as part of Agenda Item 7.

(If there are more than two people nominated for any position to be filled and there is not a clear majority of votes in favour of one person, then the name of the person with the least number of votes will be taken off the list and a new vote taken. The process will continue until there is a majority of votes for one person.)

Nominations for the appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees for the ensuing year were submitted by the Labour Group as contained in the Labour Appendix 1 to the report, considered at agenda item 9, which were moved and seconded.

A further nomination for the appointment of the Chairman of Audit & Governance Committee, Councillor E Pope, from the Conservative Group, was moved and seconded.

An individual vote was taken on the appointment of the Chairman of Audit & Governance Committee, as it had received more than one nomination ie. Councillors Anderson and Pope.  At the request of a Member, the vote was recorded as follows:

Councillor Anderson:   Councillors Aldridge, Anderson, Burnside, Coughlan, Cummins, Devine, Dowling, Fennell, Fillis, Finch, Fowler, Furey, Gagen, N Hennessy, P Hennessy, Hogan, Lawson, Lloyd, Molloy, Nixon, Owen, Parlour, Patel, Pryce-Roberts, West and Yates  (TWENTY SIX)

Councillor Pope:         Councillors Bailey, Blundell, Daniels, Eccles, de Freitas, Gordon, Howard, Juckes, Marshall, Pope, Rear, D Westley, M Westley, Whittington and Witter  (FIFTEEN)

Abstentions:               Councillor Paul Hesketh (ONE)

Councillor Mark Anderson was appointed as Chairman of Audit & Governance Committee.

A vote was taken on the remaining appointments, which had only received one nomination, which was CARRIED.

RESOLVED:   That Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees for 2023/24 be appointed as follows:

A.     Executive Overview & Scrutiny Committee

Chairman: Councillor John Fillis

Vice Chairman: Councillor Terry Devine

B.     Corporate & Environment Overview & Scrutiny Committee

                                Chairman: Councillor Donna West

                                Vice Chairman: Councillor Paul Hogan

C.     Planning Committee

Chairman: Councillor Gaynar Owen

Vice Chairman: Councillor Andy Fowler

 D.    Licensing & Appeals Committee

Chairman: Councillor Nikki Hennessy

Vice-Chairman: Councillor Terry Devine

E.     Licensing & Gambling Committee

Chairman: Councillor Patricia Burnside

Vice-Chairman: Councillor Gaynar Owen

 F.    Standards Committee

        Chairman: Councillor Yvonne Gagen

        Vice Chairman: Councillor David Westley

G.    Investigating Committee

Chairman: Councillor Gaynar Owen

Vice-Chairman: Councillor Vicki Cummins

 H.   Chief Officers Committee

Chairman: Councillor Yvonne Gagen

Vice-Chairman: Councillor John Fillis

 I.    Audit & Governance Committee

Chairman: Councillor Mark Anderson

Vice Chairman: Councillor Mellissa Parlour

J.      Polling Districts & Polling Places Review Committee

Chairman: Councillor Gaynar Owen

Vice-Chairman: Councillor Gareth Dowling

 K.    Strategic Asset Purchasing Committee

Chairman: Councillor Rob Molly

Vice Chairman: Councillor Adam Yates