(1) TO APPOINT a member who will be recognised as the Leader of the Council.
(2) TO NOTE the appointment of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet members, and their portfolios. This will be circulated at the meeting.
Minutes:
(1) LEADER.
Councillor Dodd nominated Councillor Sanderson, seconded by Councillor J. Watson. There were no other nominations.
A member queried whether there could be a debate on this matter and was advised that this was not usual.
Councillor Dickinson asked why members were not being given the opportunity to explain why they were voting in a particular way. Members were advised by the Deputy Monitoring Officer that the Council rules of procedure allowed for debate to ensue following the proposing and seconding of a motion.
Councillor Jackson commented that the rules of procedure also allowed a member to close the debate and move straight to the vote. He proposed this, which was seconded by Councillor Castle. Members supported this by a majority vote.
A named vote was called for on the motion, which was supported by the required number of members. The votes were cast as follows:-
FOR: 39 as follows:
|
Bawn, D.L. |
Mather, M.G. |
|
Beynon, J. |
Morphet, N.J. |
|
Carr, D. |
Oliver, N. |
|
Castle, G. |
Pattison, W. |
|
Cessford, T. |
Ploszaj, W. |
|
Daley, W. |
Reid, J. |
|
Dodd, R.R. |
Renner-Thompson, G. |
|
Dunbar, C. |
Riddle, J.R. |
|
Ezhilchelvan, P. |
Sanderson, H.G.H. |
|
Ferguson, D. |
Scott, P. |
|
Flux, B. |
Seymour, C. |
|
Hardy, C. |
Sharp, A. |
|
Homer, C.R. |
Stewart, G. |
|
Horncastle, C.W. |
Swinbank, M. |
|
Humphrey, C. |
Swinburn, M. |
|
Hunter, E.I. |
Thorne, T.N. |
|
Hutchinson, J.I. |
Towns, D. |
|
Jackson, P.A. |
Watson, J. |
|
Jones, V. |
Wearmouth, R. |
|
Lee, S. |
|
AGAINST: 24 as follows:
|
Ball, C. |
Murphy, M. |
|
Bowman, L. |
Nisbet, K. |
|
Bridgett, S.C. |
Parry, K. |
|
Cartie, E. |
Purvis, M. |
|
Clark, T. |
Richardson, M. |
|
Dickinson, S. |
Scott, A. |
|
Dunn, L. |
Simpson, E. |
|
Foster, J. |
Taylor, C. |
|
Gallacher, B. |
Waddell, H. |
|
Grimshaw, L. |
Wallace, A. |
|
Hill, G. |
Watson, A. |
|
Lang, J.A. |
Wilczek, R. |
ABSTENTIONS: 2 as follows:
|
Dale, P.A.M. |
Kennedy, D. |
It was therefore RESOLVED that Councillor Sanderson be elected Leader for a four year period.
(2) DEPUTY LEADER AND PORTFOLIO HOLDERS
The Leader announced his Cabinet Members as follows:-
Deputy Leader and Corporate Resources Richard Wearmouth
Adults Wellbeing Wendy Pattison
Community Services Colin Horncastle
Business Wojciech Ploszaj
Children and Young People Guy Renner Thompson
Healthy Lives Jeff Watson
Local Services John Riddle
Three Deputy Cabinet Members had also been appointed:
Corporate Services Paul Scott
Adults Wellbeing Catherine Seymour
Community Services Christine Dunbar
He thanked previous Cabinet Members for their sterling service and all members who had supported him. He hoped all members could work together and was grateful to residents for allowing the Administration to continue with its programme of work. He welcomed all new members to the Council and asked them to contact him if they had any issues.
He was keen that long serving past members received some recognition of their service to the Council and announced that the possibility of granting honorary alderman status would be investigated.
He wanted to reintroduce regular visits to town and parish council meetings as soon as this was possible for Cabinet Members. These had been very helpful in the past.
There would continue to be interactive sessions for the public on issues such as the budget. There would also be a review of members’ allowances as this hadn’t been done since 2013 and there would be a review of the local area councils with the aim of having a refresh.
Finally, he had asked that recruitment begin for an independent Chair of the Audit Committee.