The Councillors will take their allotted seats.

The Mayor, accompanied by the Deputy Mayor, the Mayor’s Chaplain and the Chief Executive, will enter the Council Chamber.  The Mace will be placed in position by the Macebearer.  A Motion will then be proposed and seconded for the election of a Mayor for the ensuing Municipal Year.

All Councillors may vote on this motion.

The retiring Mayor will notify the Mayor Elect of her appointment and enquire whether she is willing to make the required declaration.

The declaration, which will be read by the Chief Executive, will be made and subscribed and the retiring Mayor will then invest the newly elected Mayor with the chain of office.

The new Mayor will then take the Chair and address the Council.

A vote of thanks to the retiring Mayor will then be moved and seconded.

The retiring Mayor, Councillor Lee-Parsons, presiding.

Moved by Councillor Lourie and seconded by Councillor True:

"That Councillor Celia Hodges be elected as Mayor for the 2009/10 Municipal Year or until her successor becomes entitled to act as Mayor."

Motion put to the vote and declared to be CARRIED.

Councillor Hodges signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office and was invested with the Chain of Office.

The Mayor, Councillor Hodges, presiding.

The retiring Mayor was invited to address the meeting and stated that she had experienced an extraordinary year, in which she had learnt a great deal, as Mayor. Richmond was a special borough which was strong in preserving its heritage and promoting art and culture.  She had displayed the work of local artists in the Mayor’s parlour during the year and these works were an interesting contrast with the older paintings on display.  Highlights of her year included the reception to honour members of the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps for their wartime service 1939-1945, meetings with Arts Richmond and Youth Groups, which allowed young people to display their talents through performance and to learn the values of respect for one another, the Great River Race, Richmond’s Chilean connection and the lively celebrations at the twinning event with Konstanz.  In particular she noted her tribute to the “Legends of Eel Pie Island” and its special place in the development of popular music.  She commended the work of her charities, the Alzheimer’s Society, Richmond Homes for Life and REACT.  She also gave her thanks to the Mayor’s Support Officer, Leanne Corneille, and the Mayor's Macebearers and Chauffeurs, John Brooker and John Carpenter.

On behalf of the Council, the Leader thanked the retiring Mayor for her work and energy in the role as she had attended in excess of 600 events during the year.  He also thanked the retiring Deputy Mayor.  The Leader of the Opposition also joined the thanks to the retiring Mayor for her leadership in the chamber and in the borough.

The retiring Mayor was presented with a Mayoral Badge.

The Mayor announced that her consort would be Christopher Hodges.

The Mayor announced that the charities she would be supporting for the year would be SPEAR and The River Thames Boat Project.

The Mayor will appoint and invest the Deputy Mayor with the chain of office.

The Mayor appointed Councillor Khosa as Deputy Mayor.

The Deputy Mayor's Consort would be Jasbir Jaur Khosa.

The Mayor will announce the appointment of the Mayor’s Chaplain.

The Mayor announced that her Chaplain would be Reverend Cate Irvine.

It was confirmed that the Civic Service would be held on Sunday 24 May 2009 at 11.30 am at St Mary’s Church, Twickenham.

The Mayor reported the death of former councillor Barbara Alexander, who served as a member of the Council from 1990 to 2002.  The funeral was held on 12 May 2009.

As a mark of respect, Council stood in silence for one minute.

Members are asked to declare any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Council held on 21 April 2009 attached.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 April 2009 were taken as read and were approved as a correct record.

A motion will be proposed and seconded for the election of the Leader of the Council.

Motion moved by Councillor Knight and seconded by Councillor Williams:

"That Councillor Lourie be elected as Leader of the Council."

Motion put to the vote and declared to be CARRIED.

Attached

RESOLVED:

A.      That the Members as set out below be appointed to the Cabinet,

B.    That the Councillor appointments to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as notified by the Group Leaders and as set out below be agreed.

Co-ordination, Finance and Performance Commission – 10 Members of the Council (7 Liberal Democrat and 3 Conservative Members)

Children’s Services Overview & Scrutiny Committee – 9 Members of the Council (6 Liberal Democrat and 3 Conservative Members)

Environment and Sustainability Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 9 Members of the Council (6 Liberal Democrat and 3 Conservative Members)

Health, Housing and Social Care Overview & Scrutiny Committee – 9 Members of the Council (6 Liberal Democrat and 3 Conservative Members)

C.    That the Councillor appointments to the Standards Committee and Sub-Committees, as set out in the report and detailed below and as notified by the Group Leaders be agreed.

Standards Committee – 5 Members Of The Council (3 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives)

Standards Assessment Sub-Committee – 3 Members of the Standards Committee (2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative)

Standards Review Sub-Committee – 2 Other Members of the Standards Committee(1 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative)

Standards Hearing Sub-Committee

Members of Standards Committee

D.    That an Audit Committee, Planning Committee, Statutory Accounts Committee, Regulatory Committee, Licensing Sub-Committee, Appeals Sub-Committee, Pupil and Student Support Appeals Panel, Appointments Committee, Pension Fund Committee and Education Appeals Panel as detailed in paragraphs 3.2.9 to 3.2.14 of the report and detailed below, be appointed for the 2009/10 Municipal Year and the appointments as notified by the Group Leaders be agreed.

Audit Committee – 5 Members of the Council (3 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives)

Planning Committee – 20 Members (13 Liberal Democrat and 7 Conservatives) and 2 Substitutes from each Group

            Substitutes

Statutory Accounts Committee – 5 Members of the Council (3 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative and 1 Independent Conservative)

Regulatory Committee – 14 Members of the Council (9 Liberal Democrat and 4 Conservative and 1 Independent Conservative)

Pupil and Student Support Appeals Panel – 4 Members of the Council (3 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative)

Pension Fund Committee – 5 Members of the Council (3 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives)

Education Appeals Panel – Membership to be formulated in accordance with statutory guidance

Voluntary Members as detailed in paragraph 3.12.12 (a) of the report

E.     That the membership of each Licensing Sub-Committee be three Members drawn solely from the membership of the Regulatory Committee.

F.     That the full membership of the Council form the ‘pool’ for the Appeals Sub-Committee.

G.    That subject to the agreement of the Council to the report elsewhere on the agenda, an Investigating and Disciplinary Committee, Appeals Committee (Chief Officers) and Remuneration Committee be appointed for the Municipal Year 2009/10 and the appointments as notified by the Group Leaders and detailed below be agreed.

Investigating and Disciplinary Committee – 5 Members of the Council including at least 1 Cabinet Member (3 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives)

Appeals Committee (Chief Officers) – 5 Members of the Council including at least 1 Cabinet Member (3 Liberal Democrat and 2 Conservatives)

Remuneration Committee – 3 Members of the Council (2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Conservative)

H.    That the non-Executive Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs be appointed as indicated in paragraph 3.3.1 and detailed in the committee memberships shown above.

Attached

RESOLVED:

That the amendments to Part 3 Section 4 of the Constitution as set out in Appendix A be agreed.

Attached

Council requested that further consideration be given to meeting dates timetabled to occur during the political party conference season and the date for the December meeting of council.  Subject to this proviso, it was

RESOLVED:

That the programme of Council meetings for the 2009/10 Municipal Year be approved and the Calendar of Meetings attached at Appendix A be noted.

Attached

RESOLVED:

That

(i)                 An Investigating and Disciplinary Committee and an Appeals Committee be established, with terms of reference as set out in Appendix (1a and 1b)) to be included within Part 3 of the Constitution.

(ii)               In line with amendments to Chief Executives’ Terms and Conditions 2008 provide for a Remuneration Committee, with terms of reference as set out in Appendix (1c)

(iii)             That in the absence of specific national arrangements for the Council’s Statutory Officers (Chief Finance Officer and Monitoring Officer) and Directors, the provisions in (i) and (ii) above apply additionally to these posts.

(iv)             The proper officer required to provide advice and guidance for these committees be designated as the Corporate Head of Human Resources, who will assume the responsibilities outlined in Appendix (2)

Attached

RESOLVED:

That a de minimis level of £200,000 of significant expenditure or savings to the Local Authority be agreed as the financial criterion for a Key Decision, and that references to this criterion within the Constitution be amended to “A Key Decision is one which is likely to result in significant expenditure or savings in excess of £200,000.”

Attached

RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000, the Members’ Allowances Scheme for 2009/10 as set out in the Appendix to the report be agreed.  

To receive any announcements from the Mayor, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or the Head of Paid Service.

In view of their terms in office coming to an end, the Leader thanked Councillors Elengorn and Mumford for their work respectively as Cabinet Member for Environment and Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Overview and Scrutiny Committee