Agenda and minutes

The Vice-Chair of the Council pro tem invited the Monitoring Officer to request nominations for the Chair of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022 - 2023.

 

A nomination was received in respect of Councillor J Hobson.

 

ORDERED that Councillor J Hobson be elected as the Chair of the Council for the Borough of Middlesbrough to hold office for the Municipal Year 2022 - 2023 pro tem.

 

The newly elected Chair proceeded to Chair the meeting for the remainder of the agenda items.

 

The Chair of the Council invited nominations for the Vice-Chair of the Council for the Municipal Year 2022 - 2023.

 

Nominations were received in respect of Councillor Bell and Councillor Uddin.

 

On a vote being taken, Councillor Bell received 24 votes and Councillor Uddin received 20 votes.

 

ORDERED that Councillor Bell be elected as Vice-Chair of the Council for the Borough of Middlesbrough to hold office for the Municipal Year 2022 - 2023 pro tem.

Apologies for Absence were received from Councillor McCabe and Councillor Rathmell.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Council meeting held on 30 March 2022 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

 

To receive and consider any communications from the Chair, Mayor, Executive Members or Chief Executive (if any).

 

The Chair announced with great sadness, the death of John Robert Foster, former Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Council and Freeman of the Borough.

 

Mr Foster was Chief Executive of Middlesbrough from 1973 to 1995. He was made a Freeman of the Borough of Middlesbrough in 1996, and he also served as a former Deputy Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. Mr Foster also received an OBE in 1986.

 

The Chair invited all those present at the meeting to join him in a minutes’ silence in memory of John Foster.

The Monitoring Officer presented a report in respect of Political Balance Allocation of Places for the Municipal year of 2022/2023, the purpose of which was to recommend the allocation of places on Committees and Sub-Committees for 2022/2023 in accordance with the political balance of the Council.

 

ORDERED as follows:

 

1.   That the allocation of seats on committees that were subject to the rules relating to political balance be approved as follows:

 

Name of Group/Unallocated	No. of Seats
Conservative	11
Labour	75
Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association (MICA)	38
Middlesbrough Independent Group (MIG)	34
Unallocated/Vacancy	15

 

2. That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to fill the unallocated seats as indicated in paragraph 15 of the report, and to make any necessary further adjustments to remove or replace members where directed by the relevant group or member.

 

3. That any committee established prior to the next review be appointed on the basis of the places shown in Table 3 attached to the report.

As required by the Council's Constitution, a report was submitted setting out membership of the Executive appointed by the Mayor, included at Appendix B of the report. Details of the Executive Scheme of Delegation, were also included at Appendix A of the report, delegating responsibility for certain functions to the Executive, Individual Executive Members, Executive Sub-Committees, joint arrangements and, where appropriate, officers of the Council.

 

The Mayor advised that there was an error within the Executive Scheme of Delegation that had been circulated with the agenda papers. The error was on page 39 of the AGM Reports Pack with regard to the wording within Cllr Grainge’s Executive portfolio.

 

The wording in the Executive Scheme of Delegation that had been circulated stated that “the Executive Member will work in conjunction with the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Children’s Services and will also take responsibility for making sure that the council engages with young adults and all groups, encouraging increased levels of democratic engagement”.

 

This should instead have read,

 

“The Executive Member will work in conjunction with the Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Children’s Services and will also take responsibility for making sure that the council engages with relevant young people in an effort to prevent youth re-offending”.

 

ORDERED that the report, incorporating the above amendment in respect of the portfolio of Councillor Grainge, be noted.

Council received a report of the Monitoring Officer, regarding the establishment of committees, sub-committees, boards, panels and working groups for the 2022 - 2023 Municipal Year, or until amended by Council, (whichever was the latter)

 

Schedule A of the report submitted set out the Executive and Executive Sub-Committees and Advisory Bodies as agreed by the Mayor.

 

Schedules B and C identified the nominations received from the various groups and individual Councillors for places on the committees to be established by the Council in accordance with Sections 15 and 16 of the Local Government Act 1989 and Local Government (Political Groups and Committees) Regulations 1990.

 

The report included a list of current vacancies on various committees and nominations were put forward at the meeting by the individual Members' concerned.

 

The Monitoring Officer conducted a vote in respect of the role of Chair/Vice Chair and nominations for spare places, where applicable, in relation to the following committees:

 

Schedule B

 

Live Well – South Tees Health Board

2 Vacancies – open to all Members

1 nomination: Councillor D Davison

Councillor D Davison appointed

1 VACANCY

 

Schedule C

 

Chief Officer Appointments Committee

1 nomination for Chair: Councillor Mawston

Chair: Councillor Mawston appointed

 

Constitution and Members Development Committee

Chair: Councillor J Hobson appointed

Vice Chair: Councillor Bell appointed

 

Corporate Affairs and Audit Committee

2 nominations for Chair: Councillor Hubbard and Councillor Rooney

Following a vote Councillor Hubbard was appointed as Chair

 

1 nomination from Councillor Platt for Vice Chair

Vice Chair: Councillor Platt appointed

 

1 Vacancy – open to all Members

1 nomination: Councillor C Hobson

Councillor C Hobson appointed

 

Corporate Health and Safety Steering Group

1 nomination for Chair from Councillor Branson

Chair: Councillor Branson appointed                                                              

2 Vacancies: – open to all Members

1 nomination: Councillor J Hobson

Councillor J Hobson appointed

1 VACANCY

 

CORPORATE PARENTING BOARD

1 nomination for Chair from Councillor C Hobson

Chair: Councillor C Hobson appointed

 

1 nomination for Vice-Chair from Councillor Davison

Vice Chair: Councillor Davison appointed

 

Licensing Committee

2 nominations for Chair: Councillor Arundale and Councillor Cooke

Following a vote, Councillor Arundale was appointed as Chair

 

1 nomination for Vice-Chair from Councillor Polano

Vice Chair: Councillor Polano appointed

2 Vacancies – open to all Members

1 nomination: Councillor McCabe

Councillor McCabe appointed

1 VACANCY

 

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY BOARD

2 nominations for Chair: Councillor Saunders and Councillor Thompson

Following a vote, Councillor Saunders was appointed as Chair

 

1 nomination for Vice-Chair from Councillor Mawston

Vice Chair: Councillor Mawston appointed

 

Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel

4 Vacancies – open to all Members

4 nominations: Councillor Dean, Hellaoui, Higgins and Rooney

Councillor Dean, Councillor Hellaoui, Councillor Higgins, Councillor Rooney appointed.

 

Adult Social Care and Services Scrutiny Panel

1 nomination for Chair: Councillor Platt

Chair: Councillor Platt appointed

 

1 nomination for Vice-Chair: Councillor Wilson

Vice Chair: Councillor Wilson appointed

1 Vacancy: 1 nomination from Councillor Sands

Councillor Sands appointed

 

Children and Young Peoples’ Learning Scrutiny Panel

1 nomination for Chair: Councillor McCabe

Chair: Councillor McCabe appointed

 

1 nomination for Vice Chair:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/9

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report regarding the appointment of representatives to joint committees and outside bodies.

 

ORDERED as follows:-

 

1.     That appointments to the organisations shown in Appendix A (Council nominations), Appendix B (Council/Executive nominations) and Appendix C (Executive appointments of the report submitted, for the 2022/2023 Municipal Year be approved, until amended by Council/Executive, (whichever was the latter).

 

2.     That the following appointments for the 2022-20233 Municipal Year, nominated at the meeting, be approved and noted, until amended by Council/Executive (whichever was the latter).

 

Durham Darlington Teesside Hambleton Richmondshire and Whitby STP Joint Committee

           

Councillor Saunders appointed

 

   River Tees Port Health Authority

  

   Councillor Branson appointed

 

            South Tees Health Scrutiny Joint Committee

           

1 VACANCY

 

   Tees Valley Health Scrutiny Joint Committee

  

1 VACANCY

 

Tees Valley Combined Authority – Audit and Governance Committee

  

Councillor Hubbard appointed

 

   North East Regional Employers’ Organisation (NEREO)

  

1 VACANCY

 

   Appendix B – Council/Executive Appointments

 

Middlesbrough Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Management Committee

  

Councillor Hellaoui appointed

  

Middlesbrough Environment City Trust Limited

  

Councillor Arundale, Councillor Rostron appointed

  

Middlesbrough Voluntary Development Agency

  

Councillor Thompson appointed

 

  

Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

  

Councillor McCabe appointed

Verbal Report

The Mayor made reference to the following as part of his Annual Report:

 

Squirrels Club

 

·        Visit to the regions first Squirrels Club, which was a branch of the Scouts/Cubs/Beavers group aimed at children aged 3 to 5 year olds. It was officially launched in Cambridge Baptist Church and there was a long waiting list of children waiting to join. The Mayor praised the volunteers, however, the group needed more volunteers in order to meet the demand for places. The Mayor urged anyone who would be interested in volunteering to assist, to contact the group.

 

Africa Day

 

·        The Mayor stated that he had attended ‘Africa Day’ at Middlesbrough College. It was a North East focused event in relation to people of African origin, acknowledging their achievements and raising confidence and awareness. He stated that he had met a number of different people at the event, including a professional boxer, a preacher, a professional writer, several entrepreneurs and John Kabuye, who did incredible things in the Gresham area. The Mayor thanked the African people for their contribution to the town.

 

The Boro Angels

 

·        The Mayor advised that he had visited the Boro Angels who were based on Borough Road. The group worked on a Saturday night in the town, rescuing people by providing rehydration, assisting people to get taxis, and helping people on the streets.

 

The Mayor referred to the war in Ukraine and the impact on the people in this country.

 

The Mayor stated that on a positive note, that there was some good things going on in the town. There was investment in the town and more job vacancies than unemployed people. The opportunities for the town were growing. The Council was developing a leisure zone in Captain Cook square which would attract people to the town. Office buildings were being built and were being occupied. Social housing was being created and other housing was being built.

 

The Mayoral Development Corporation

 

The Mayor stated that the launch of the Mayoral Development Corporation had been announced in conjunction with the Tees Valley Combined Authority Mayor, Ben Houchen. Middlesbrough would be able to tap in to any investment and funding realised through the Development Corporation and the Government.

 

The Mayor referred to the global down turn in people’s finances and he stated that this would get worse in October and in his view the Government should impose a windfall tax on the rich companies and distribute to those who needed it most.

 

The Mayor stated that if anybody was struggling, they should get in touch with their councillor or the Council itself as nobody should go hungry.

 

The Chair invited members to comment on the Mayor’s report.

Councillor M Storey referred to the Mayor’s comments on the number of job vacancies in the town. He stated that although there appeared to be a large number of vacancies, many of them were so poorly paid or on zero hours contracts, many people had to do three jobs to achieve a decent income. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/11

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Director of Legal and Governance Services submitted a report, the purpose of which was to request that Council consider the recommendation proposed by the Independent Panel on Members' Remuneration outlined in paragraph's 27 of Appendix 1, in respect of Members Allowances, and adopt the proposed Members Scheme of Allowances for 2022/23 (Appendix 1).

 

The Director of Legal and Governance Services advised that the Council were required under The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 to publish a Members Scheme of Allowances on an annual basis and to have due regard to the recommendations of the Independent Panel on Members Remuneration.

 

The Independent Panel were informed that an annual review of the Members’ Scheme of Allowances was required for the municipal year 2022-2023. The annual review was a full and robust process that encompassed the amount of allowances paid and the mechanisms by which they were assigned.

 

All elected members had been invited to put written representations to the Panel. Two representations were received i.e. Group Leaders allowances should be paid to all group leaders and whether the role of Chair of Corporate Parenting Board should receive a Special Responsibility Allowance. 

 

Those representations were considered as part of the Panel’s deliberations and no changes were recommended at this time.

 

The Panel were keen to stress that in their deliberations they had carefully reviewed all the relevant information; respectfully considered all representations made to them; had been sensitive to wider economic factors and had acted independently of all other considerations.

 

The Panel recommended that the Scheme of Allowances should remain frozen and not reflect staff inflationary pay awards as agreed by Council in 2021.

 

A copy of the proposed Scheme of Allowances for 2022/23 was attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

 

Following a vote, it was ORDERED that:

 

1.      The Scheme of Allowances should remain frozen and not reflect staff inflationary pay awards as agreed by Council in 2021.

 

2.     Council adopt the proposed Members Scheme of Allowances for 2022/23 (Appendix 2).

 

 

 

The Chair advised that a number if queries had been received regarding the content of the report in relation to the Update to the Constitution.

 

The Chair suggested that the report be referred back to the Constitution and Members Development Committee for further discussion.

 

Following a vote, it was:

 

ORDERED that the report in relation to the Update to the Constitution be referred back to the Constitution and Members Development Committee for further discussion.

The Executive Member for Regeneration and the Director for Regeneration and Culture submitted a report, the purpose of which was to seek the adoption of the Stainton & Thornton Neighbourhood Plan 2021-2036, in accordance with the Neighbourhood Planning Regulations 2012, and relevant Council procedures. 

 

The Executive Member for Regeneration advised that the Stainton & Thornton Neighbourhood Plan had been subject to a referendum, with the majority of those eligible to vote within the parished area of Stainton & Thornton, voting in favour (with 96.4% in favour) of its adoption.  As a result of the successful outcome of the referendum, the Council was required to adopt the Plan, otherwise the Secretary of State could be asked to intervene.

 

Once adopted, the Neighbourhood Plan would form part of the Council’s Policy Framework, and be part of the Statutory Development Plan.  The Plan could then be used in the determination of future planning applications within the designated Stainton and Thornton Neighbourhood Area.

 

Following a vote, it was:

 

ORDERED that the Stainton & Thornton Neighbourhood Plan 2021-2036 be adopted.

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Director of Legal and Governance Services submitted a report, the purpose of which was to seek approval to changes to the Teesside Pension Board’s Terms of Reference to allow greater flexibility in the appointment of new Members. 

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Governance advised that from 1 April 2015 every Local Government Pension Scheme administering authority had to set up a Pension Board, whose role is to assist each administering authority in carrying out its duty to run their Pension Fund.

 

Pension Boards were not decision-making bodies, but instead performed more of a scrutiny-type role. They were in addition to, not instead of, Pension Fund Committees who typically continued to make all the decisions relating to the investment governance and administration of the Pension Fund.

 

Each Pension Board had to be set up with an equal number of employer and scheme member representatives, and administering authorities had to decide how many members would be on their Pension Board and how they would be recruited.

 

The Teesside Pension Board was established to have six members – three employer representatives and three scheme member representatives, further detailed as follows:

 

Scheme employer representatives

 

Two employer representatives appointed from the separate Councils of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees.

 

One employer representative chosen from all of the other scheme employers of the Teesside Pension Fund.

 

Scheme member representatives

 

Two scheme member representatives appointed from the recognised trade unions representing employees who are scheme members of the Fund.

 

One scheme member representative appointed from the pensioner members of the Fund.

 

Recent attempts to fill Board vacancies had mixed results. A pensioner representative was successfully appointed following a selection process after four applicants responded to an article placed in the newsletter sent to the Fund’s pensioners.  However despite emails to all relevant employers, followed by a further more targeted email to all the larger employers in that group, no volunteer had come forward to take up the “other scheme employers” place on the Board and a vacancy remained.

 

To avoid a situation where a Board place remained vacant for a long time, the Teesside Pension Board discussed and agreed a proposal to amend the Board’s Terms of Reference to provide additional flexibility in appointment situations where a vacancy had proved difficult to fill.  Any amendment to the Teesside Pension Board’s current Terms of Reference required Council approval.

 

Council was requested to agree the following change to the existing Terms of Reference:

 

“In circumstances where no suitable volunteers apply from a particular employer or membership group and a Board vacancy remains, the selection panel is able to appoint another suitable individual to that vacancy from outside that particular membership group, always ensuring that only scheme member representatives are appointed to a scheme member vacancy and only scheme employer representatives are appointed to a scheme employer vacancy.”

 

Following a vote, it was:

 

ORDERED that the proposed change, as outlined above, to the Teesside Pension Board’s Terms  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22/15