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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
1.1 The Director Corporate Services and Head of Democratic Services (DCS&HODS) invited nominations for the position of Presiding Member for the 2023/24 Municipal Year. 1.2 Councillor Rose Seabourne was nominated and seconded. There were no other nominations. 1.3 Council unanimously agreed that Councillor Rose Seabourne be appointed Presiding Member for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.
2.1 The Presiding Member invited nominations for the position of Deputy Presiding Member for the 2023/24 Municipal Year. 2.2 Councillor Stuart Ashley was nominated and seconded. There were no other nominations. 2.3 Council unanimously agreed that Councillor Stuart Ashley be appointed Deputy Presiding Member for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.
3.1 Apologies for absence were received from Councillors David Williams and Lucy Williams
4.1 The Monitoring Officer advised members that they all potentially had the same personal interest in appointing members to positions which would attract senior salaries, however, this interest was not prejudicial and the Code of Conduct enabled members to vote. 4.2 The Monitoring Officer also advised that some members wished to declare the following personal interests as their relatives were also sitting as councillors: · Councillors Catherine Bonera and Elizabeth Haynes are sisters; · Councillors Joanne Gauden and Karl Gauden are husband and wife; and · Councillors Gaynor James and Jon James are husband and wife. 4.3 All members declared the above personal interests accordingly. No other interests were declared.
5.1 The Presiding Member invited nominations for the Leader of the Council. 5.2 Councillor Anthony Hunt was nominated and seconded. 5.3 Councillor Richard Clark was nominated and seconded. Councillor Richard Clark did not accept the nomination. 5.3 Council agreed, with the majority in favour, that Councillor Anthony Hunt be elected Leader of the Council for the 2023/24 Municipal Year. 5.4 The Leader thanked members for their support and he looked forward to working with them during the year ahead on the challenges faced by the council and society around resourcing services whilst keeping bills down, dealing with the threat of climate change and sustainability, building on the work done to improve educational standards, caring for those in need – young and old, improving the local environment, and making Torfaen a better place to work building on the local economy to secure better jobs closer to home.
6.1 The Presiding Member invited nominations. 6.2 Councillor Richard Clark was nominated and seconded. There were no other nominations. 6.3 Council agreed, with the majority voting in favour, that Councillor Richard Clark be elected Deputy Leader of the Council for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.
7.1 The Leader nominated the following members to fulfil the executive portfolios for the year ahead. The nominations were seconded: Executive Portfolio: Councillor: Economy, Skills & Regeneration Jo Gauden Corporate Governance & Performance Peter Jones Resources Sue Morgan Children, Families & Education Richard Clark Communities Fiona Cross Adult Services & Housing David Daniels Environment Mandy Owen 7.2 Council agreed, with the majority voting in favour, that the members listed above be appointed to the executive portfolios for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.
8.1 The DCS&HODS outlined her report which informed members of the political balance requirements and sought agreement to the political balance for the municipal year ahead. 8.2 Council unanimously agreed the political balance and to adopt the calculations attached as Appendix A to the report, and to have regard to them when appointing members to committees later in the meeting.
9.1 The Leader nominated the following members to chair the committees listed below. The nominations were seconded: Committee: Councillor: Healthier Communities Overview & Scrutiny Janet Jones Prosperous Communities Overview & Scrutiny Mark Jones Cleaner Communities Overview & Scrutiny David Williams Education Overview & Scrutiny Rose Seabourne Cross-cutting Resources & Business Overview & Scrutiny Stuart Ashley Planning Committee Norma Parish Licensing Committee Steven Evans Pensions Committee Nathan Yeowell Democratic Services Committee Ron Burnett 9.2 Council unanimously agreed, that the members listed above be appointed to serve as chairs of the committees listed for 2023/24 Municipal Year.
10.1 The Presiding Member referred to the schedule which was circulated prior to the meeting and is attached as Appendix A to these minutes. 10.3 Council unanimously agreed; · To appoint members to serve on the committees and other bodies listed in this report in line with the agreed political balance and as shown in Appendix A.
11.1 The Presiding Member referred to the list of nominations which had been circulated prior to the meeting and is attached as Appendix B to these minutes. 11.2 Council unanimously agreed to nominate members to serve on outside bodies in accordance with the list circulated prior to the meeting.
12.1 The Leader nominated the following members to serve as Member Champions. The nominations were seconded: Member Champions Councillor: Age Friendly Champion Executive Member Adult Services & Housing Equalities & Diversity Champion Executive Member Corporate Governance & Performance Anti-Poverty Champion Leader of the Council Young Person’s Champion Executive Member for Children, Families & Education Members Training & Development Champion Chair of Democratic Services Armed Forces Champion Gaynor James Carers Champion David Daniels Sustainability Champion Stuart Ashley World Heritage Champion Janet Jones Motor Neuron Disease (MND) Giles Davies Dementia Champion Amanda Owen 12.2 Council unanimously agreed that the members nominated above serve as Member Champions for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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