Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent. View directions
Contact: James Clapson
Media
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councilors Ara, Bailey, Coleman-Cooke, Day, Farrance, Green, Gregory, Paul Moore, Parsons, Potts and Towning. |
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting PDF 79 KB To approve the Minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 February 2020, copy attached. Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice Chairman and agreed, that the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 6 February 2020 be approved and signed by the Chairman. |
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Announcements To receive any announcements from the Chairman, Leader, Members of the Cabinet or Chief Executive in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.2 (iv). Minutes: Congratulations were offered to Councillor Rattigan for his recent election to Cliffsend and Pegwell Ward. |
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Declarations of Interest PDF 87 KB To receive any declarations of interest. Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest advice attached to this Agenda. If a Member declares an interest, they should complete the Declaration of Interest Form Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. The Monitoring Officer advised that there was a general dispensation available to all Members to allow consideration of agenda item 13, Council Tax Resolution 2020-21. |
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Petitions To receive petitions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 12. |
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Margate Clocktower Toilets Petition PDF 78 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Members noted the report.
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Questions from the press and public PDF 80 KB To receive questions received from the press or public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 13. Minutes: Ms Austin asked Councillor Duckworth the following question:
“TDC’s Corporate Statement commits it to working with communities to “foster shared responsibility and increase community engagement.” But limiting public and Councillors’ questions to 50 words reduces engagement, as it is difficult to frame useful questions within such limits. Will Council consider increasing the word limit for questions to 100?”
Councillor Duckworth responded with the following points: · It was good to challenge these sort of rules to see if they helped or hindered community engagement. · The Constitutional Review Working Party would review the matter, and Ms Austin was asked to send her arguments and evidence to Mr Howes so that he could bring it to the Working Party’s attention. |
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Questions from Members of the Council PDF 83 KB To receive questions from Members of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 14. Minutes: Councillor Roper asked Councillor Albon the following question:
“Has the Council gathered statistics on the number of incidences of fly tipping over the last five years?”
Councillor Albon responded that the following number of incidents had been reported to the Streetscene Enforcement department:
2015/16 - 1,617 2016/17 - 1,776 2017/18 - 1,940 2018/19 - 1,918
Councillor Roper followed up his question by asking if there was a reason for the rise in the number of incidents?
Councillor Albon responded that the biggest increase was between 2016/17 and 2017/18, there were a number of possible reasons for this increase, such as an increase in the use of unlicensed carriers, or changes to Kent County Council Waste and Recycling Centre charges. Council officers responded very quickly to clear a site once it was reported. |
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Notice of Motion To receive any Notices of Motion from Members of Council in accordance with the Council Procedure Rule 3. Minutes: There were no notices of motions.
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To receive a report from the Leader of the Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 2.4.
Minutes: During his report the Leader covered the following areas:
Councillor Game as Leader of the Conservative Party responded with the following points:
Councillor Reverend Piper as leader of the Thanet Independents Party made the following points:
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Report of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel PDF 96 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: CouncillorBayford, the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel, presented the report and the following points were noted: · The Panel met on 20 February and received a report on the future of the Council housing stock presented Cllr Whitehead. It was recommended that Members view the minutes once they were published as a lot of areas were explored. · The Panel agreed that a Member/Officer panel be set up to review the performance targets that made up the quarterly performance report. · The panel requested that the Empty Properties Action Plan be presented to the Panel when it was ready. · There would be a workshop open to all Members, to identify topics for scrutiny review.
Members noted the report.
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Appointment of Independent Members of the Standards Committee and Independent Person PDF 75 KB Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the recommendations detailed in the report, namely that:
1. Mr Dennis James should be appointed as Thanet District Council’s Independent Person for a new four term from the Annual Council meeting in May 2020.
2. Ms Causier should be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee for a one year term with immediate effect.
3. Mr Tucker should be appointed as an Independent Member of the Standards Committee with immediate effect. In addition he should also be initially appointed as Thanet District Council’s Vice Chairman of the Standards Committee until the Council’s Annual meeting on 14th May, where he should then be appointed as the Chairman of the Standards Committee for a new four year term.
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The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism PDF 103 KB Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the recommendations detailed in the report, namely that:
“This Council welcomes the cross-party support within the Council for combating antisemitism in all its manifestations. This Council hereby adopts the following definition of antisemitism as set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and pledges to combat this pernicious form of racism.
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
In addition the council agrees to the inclusion of the IHRA definition and working examples within the Council’s constitution and codes of conduct for Members and Officers.”
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Council Tax Resolution 2020-21 PDF 125 KB Minutes: It was noted that in accordance with council procedure rule 17.6, a recorded vote would be taken on the motion or any amendments and substantive motions.
It was proposed by Councillor Yates and seconded by Councillor Campbell that the recommendations set out in the report be agreed, namely:
1. That Members approve the Thanet District Council element of Council Tax charges as set out below for the listed property bands:
2. That Members approve the determinations at Section 1 of this report.
The Monitoring Officer conducted a recorded vote on the motion as follows:
43 Members voted in favour the motion: Councillors Albon, Ashbee, Bambridge, J Bayford, R Bayford, Boyd, Braidwood, Campbell, Crittenden, Currie, Dennis, Dexter, Duckworth, Everitt, Fellows, Game, Garner, Hart, Hopkinson, Huxley, Keen, Kup, Pat Moore, Ovenden, L Piper, S Piper, Pugh, Rattigan, Rawf, Rogers, Roper, Rusiecki, D Saunders, M Saunders, Savage, Scobie, Scott, Shrubb, Taylor, Tomlinson, Whitehead, Wright, Yates.
No Members voted against the motion:
One Member abstained from voting on the motion: Councillor Wing.
The motion was carried.
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Changes to Committees, Panels and Boards 2019/20 PDF 89 KB Additional documents: Minutes: It was proposed by the Chairman, Seconded by the Vice-Chairman and Members agreed the proportionality between groups for committees, panels and boards for the remainder of the 2019/20 municipal year as shown at table 2 of the report.
NOMINATION OF MEMBERS TO SERVE ON COMMITTEES
Council noted the following changes the nominations to committees for the remainder of the 2019-2020 year:
Planning Committee Planning Committee (pool of substitute Members)
Licensing Board
Overview & Scrutiny Panel
Governance and Audit Committee
Governance and Audit Committee (Pool of Substitute Members)
General Purposes Committee
General Purposes - (Pool of Substitute Members)
Constitutional Review Working Party NOTE: *drawn from the Independent Members of the Standards Committee
Joint Transport Board
East Kent Services Committee
Standards Appointments Working Party
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