Agenda and minutes

It was proposed by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Paul Gleeson that Councillor Helen Staples, be elected Mayor of the Borough until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

Resolved:

That Councillor Helen Staples be elected Mayor of the Borough of Boston to hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

The Mayor Elect thereupon made the declaration required by the Local Government Act 1972, took the Chair, and acknowledged the honour that had been conferred on her.

(The Mayor in the Chair.)

It was proposed by the Mayor and seconded by Councillor Barrie Pierpoint that Councillor Suzanne Welberry, be elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

Resolved:

That Councillor Suzanne Welberry be elected Deputy Mayor of the Borough of Boston to hold office until the next Annual Meeting of the Council.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Peter Bedford, Neil Drayton and Lina Savickiene.

Councillor Claire Rylott moved a vote of thanks to Councillor David Brown as retiring Mayor. This was seconded by Councillor Barrie Pierpoint.

Resolved:

That the best of thanks of the Council be extended to Councillor David Brown for his term of office as Mayor, and to Mrs Linda Favell for supporting the Mayor in her role as Mayoress.

The Mayor presented a Borough Plaque to the retiring Mayor, Councillor David Brown, who then addressed the meeting.

The Mayor presented a Borough Plaque to Mrs Linda Favell.

Councillor David Brown moved a vote of thanks to Councillor Richard Austin as retiring Deputy Mayor. This was seconded by Councillor Andy Izard.

Resolved:

That the best of thanks of the Council be extended to Councillor Richard Austin BEM for his term of office as Deputy Mayor, and to Mrs Alison Austin for supporting the Deputy Mayor in her role as Deputy Mayoress.

The Retiring Mayor presented a Borough Plaque to Councillor Richard Austin BEM, who then addressed the meeting.

The Mayor expressed her appreciation to Lukasz Grabowski, the retiring Mayor’s Scout, for the manner in which he carried out his duties during the past year. The Retiring Mayor presented a Borough Plaque to Lukasz Grabowski.

The Mayor expressed her appreciation to Fraeya Holstead, the retiring Mayoress' Guide, for the manner in which she carried out her duties during the past year. The Retiring Mayor presented a Borough Plaque to Fraeya Holstead.

The Mayor handed the Sash of Office to the new Mayoress’ Guide, Olivia Mumby-Croft.

To agree the minutes of Full Council held on 4 March 2024 and Extraordinary Full Council held on 25 March 2024.

The Minutes of the Full Council meeting on 4 March 2024 and the Extraordinary Full Council Meeting held on 25 March 2024 were agreed and signed by the Mayor.

The Chief Executive confirmed there were no communications.

No declarations of interest were received.

(A report by John Medler, Monitoring Officer)

A.        Membership of Committees 2024/25

(Appendix A)

B.        Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees 2024/25

(Appendix B)

C.        Programme of Meetings 2024/25

(Appendix C)

D.        Cabinet Appointments and Portfolios

(Appendix D)

E.        Council Representation on Outside Bodies 2024/25

(Appendix E)

F.        Appointment of Independent Person and Independent Panel

The Assistant Director – Governance & Monitoring Officer introduced a report which set out recommendations for the Council to establish the democratic arrangements for the Council, as detailed below:

·         The proposed membership of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Working Groups for the Municipal Year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix A, of which hard copies had been tabled.

Attention was drawn to the replacement of Councillor Patsie Marson with Councillor Barrie Pierpoint on the Corporate and Community Committee, and to the appointment of Councillors Richard Austin BEM and Paul Gleeson as Substitute Members on the Planning Committee;

·         The nominations received for the positions of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels for the municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix B;

·         The Programme of Ordinary Council and Committee Meetings for the

municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix C;

·         The membership of the Cabinet and Portfolios for the municipal year

2024/25, submitted for information purposes only, as set out in Appendix D;

·         The appointments to the outside bodies for the municipal year 2024/25 as set out in Appendix E, of which hard copies had been tabled.

Attention was drawn to the replacement of Councillor David Mountain with Councillor Barrie Pierpoint on the Black Sluice Internal Drainage Board; and

·         The reappointment of the Council’s Independent Person and appointments to the Council’s Independent Panel.

The Assistant Director – Governance & Monitoring Officer thanked the Group Leaders: Councillors Anne Dorrian, Claire Rylott and Stephen Woodliffe for their support in the advising of appointments.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

Resolved:

1.    That the establishment of Committees, Sub-Committees, Panels and Working Groups for the municipal year 2024/25, including the allocation of seats to political groups and appointments (and substitutes), as set out in Appendix A as tabled, be approved; 

2.    That the appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees, Sub-Committees and Panels for the municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix B within the report, be approved;

3.    That the Programme of Ordinary Council and Committee Meetings for the municipal year 2024/2525, as set out in Appendix C within the report be approved; and that delegated authority be given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the relevant Chairman, to amend meeting dates or cancel meetings as and when required;

4.    That the membership of the Cabinet and Portfolios for the for the municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix D within the report, be noted;

5.    That the appointments to the Council’s outside bodies for the municipal year 2024/25, as set out in Appendix E as tabled, be approved; and

6.    That Alison Fairman be reappointed as Boston Borough Council’s Independent Personuntil the Council’s Annual Meeting in May 2025 and that Council Independent Panel be appointed as set out in section 7.4. within the report.

(A report by John Medler, Monitoring Officer)

The Assistant Director – Governance & Monitoring Officer introduced a report which sought recommendations in respect of the Council’s Independent Remuneration Panel.

Members noted that under the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003 the Council was required to establish and maintain an Independent Remuneration Panel to consider and make recommendations about the level of allowances payable to Members.

The Independent Remuneration Panel last reviewed the Members’ Allowances Scheme in 2022. Since that time one of the members had resigned and one of the panel member appointments had expired. The Council was therefore required to make new appointments to the Panel to enable a review of allowances to take place.

Temporary appointments were recommended for one year, until May 2025, from existing Independent Remuneration Panel members across the South and East Lincolnshire Council’s Partnership.Chris Penney and Nicci Marzec had served on South Holland District Council’s Remuneration Panel for a number of years and were therefore considered to be suitably qualified to serve on Boston’s Panel for the forthcoming year.

The report also recommended an annual allowance of £200 for Panel Members in order to reflect the role and work that they would undertake on behalf of the Council.

The Assistant Director – Governance & Monitoring Officer advised that subject to approval of the proposed appointments, it was proposed to convene a review of the panel in the near future with a view to conducting a review of allowances and make a recommendation to Full Council later in the financial year.

Councillor Woodliffe confirmed his support of the recommendations and encouraged the Panel to meet and make recommendations as soon as possible. He mentioned his concerns regarding the parity between the three Councils within the Partnership.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

Resolved:

1.    That Chris Penney and Nicci Marzec be temporarily appointed as members of the Independent Remuneration Panel to serve until the Annual Meeting of the Council in May 2025; and

2.    That an annual allowance of £200 for Panel Members be approved.

(A report by James Gilbert, Assistant Director – Corporate)

The Leader presented a report by the Assistant Director – Corporate which outlined the process for aligning the Workforce Terms and Conditions across the three Councils within the South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership.

Members noted that when the Partnership was formed the opportunity to align workforce Terms and Conditions across the three Councils had been identified.  This had also been identified as being important within the findings of the LGA Peer Review and the 2023 joint scrutiny.

The alignment of Terms and Conditions, as far as possible, was an identified action within the 2024/25 approved Partnership Alignment and Delivery Plan.

The Leader advised that the Unions and Workforce had been made aware the proposals being submitted to the three authorities’ Annual Council Meetings. She added that a phased approach would be carried out due to the complexity of the existing Terms and Conditions.

Councillor Stephen Woodliffe advised of his support of the proposals.

The recommendations were moved by Councillor Anne Dorrian and seconded by Councillor Dale Broughton.

Resolved:

1.    That delegated authority be given to the Head of Paid Service to

a.    review, determine phasing, and undertake consultation(s) on revised workforce Terms and Conditions of employment to seek greater alignment across the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, subject to financial thresholds; and

b.    to implement revised Terms and Conditions after each phase.

2.    That, following completion of the consultation(s), delegated authority be granted to the Head of Paid Service to revise HR policies as might be required to facilitate alignment.