Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

There were no apologies for absence received.

To confirm the Minutes of the Special Council Executive Committee Meeting held on 30 May 2019.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Special Council ExecutiveCommittee held on 30 May 2019 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive any declarations of interest

Councillor John Halsall declared a personal interest in Agenda Item 14 Appointment of Independent Remuneration Panel Members as one of the proposed Panel Members, Robert Nancarrow, was well known to him.  Councillor Halsall remained in the meeting during discussion of the item but did not vote on Mr Nancarrow’s appointment.

To answer any public questions

The Council welcomes questions from members of the public about the item included within this agenda.

Subject to meeting certain timescales, questions can relate to the item which is on the agenda for this meeting.  For full details of the procedure for submitting questions please contact the Democratic Services Section on the numbers given below or go to www.wokingham.gov.uk/publicquestions

There were no public questions received.

To answer any Member questions relating to the item included within this agenda

There were no Member questions received.

To consider a report relating to the appointment of an Independent Remuneration Panel.

RECOMMENDATION:  That the Special Council Executive Committee appoint:

1)     David Harwood and Angela Slade to the Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of 4 years, commencing on 29 November 2019;

2)     Diana Anderson, Robert Nancarrow and Ian Newlove to the Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of 3 years, commencing on 29 November 2019.

(Councillor John Halsall declared a personal interest in this item)

The Committee considered a report in relation to the appointment of members to the Independent Remuneration Panel which was responsible for carrying out reviews of the Members’ Allowances Scheme and subsequently making recommendations to Council.

Councillor Ferris stated that he was pleased that an Independent Remuneration Panel was being appointed and hoped that for continuity purposes they would remain in situ longer than previous panels.  He also felt that reviewing Members’ allowances every two years was the correct timeframe and hoped the review would be undertaken in an impartial way. 

It was noted that all the Panel Members had stated that they did not have an affiliation with any political party.  Following a query by Councillor Ferris it was clarified that for continuity purposes the Council had previously agreed that membership should be staggered and two Panel Members should be appointed for 4 years and the remaining Panel Members for 3 years. 

RESOLVED that:

1)        David Harwood and Angela Slade be appointed to the Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of 4 years, commencing on 29 November 2019;

2)        Diana Anderson, Robert Nancarrow and Ian Newlove to be appointed to the Independent Remuneration Panel for a period of 3 years, commencing on 29 November 2019.