To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bond, Carole Da Costa, Wisdom Da Costa, Hill, Reynolds and Walters.

To receive any declarations of interest

None received

For details of the order of proceedings please see page 7

The Mayor, Councillor John Story, welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting and gave a brief résumé of his time in office.

Councillor Story began by saying a few words about Ukraine. In Ascot there was an amazing community leader called Lynda Yong, who had recently organised a very well attended welcome event for Ukrainian refugees. Councillor Story explained that he had not met a war refugee before; someone who was far from their home country, who had lost their home, who spoke no English, who was with their daughter but who had no idea where their husband or son was. He had been unsure what to say as Mayor. Through an interpreter he had said that first of all she could trust the borough and that she would be given all the support and friendship possible for as long as it was needed.

Councillor Story commented that he felt this was one of those occasions when words were inadequate. Obviously, what this lady, and all the others there that morning actually wanted, more than anything else in the world, was to be together again at home with their families. Unfortunately, there was nothing Councillor Story could have said which would give any comfort. Councillor Story explain that he wanted to raise the issue as there was a very large number of people in the borough doing a great deal for Ukraine: residents were offering their homes, lots of people and organisations were raising funds and council staff were also doing some fantastic things, including three who had come to Lynda Yong's welcome event (Dan Brookman, Jesal Dhokia and Joiy Chan-Meeson). There were not many opportunities for the Council to say thank you to those people for everything that was being done for Ukraine, and he therefore wanted to do so at the Annual meeting.

Councillor Story explained that the Mayor had a little team (comprising Alison Singleton, Andrew Scott, Mark Blackshaw and Ama Mitharo) who were an essential part of any Mayor's life. He thanked them, along with the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress, for the tremendous help and support they have given him over the past 17 months. He gave a special thank you to Alison Singleton for everything she had done including, willingly and enthusiastically, taking on the organisation of the borough's Garden in Bloom competition.

Councillor Story stated that he had enjoyed chairing full Council meetings and had greatly valued the advice and support he had received from Duncan Sharkey and Emma Duncan. He also thanked Karen Shepherd, not just for spending hours in the early days helping him understand the constitution, but also for arranging the virtual council meetings when covid infection rates were at their highest. With no one in the town hall, they were some of the most difficult meetings he had chaired, and Karen had ensured everyone was connected up and that he had had the officer support he needed. Looking back, he felt those virtual meetings had been a big success.

Councillor Story  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

For details of the order or proceedings please see page 7

In nominating Councillor Muir for the office of Deputy Mayor, Councillor Cannon stated that Gary was originally from Blackpool but had been educated at Henley College, before becoming the youngest ever Area Manager for the Association of Retailers of America. After that he spent a decade working in Saudi Arabia. He moved back from the Middle East in 1989. He had been elected to the Royal Borough since 2007, representing the residents of Datchet for 12 years and for 2019 the residents of Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury. Councillor Muir was heavily involved in the Royal British Legion and had been the Datchet Chairman for several years. He had worked tirelessly for numerous charities in his role as Deputy Mayor and was a prominent supporter of the Blue Acre Horse Charity at which he also worked with his partner Caron.

In seconding the motion, Councillor Johnson commented that despite the undoubted challenges of the last few years there had been one constant in the borough’s civic life: Councillor Gary Muir as Deputy Mayor. He had served with undoubted commitment and dedication since May 2019. Councillor Johnson was always impressed when he attended events with the Deputy Mayor’s warmth and personal style and tenacity in continuing to champion the charitable causes close to his heart. Throughout this time, Councillor Muir had been supported by Caron North. Caron had moved to Old Windsor in 1985 to study equestrian science and husbandry and had then formed the Blue Acre charity.  In addition, Caron worked with a number of community organisations helping disadvantaged people across the borough. Together they had the ability to connect with all sections of the community. In conjunction with Councillor Bateson, he believed there would be a very strong civic team in place.

It was moved by Councillor Cannon, seconded by Councillor Johnson, and:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Councillor Gary Muir be appointed Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead for the ensuing Municipal Year.

The Chief Executive declared Councillor Gary Muir duly appointed Deputy Mayor. Councillor Muir made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, witnessed by Councillors Cannon and Johnson.

In his speech of acceptance, Councillor Muir commented that he had really enjoyed working with the previous Mayor and looked forward to working with the new one. He explained that he undertook the role of Deputy Mayor to help residents and local charities. The Mayor’s team had provided excellent support to him in this respect.  It was his passion to publicise and raise money for charities during such difficult times, including the Royal British Legion and Blue Acre. He would continue with this passion during the Jubilee year. He also wanted to spend more time in his ward. He thanked everyone who had supported him.

Councillor Bateson then presented Councillor Muir and Caron North with their past Deputy Mayor's and past Deputy Mayoress’s badges.

To consider the above report

Members considered the political balance in accordance with the duty in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to review and determine the representation of the different political groups on bodies appointed by the council.

Councillor Johnson highlighted that the proposed changes to panel structure followed the Local Government Association Peer Review recommendation to reconfigure the Overview and Scrutiny Panels to increase the membership and improve the focus. The recommendation had been supported by Cabinet and subsequently discussed in detail by the Constitution Working Group. He highlighted the proposal to appoint a Councillor form the non-majority Group to Chair a vitally important committee: Councillor L. Jones on the Audit and Governance Committee.

Councillor Johnson also confirmed the executive arrangements for the municipal year:

Cabinet Transformation Sub Committee:

Councillors Carroll (Chairman), Haseler, Hilton, Johnson, McWilliams and Rayner.

Other Member appointments under Executive functions for noting:

LGA General Assembly Representatives: Councillors Johnson, Rayner, Carroll, Hilton

Desborough Development Partnership Board (Cala Homes) Member: Councillors Hilton, Johnson, Rayner, Stimson - appointed under the governance arrangements detailed in the Joint Venture agreement (‘Council representatives should have the suitable seniority, skill and expertise in the context of the role of the Project Board’)

Royal Borough Development Partnership Board (Countryside Properties) Council Representative: Councillors Hilton, Johnson, Coppinger, Rayner - appointed under the governance arrangements detailed in the Joint Venture agreement (‘Council representatives should have the suitable seniority, skill and expertise in the context of the role of the Project Board’)

Achieving for Children Stakeholder Ownership Board Council representatives – Councillors Johnson, Carroll and Hilton - appointed under the governance arrangements detailed in the Members/Inter Authority Agreement (Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and one other Member)

Optalis Ltd Non-Executive Director – Councillor Carroll - appointed under the governance arrangements detailed in the shareholders agreement (Cabinet Member for Adult Services)

It was proposed by Councillor Johnson, seconded by Councillor Rayner, and:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Full Councilnotes the report and:

i)           Notes the political balance of the council detailed in Table 1.

ii)         Approves the recommendation of the Constitution Working Group to amend the terms of reference for Overview and Scrutiny Panels as detailed in Appendix B and delegates authority to the Monitoring Officer to update the constitution appropriately.

iii)       Approves the membership of the committees, panels and forums for the Municipal Year as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85.