To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Paul Brimacombe, Judith Diment, David Evans, Charles Hollingsworth, Maureen Hunt, Lynne Jones, Philip Love, Colin Rayner, MJ Saunders, Shamsul Shelim, Claire Stretton, Leo Walters and Simon Werner.

To receive declarations of interests in respect of any item to be considered at this meeting

None received

For details of the Order of Proceedings please see page 7

The Mayor welcomed everyone to the Annual Meeting and gave a brief résumé of her year of office.

The Mayor commenced by stating that throughout her Mayoral year she had met many people at official Mayoral engagements, many of whom were present at the meeting that evening. She advised that the Mayor was the public face of the Council and was an ambassador for the Council both within and outside of the Borough and that nothing could prepare a person for being Mayor as every year was different.  However, both she and her Consort had enjoyed enormously the variety of functions that they had attended and had taken on the mantel that both her father and grandfather had done previously when they had been Mayor of the Royal Borough of Windsor.

The Mayoral year had commenced with the celebrations of the 800^th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta and had concluded with a number of events to celebrate Her Majesty’s 90^th birthday.  The Mayor advised that it had been an honour to be part of Her Majesty’s 90^th birthday celebrations, which the Queen had decided to hold in Windsor with residents and visitors to the Borough.

The Mayor commented upon the variety of events that she had attended, ranging from chairing Council meetings, cutting ribbons, attending dinners, giving talks, visiting schools, enjoying all kinds of performances and raising funds for her chosen charity Thames Hospice Care.   In particular, the Mayor commented upon having to play second fiddle to Basil Brush, with whom she had shared a dance at the switch on of the Christmas lights. 

Like Mayors before her Councillor Quick paid tribute to the large number of volunteers that give so much of their time to make a difference to the quality of lives of Borough residents.  She commented that the happiest people that she met appeared to be those people that gave up so much of their time to assist others.

The Mayor commented upon one of the final engagements that she had undertaken as Mayor, a memorial service for Sir Nicholas Winton.  The Mayor advised that Sir Nicholas Winton was a great inspiration to us all and had done so much in his life to assist others, but would be particularly remembered for organising the Kindertransport that saved hundreds of children prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. 

The Mayor paid tribute to the Civic Team for providing a first class service, which was the envy of neighbouring local authorities, and advised that she had enjoyed her Mayoral Year immensely and had many happy memories to reflect on as she readjusted to normal life.

In conclusion, The Mayor paid tribute to Councillor Luxton and Ian Luxton for being an able Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayors’ Consort and for the support they had given her throughout the year.

THE MAYOR INVITED NOMINATIONS FOR THE ELECTION OF THE MAYOR OF THE ROYAL BOROUGH FOR 2016/2017.

In nominating Councillor Sayonara Luxton, Councillor Quick  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.

For details of the Order of Proceedings please see page 7

In proposing Councillor John Lenton for the position of Deputy Mayor, Councillor Dudley advised that Councillor Lenton had been educated at Bournemouth School and the London School of Economics and had started work as an economist and management consultant before moving into financial consultancy, setting up Avocet Finance Limited which specialised in niche areas of Equipment Finance.

Councillor Dudley stated that Councillor Lenton had been active in politics since he joined the Young Conservatives and had been Chairman of the Birmingham Bow group, a member of various national policy committees and, after moving to Derby, chaired the Belper Conservative Association.

Since his election in 2007, Councillor Lenton had been Chairman of the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund, which was administered by the Royal Borough on behalf of the 6 Berkshire unitary authority councils and 150 other public sector bodies.  Under his stewardship the Fund had become recognised as a prestige fund, winning at least 7 national and international awards and had been the first Local Government Fund to arrange longevity insurance.

Councillor Lenton had been a valuable and dedicated member of the Council’s administration since 2007 and had been Vice Chairman of the Windsor Rural Development Control Panel for 3 years, a Director of Windsor Housing, a member of the Adult Services and Health Overview and Scrutiny Panel and a member of the Berkshire Fire Authority and Vice Chairman of two of its four sub-committees.  In particular, Councillor Lenton was Chairman of the Aviation Forum and had led the campaign against the proposed third Heathrow Runway option, which would devastate Wraysbury and nearby surrounding villages.

Councillor Dudley commented that Councillor Lenton had been married to Margaret for 47 years, had lived in Wraysbury for 27 years and had one son, Philip, who was a chartered accountant and Director at Deloitte and past President of the Windsor and St. George Rotary. Councillor Dudley explained that both Councillor Lenton and Margaret had worked tirelessly with the National Magna Carta 800 committee in developing local and national commemoration events.

Councillor Dudley stated that Councillor Lenton and Margaret were looking forward to supporting residents of all ages, businesses and charities in the Royal Borough.  In particular they would support the many invaluable voluntary organisations that help so many of the residents of our Royal Borough.  

In conclusion, Councillor Dudley explained that Councillor Lenton had previously been an excellent Deputy Mayor and no doubt would be again.  It therefore was a privilege and honour to propose Councillor John Lenton as Deputy Mayor of the Royal Borough for the ensuing Municipal Year.

In seconding the motion, Councillor Coppinger announced that Councillor Lenton would be ably assisted by his wife Margaret.  He advised that Margaret had been the principal of Slough Grammar School for 22 years and in that time the school had received two outstanding Ofsted inspections. 

Councillor Coppinger stated that Margaret was currently Chairman of Wraysbury Parish Council and was a member of the Horton and Wraysbury Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.  He advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

To elect a Leader of the council, on the nomination of the Group forming the Administration of the Council.

Members considered the election of a Leader of the Council on the nomination of the Group forming the Administration of the Council.

It was moved by Councillor Bicknell, seconded by Councillor Coppinger, and

RESOLVED UNANMOUSLY: That Councillor Simon Dudley be elected Leader of the Council for the remainder of the four year term of office.

The Leader briefly addressed the meeting and circulated details of his first Cabinet, which he explained comprised experienced Members together with new talented Members of the Council. He advised that he had supported many of the new Councillors when they were seeking election to the Council and was proud to support many of them to develop their political careers.

To consider the structure and appointment of Committees and Panels etc as the Council considers appropriate to deal with matters which are neither reserved to the Council nor part executive functions. Council is required also to appoint the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen to each body appointed under this item with the exception of the Appeals Panel, which shall select a Chairman from the Panel membership at the start of each Panel meeting for the duration of that meeting, and the Overview and Scrutiny Panels which shall elect Chairmen from their membership. (Report to follow)

Members considered the proposed committee/panel/forum membership for 2016/17.

RESOLVED: That:

a)    The membership of the Committees, Panels, Forums for the ensuing Municipal Year be approved as detailed in Table 1.

b) The Chairman and Vice-Chairman as indicated in Table 1 be appointed for the ensuing Municipal Year.

c)    Authority to amend/make further appointments on the nomination of the relevant Group Leader be delegated to the Democratic Services Manager.

d)      Authority to amend the Constitution as appropriate in light of amendments to the structure of Panels, Committees and Forums as detailed in Table 1 be delegated to the Monitoring Officer.

e)      The political balance of any Parish Development Control Sub Committee be suspended.