11/12/2008 - Council - Agenda

TO: EVERY MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR & MAIDENHEAD

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED TO ATTEND the Meeting of the Council of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead to be held in the Council Chamber at the Guildhall, Windsor, on Thursday 11 December 2008 at 7.30 pm for the purpose of transacting the business specified in the Agenda set out hereunder.

A G E N D A

PART I

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To receive any apologies for absence.

2. COUNCIL MINUTES

To receive the minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 23 September 2008.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

4. MAYOR'S COMMUNICATIONS (21Kb PDF)- To receive such communications as the Mayor may desire to place before the Council

5. PUBLIC QUESTIONS - Mr Ewan Larcombe of Lawn Close, Datchet will ask the following questions of Councillor Rayner, the Lead Member for Highways and Streetcare:

a) "The £110m Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme was justified by a local reduction in the probability of flooding. The newly released Thames Catchment Flood Management Plan (July 2008) now reveals that Windsor and Maidenhead (i.e. Area 3) is now covered by policy option 3. What does policy option 3 say?"

b) "The new Floods and Water Bill (as a result of 2007 Summer flooding and to the Pitt and EFRA reports) is due out for consultation in April 2009. How will RBWM be formulating the response to this important consultation?

6. PETITIONS - To receive any petitions presented by Members on behalf of registered electors for the Borough under Rule A.10. Councillors Mrs Napier, Saunders and Stretton have given notice of petitions.

7. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION - To consider a report (28Kb PDF) on proposed amendments to the Council's Constitution. Appendix A (14Kb PDF): Appendix B (17Kb PDF); Appendix C (14Kb PDF); Appendix D (12Kb PDF)

8. CONSIDERATION OF AMALGAMATION OF HACKNEY CARRIAGE ZONES FOR THE ROYAL BOROUGH - To consider a report (20Kb PDF) on amalgamating the three current Hackney Cariage zones. Appendix to Report (38Kb PDF)

9. MEMBERS' QUESTIONS - To receive Questions submitted under Rule 11.2

a) Question submitted by Councillor Mrs Proctor to Councillor Dudley, Lead Member for Adult and Community Services:

Has any thought been given to the impact of the recession on homelessness in the Royal Borough, and whether the Housing Policy Unit has sufficient resources to cope with the extra demand for assistance?

b) Question submitted by Councillor Saunders to Councillor Hilton, Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Finance:

Can the Lead Member for Finance inform me of what steps have been taken to ensure that this Council does not invest in banks in low credit ratings?

c) Question submitted by Councillor Mrs Bateson to Councillor Mrs Knight, Lead Member for Planning and Development:

Do you have any secret plans to build on greenbelt land anywhere in the Borough?

d) Question submitted by Councillor Muir to Councillor Bicknell, Chief Whip:

Have you looked into the viability of the proposal made by the Liberal Democrat Group at their National Party Conference to sack all senior Council officers and force them to reapply for their jobs?

10. MOTIONS ON NOTICE - To consider the following Motions submitted under Rule A12

i) by Councillor Baskerville:

Billions of Britain's honey bees have been mysteriously wiped out. This Council supports the call by the British Beekeepers Association and others for more research to establish the cause. The Council therefore resolves to write to the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs urging increased funding for this.

ii) by Councillor Mrs Newbound

The importance of smoke detectors has been promoted quite successfully. This Council resolves to aim to achieve a similar level of public awareness on measures to detect carbon monoxide.

iii) by Councillor Meadowcroft

That this Council believes in the principal of involving local residents in important decisions which affect all our lives; deplores the misrepresentation of the consultation into a multi-storey car park on Alexandra Gardens and the attempts that have been made to imply predetermination by some Councillors; and requests that the Cabinet undertake publicity to ensure that the facts of the case are brought to the attention of concerned residents.

iv) by Councillor J Evans

This Council notes the recent concerns about child protection, maintains every confidence in existing systems in the Royal Borough but believes that now is an appropriate occasion to examine whether we can improve our practices. Accordingly our Council requests that the Lead Member for Children's Services conduct a review of borough practices in association with the Opposition Spokesperson.

v) by Councillor Walters

This Council welcomes the Conservative Party's proposals to scrap European Union imposed and wasteful Regional Planning as well as the unelected Regional Assemblies, returning their powers to elected local councils.

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