The Assistant Director of Legal & Democratic Services submitted a report recommending that the Annual Council Meeting due to be held on 2 June 2020 was cancelled and setting out the alternative arrangements for making various appointments for the forthcoming year in the absence of the Annual Meeting.  The report had appended the recommended appointments to Committees, Sub-Committees, other Bodies and appointments to outside organisations; and proposed meetings calendars for 2020/21 which had been prepared to hold a reduced number of online meetings, running until the end of August, as well as a possible full schedule of meetings in anticipation that some of the Covid-19 restrictions would be lifted by September.

The report explained that Local Authorities had been given permission to cancel or postpone their Annual Meetings this year as prescribed by the Coronavirus Act and the subsequent Regulations, which were issued in April 2020.  A consequence of the proposed cancellation was that the election of the new Mayor would not be able to take place as planned. Instead the Committee was being asked to approve the appointment of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, until it was possible to confirm them at a future Council Meeting.  Additionally, the report requested approval for the appointment of the Leader and Deputy Leader; Lead Councillors; and Chairs of Committees and Sub-Committees.  Appendix A listed the proposed memberships of Committees; Sub-Committees; and other bodies as well as their Chairs and Vice-Chairs.  Appendix B listed the Council’s appointments to outside bodies.

The Committee was reminded that the Annual Council Meeting also considered, from time-to-time, changes to the Constitution; and Delegations, which included the Monitoring Officer’s ability to grant a general dispensation to members in certaincircumstances.  As a result of the current Covid-19 pandemic, it was intended that the Constitution and any other matters, some of which may not have been explicitly set out in the report, would remain unchanged until such time that the Council decided to review them.

The Chair, Councillor Brock, and Vice-Chair, Councillor Page, announced a few amendments to the recommended appointments, which had been included in the papers, as follows:

• Councillor Barnett-Ward would replace Councillor James on the Licensing Applications Committee;
• Councillor Edwards would replace Councillor McEwan as the Governor representative on the Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust;
• Councillor Brock would replace Councillor McEwan on the Royal Berkshire NHS Trust
• Councillor Stevens would replace Councillor Woodward on the University of Reading Court, as this appointment was linked to The Mayoralty;
• Councillor Page was the appointee to the Berkshire Local Transport Body and Bus Lane Adjudication Service Joint Committee and Councillor Debs Absolom should be recorded as his substitute (deputy) on those two bodies.

Resolved –

(1)      That, in accordance with Regulation 6(c) of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020, the Annual Council Meeting due to be held on 2 June 2020 be cancelled until such time as guidance on social distancing allowed;

(2)      That, in accordance with Standing Order 3, notice be given that the Leader of the Council shall petition the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service) to call an Extraordinary Council Meeting for the purpose of confirming the appointment of the Mayor, at the appropriate time;

(3)      That, subject to formal confirmation at an Extraordinary Council Meeting, Councillor David Stevens be appointed Mayor of this Borough and Councillor Rachel Eden be appointed Deputy Mayor for the 2020/21 Municipal Year;

(4)      That the appointments set out below be confirmed:

Leader of the Council – Councillor Jason Brock

Deputy Leader – Councillor Tony Page

Lead Councillors & Portfolios:

Adult Social Care – Councillor Tony Jones

Children – Councillor Liz Terry

Corporate & Consumer Services – Councillor Ellie Emberson

Culture, Heritage & Recreation – Councillor Karen Rowland

Education – Councillor Ashley Pearce

Health, Wellbeing & Sport – Councillor Graeme Hoskin

Housing – Councillor John Ennis

Neighbourhoods & Communities – Councillor Adele Barnett-Ward

Strategic Environment, Planning & Transport – Councillor Tony Page;

(5)      That Chairs and Vice-Chairs of Committees & Sub-Committees be as set out below:

(6)      That the appointments to Committees, Sub-Committees and other bodies be approved as set out in Appendix A to the report, as well as the appointments and arrangements in place for reduced membership online meetings of Policy Committee and Planning Applications Committee, also described in Appendix A, and subject to Councillor Barnett-Ward replacing Councillor James as a member of the Licensing Applications Committee;

(7)      That the appointments to outside organisations be approved as set out in Appendix B to the report, subject to the following changes:

·       Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust (Governor representative) – Councillor Edwards to replace Councillor McEwan;

·       Royal Berkshire NHS Trust – Councillor Brock to replace Councillor McEwan;

·       University of Reading Court – Councillor Stevens to replace Councillor Woodward;

·       Councillor Debs Absolom being formally recorded as Councillor Page’s substitute (deputy) on the Berkshire Local Transport Body and the Bus Lane Adjudication Service Joint Committee;

(8)      That the alternative calendars of meetings for 2020/21, which had been prepared either to hold a reduced number of online meetings or a full schedule of meetings in preparation for the lifting of restrictions in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, be approved as set out in Appendix C to the report.