Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, councillors are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

There were no declaration of interest received.

To elect a Mayor for the Council year 2022 – 2023.

Before calling for nominations for the election of the new Mayor, the outgoing Deputy Mayor welcomed newly elected Councillors Jilly Hart, Hazel Hellier, Yasmin Khan, Steve Pritchard, Tahira Rana and Sharmila Sivarajah to the Council and took the opportunity to make a short speech to the Council about her (deputy) Mayoral year, thanking those that had supported her and summarising her tenure during the unusual time during the pandemic and acknowledging the sense of community spirit in Crawley. 

It was then proposed by Councillor Buck, seconded by Councillor Rana, that Councillor Hart be appointed as Mayor for the forthcoming year. A vote was taken.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Jilly Hart be elected as Mayor for the Council year 2022/2023.

The newly elected Mayor was invested with the Mayoral Chain, made the statutory Declaration of Acceptance of Office.

Councillor Lamb and Councillor Crow respectively, welcomed the new Mayor on behalf of the Council. In response to the congratulations, the new Mayor, Councillor Hart made a speech conveying the honour to be elected Mayor of Crawley. She also announced that her children, would be her Consorts for her year in office. She also announced that her Mayoral charity would be the Olive Tree Cancer Support Centre. 

Councillor Hart’s Speech

‘I would like to start by saying a big thank you to the residents of Ifield for putting their faith in me to serve as their Councillor.  I would also like to thank my family and friends and the Labour party and my fellow Councillors for their unfailing   support before, during and after the elections – you know who you are!

I first moved to Ifield when I was 18 months old and attended the local junior and secondary schools.  I have seen Crawley grow and evolve into the town that is today – a town I am very proud of.

My Consorts for the coming year will be my children, Dee and Roy.  My charity this year will be the Olive Tree Cancer Support Centre situated at Crawley Hospital.  They offer all kinds of support for people diagnosed with cancer, receiving treatment for cancer of recovering from cancer.

Once again thank you for putting your trust in me as I take on this honour of being the Mayor of Crawley for the next year.’

To elect a Deputy Mayor for the Council year 2022 - 2023.

It was proposed by Councillor K Khan, seconded by Councillor Nawaz, that Councillor Rana be appointed as Deputy Mayor, whilst Councillor Millar-Smith, seconded by Councillor Burrett, proposed the appointment of Councillor Mwagale.  Councillor Crow requested a recorded vote, which was seconded.

For Councillor Rana:

Ayling, Buck, Hart, Irvine, Jhans, Nawaz, Jones, K Khan, Y Khan, Lamb, Lunnon, Malik, C Mullins, S Mullins, Nawaz, Raja, Rana, Sivarajah, (18)

For Councillor Mwagale:

Ali, A Belben, T Belben, Bounds, B J Burgess, Burrett, Crow, Hellier, Jaggard, Lanzer, McCarthy, Millar-Smith, Morris, Mwagale, Peck, Pendlington, Piggott (17)

Abstentions: (0)

RESOLVED

That Councillor Tahira Rana be elected as Deputy Mayor for the Council year 2022/2023.

The newly elected Deputy Mayor was then invested with the badge of office and signed her declaration of office.

The Mayor presented the Councillor Malik and former Councillor Flack with commemorative badges to observe their time in office. Councillors Lamb, C Mullins, Crow and Irvine conveyed their thanks to Councillor Shahzad Malik and former Councillor Morgan Flack and words of appreciation on the outgoing Mayoralty. 

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 30 March 2022.

The minutes of the meeting of the Full Council held on 30 March 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Mayor.

To receive and consider any announcements or communications, including any additional Cabinet Member announcements.

Election of Youth Mayor And Youth Deputy Mayor 2022-23, had been deterred until the next Full Council meeting on the 20 July 2022. The reason for the delay was that the Youth Council were still in the process of confirming their nominations for the position of Youth Mayor and Youth Deputy Mayor.

Crawley’s City Bid –

Unfortunately the town’s bid for city status was unsuccessful. However, the bidding process had provided an opportunity to celebrate and promote Crawley as wonderful town and to rebuild its optimism and pride after experiencing the worst economic impacts of the pandemic. The city bid document was an excellent record of how Crawley New Town had developed over the last 75 years as it was an opportunity to celebrate the towns 75th Birthday this year.

Queen's Platinum Jubilee -

The forthcoming Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend provided lots of opportunities for events and street parties across Crawley for celebrating from 2-5 June 2022. These included amongst others: the Jubilee Beacon lighting in Tilgate, the Platinum Jubilee in the High Street, Big Jubilee Lunch and Crawley Armed Forces Day in Memorial Gardens and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee exhibition at the Crawley Museum.  Related to the platinum jubilee, an ancient Hawthorn Tree in Tilgate had been chosen as one of 70 trees nationally as part of the Platinum Jubilee Queen's Green Canopy.

To receive the Returning Officer’s report on the results of the Borough elections held on 5 May 2022, CEx/58.

The Council received the Returning Officer’s report, on the results of the 2022 Borough Election, held on 5 May 2022.

It was proposed by Councillor Lamb, seconded by Councillor K Khan, that Councillor Michael Jones be appointed as Leader of the Council.

RESOLVED

That Councillor Jones be elected as the Leader of the Council for a four-year term of office or until such time as their term of office (as a councillor) expires.  Councillor Jones then took the opportunity to thank Councillor Lamb as for his service as Leader and welcomed the forthcoming opportunities.

Following his election as Leader of the Council, Councillor Jones announced his Cabinet and the related Portfolio Holder responsibilities to the Council along with the Terms of Reference and Appointments for the Cabinet Advisory and Working Groups as set out in report LDS/180. It was noted that there were key changes to the Cabinet:

To consider the report of the Head of Legal, Governance and HR, LDS/180.

The Full Council considered the report of the Head of Legal, Democracy and HR, LDS/180 and LDS/180a, which detailed the review of the representation of different Political Groups on the Council and to determine the size and membership of the Council’s Committees, Outside Bodies and Cabinet’s Advisory and Working Groups and Member Development Executive Support Group for the municipal year 2022/2023 in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and associated Regulations. The report also detailed that the allocation of Chairs and Vice Chairs of those Committees. It was noted that the report contained a link to the latest version of the Constitution for Councillors’ ratification.

The Mayor stated for the nominations for Council Appointed Outside Bodies positions where there are contested position, there would be individual votes on these appointments, once the non-contested items had been approved.

The Mayor called for a vote on the membership and nominations and the adoption of the Constitution (subject to any changes arising from this Full Council meeting being included prior to publication) which was carried unanimously.

RESOLVED

That the Full Council approves

1.       the appointments and size of the Council’s Committees (taking into account political proportionality) for the municipal year 2022/2023, along with the Chairs and Vice Chairs as for those Committees, the appointments for the non-contested Outside Bodies and Organisations for the municipal year 2022/2023 and the appointments and size of Cabinet’s Advisory and Working Groups and Member Development Executive Support Group 2022/ 2023.

2.       for publication the latest draft version of the Council’s Constitution, subject to any changes arising from this Full Council meeting being included prior to publication.

Contested Votes – Outside Bodies

The Full Council then considered the appointments for the contested Outside Bodies and Organisations for the municipal year 2022/2023, where there were more nominations than places available. The Council determined who should be appointed by voting as follows:-

Court of the University of Sussex. There were two nominations for one place.

It was moved by Councillor Jones seconded by Councillor C Mullins, that Councillor Y Khan be the Council’s appointment for the Court of the University of Sussex. Whilst Councillor Crow moved, seconded by Councillor McCarthy that Councillor Burrett be the Council appointment.

A vote was taken and Councillor Y Khan was appointed.

RESOLVED

That the Council approves the appointments to the Outside Bodies and Organisations, as listed in the individual votes above, and these be included within the Council’s Appointments detailed within the Appendix A to these minutes.