Agenda item
Announcements
a) Mayor
b) Leader of the Council
c) Chief Executive
Minutes:
The Mayor made the following announcements:
1) Setting the Tone for Constructive Debate
The Mayor expressed his views on the conditions which would set the tone for constructive debate at Council meetings during his term of office. He hoped that councillors would use the acronym ‘THINK’ as a guide when making their contributions. Speeches during the debate should be:
- True;
- Helpful;
- Inspiring;
- Necessary; and
- Kind.
The Leader of the Council then made the following announcements:
2) Srebrenica
Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, reminded all that today was a memorial day to mark the genocide 29 years ago which had taken place in Srebrenica, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some 8,372 men and boys were known to have been killed and over 20,000 women and children had been displaced.
This Council had previously adopted a motion to honour the memory of those killed and to stand in solidarity with their families. In 2014, Councillor Dad had visited the area to meet with the families of victims who were still fighting for justice. Members were reminded that there was always an opportunity to make the right choice, even under the most challenging of circumstances. This Council would continue to remember and honour the victims with a view to ensuring a future rooted in peace and justice.
3) Planning Policies
The Leader indicated that he had asked officers prepare evidence based documents to support the implementation of an Article 4 Direction under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015. The direction would remove permitted development rights for Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs). The work involved preparation of policy documents against which HMO applications would be determined and would set out best practice and evidence for applications in relation to children’s care homes. The evidence-based work had already commenced and should take around 3- 4 months to complete. Implementation of the Article 4 Direction would take a little longer. Members would be kept informed as to progress.
4) LGA Peer Review
The Council would shortly be taking part in a Local Government Association Corporate Peer Review, which was designed to support continuous improvement. The process, which was sector-led, should give valuable information to members and residents about what the Council did well and what it could do to improve further. It would be delivered by expert councillor and officer peers, who would act as critical friends, supported by the LGA’s Regional Support Teams.
It was currently envisaged that the Review would take place between 28th October and 2nd November 2024. It was likely that many councillors would be involved in the review process and further information would be circulated to councillors as this became available.
5) Review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England
The Boundary Commission had notified the Council that a ward boundary review would commence in Hyndburn later this year or early in 2025. The Commission carried out a rolling programme of electoral reviews and Hyndburn was now due for review, as one had not taken place in the Borough for over 20 years.
The aim of the Review was to ensure fair voter representation across the Borough, and the review would consider ward boundaries, ward names, the number of councillors needed and the Council’s electoral arrangements. The review would include extensive consultation and both councillors and the general public would have ample opportunity to have their say.
The Commission had asked to make a presentation to Council to fully explain the process and answer any questions from councillors. It was anticipated that this would take place sometime in the autumn and the Leader undertook to keep Members updated as more information emerged.
6) Corporate Strategy 2023 -2028
In November 2023 the Council had adopted its latest Corporate Strategy. Subsequently, there had been a change of political control at the Council and in Government. Accordingly, the Strategy would be reviewed to ensure that it reflected the priorities of the new political administration and the new Government’s priorities. The Leader had agree with the Chief Executive that an updated version would be brought to the Council at a future date for formal approval.
There were no announcements from the Chief Executive on this occasion.