Date : Wednesday, 13^th June 2007

Minute No

Item No and Title

Agenda Page No

Present:

The Mayor, Councillor LW Robson, in the Chair;

Councillors JA Davidson, WF Grant, P Herdman, AG Houghton, EI Hunter, JG Hutchinson, AH Murray, G O’Connell, RJ Patterson, JA Robertson, AS Rogerson and JE Smith.

In attendance:

Councillor AB Douglas.

1. Apologies for Absence

There were no apologies for absence.

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2. Declaration Of Interest

Interests declared by Members in accordance with the Council’s Constitution were as follows:

a) Item 12: Christmas Lights 2007

b) Item 15: National Non-Domestic Rate Relief

c) Item 16: Robert’s Lodge, Tweedmouth

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3. Election of the Committee Chair

DECISION: To appoint Councillor EI Hunter as Chair of Policy Committee for the ensuing municipal year.

[Note: The Mayor, Councillor LW Robson was in the Chair for this item. Councillor EI Hunter took the Chair following her appointment as Chair of Policy Committee, following which the Mayor left the meeting and did not return.]

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4. Election of the Committee Vice-Chair

DECISION: To appoint Councillor JE Smith as the Committee Vice-Chair for the ensuing municipal year.

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5. Policy Committee in 2007/08: Membership and Terms of Reference

DECISIONS: (i) To agree the membership, terms of reference and meeting arrangements for Policy Committee during the 2007/08 municipal year; (ii) to note the process for the development of the Budget and Policy Framework as detailed in Section 3.3 of the substantive report, and to initiate this process in time for the July publication deadline; and (iii) to identify any areas of work to be referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for investigation.

5b. Late Report: Appointment of Sub-Committees and Working Groups

DECISION: To appoint the Sub-Committees and Working Groups as listed below:

(a) Staff Appeals Sub-Committee

Membership:

6. Minutes of the Meeting of Policy (Environment) Committee held on 17^th April 2007

DECISION: To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of Policy (Environment) Committee held on 17^th April 2007.

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7. Minutes of the Meeting of Policy (Corporate Services and Regeneration) Committee held on 18^th April 2007

DECISION: To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the Meeting of Policy (Corporate Services and Regeneration) Committee held on 18^th April 2007.

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8. Corporate Services Sub-Committee

DECISIONS: (i) To agree to the establishment of a Corporate Services Sub-Committee, the composition of which is based on political balance requirements and set out below:

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9. Internal Audit Annual Report 2006/07

DECISIONS: (i) To note the report; and (ii) to request that any issues which the Committee believes require further investigation in order that Corporate Governance responsibilities are fulfilled, be notified to the Senior Auditor.

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10. Annual Car Parking Permit: Business Use

DECISIONS: (i) To agree to introduce an annual parking permit for business users:

(a) who have registered with the Council, paid a one-off £15 administration fee and met the criteria;

(b) which will display the business name;

(c) be interchangeable between vehicles;

(d) all other terms and conditions will remain unchanged; and

(ii) to request that officers report back to the September meeting of Policy Committee on the implications of the decision for equality issues and on the projected impact of this scheme on parking revenue income in 2007/08.

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11. Personnel Officer (Fixed-Term Appointment)

DECISIONS: (i) To approve the appointment of a 1-year fixed term post of Personnel Officer, with the recommendation to Council that they approve the additional budget; and (ii) that the current post of Personnel Officer be retitled Personnel Manager.

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12. Christmas Lights 2007

DECISIONS: (i) To approve an additional £5660.00 from the Council’s reserves towards the Christmas Lights budget for 2007/08 only, to enable the offer from Berwick Rotary for the provision of Christmas Lights worth £10,000 to be taken up; and (ii) to request a further report from officers on proposed arrangements for future years.

[Note: Having previously declared an interest, Councillor JA Roberson left the meeting during consideration of the item set out above.]

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13. Exclusion of the Press and Public

DECISION: To exclude under Section 100A(4)of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public from the Meeting during consideration of Item 5 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Minutes 53-56 : Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

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14. Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator Post

DECISION: To agree that the Community Safety Officer will continue to fulfil the role of Anti-Social Behaviour Co-ordinator on behalf of the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership and that he will be paid at the higher rate detailed in the substantive report until 31^st March 2008, when the position will be reviewed and reported back to Committee.

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15. National Non-Domestic Rate Relief

DECISION: To refuse the request for discretionary rate relief for the period until 31^st March 2008.

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16. Robert’s Lodge, Tweedmouth

DECISION: To agree to accept the offer detailed in the report for the sale of approximately 8 acres of land at Robert’s Lodge, Tweedmouth.

[Notes: (a) It was agreed that any further change to the offer detailed in the report would be reported to the next appropriate meeting of the Policy Committee; and (b) having previously declared an interest, Councillor G O’Connell left the meeting during consideration of the item set out above.]

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17. Service Changes for the Borough Museum and Art Gallery

DECISIONS: (i) To agree to pay English Heritage the amount due in annual service charges for 2007/08; (ii) to agree to consider the inclusion of this service charge payment for subsequent years within the mainstream budget, subject to the wider review of the future of the Museum and Art Gallery; and;(iii) to agree to negotiate with English Heritage on their proposed annual lease charge, subject to the above review, and subsequent discussions on security of venue required for the Museum’s accreditation with the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

[Note: Having previously declared an interest, Councillor P Herdman left the meeting prior to discussion of this item set out above and did not return.]

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