Oakham Town Councillors Questions

OAKHAM TOWN COUNCIL

PLANNING AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
21ST APRIL 2010

Item 4 – Councillors Questions


Cllr Brookes has asked a number of questions: these are detailed below with the answers below each question.







1. Please can you explain how the chairman of Oakham Town Council can discuss the new rent when unfit and unable to attend any meetings at the Council, as a trustee of the landlords is this also not a conflict of interest?

Cllr Mrs Fillingham is currently not physically well enough to attend meetings. However, her mental capacity is in no way diminished and she is quite capable of discussing issues and making any decisions. Cllr Mrs Fillingham is one of the Town Council’s appointed representatives to the Trustees of the Victoria Hall and as such any interest she has is personal and not prejudicial. She was therefore able to discuss this matter.

(at the same meeting we were handed a reminder letter from Mr Pook head of legal services and it clearly states this is a prejudicial interest. It is also my view the rent should be agreed at a full council meeting, not solely decided by the chair, deputy and clerk)







2. Has Cllr Jan Fillingham attended the legally required number of meetings this year to continue to act as councillor and chairman from her home?

There is no minimum requirement for the number of meetings that a member has to attend.

3. Has Cllr George Swiffin attended the legally required number of meetings this year to continue to act as a councillor

As stated above there is no minimum requirement for the number of meetings that a member has to attend.

(So as a councillor it is acceptable to not attend any council meeting throughout the time they are a councillor?)







4. In the draft minutes of the meeting of Oakham Town Council held on Wednesday April 7th why is it stated, in the absence of the Chairman it was unanimously agreed that the Vice Chairman, Cllr Sharon Spencer chair the meeting.

I was not asked so it is not unanimous

Amended draft minutes, correcting a number of mistakes are circulated to you all at this meeting.

(This is typical of Oakham Town Council much council business is conduct by the elite few behind closed doors)







5. Is it normal for the chair to walk into the room, state its 7pm and move straight to the apologies, then for some very bizarre reason we are asked to vote on.

Councillors are disqualified if they fail to attend a meeting of the Council or any of its committees or sub-committees without an accepted reason for six months. That is why apologies are offered and accepted by the Council. Usually, the reasons for an absence are detailed to members in order that they can decide for themselves whether that reason is acceptable. Regretfully, this did not happen in this case. However, there may also be certain circumstances that dictate that a reason for an absence should not be given in public and in these cases members should be informed privately before the meeting of the reason for the absence.





6. What is Oakham Town Council’s Strategic Plan?
Is this private and confidential? Or is it because I am gay you do not share this with me?

Currently, Oakham Town Council does not have a Strategic Plan. If and when one is published this will be freely available to anyone.

(Oakham Town Council has aims or goals just spend spend the council tax payers money. This has come about because of public apathy with the political system in the UK.



7. Regarding the RAF Cottesmore closure rally, was it not the view of the Council that we made no comment? Why was I not included in that decision? When did we give the Town Clerk permission to speak on the Council’s behalf to the BBC?


The Clerk was contacted by the local press regarding the decision not to allow the rally to take place in Cutts Close. He decided not to make any comment. The Clerk suggested to the press that they contact members of the Council to see if they wished to make a comment. The Clerk does not know if this suggestion was followed up. As detailed in an e-mail and phone calls to members, the Clerk was contacted by East Midlands Today and then Radio Leicester regarding the event. The Clerk then took the view that the reasons why the rally was not allowed should be in the public domain and communicated these to Radio Leicester. It was then their decision, obviously, as to whether they wished to broadcast these.

Hindsight is a nice thing to have and the Clerk acknowledges that the reasons should have been given to the press in the first instance.

As members are aware a letter is being sent to the press.

It is part of the Clerk’s job description that he acts as the Council’s representative. He assumes that contact with the media is a part of this. However, this should only be in the instance when a decision has actually been made by the Council.

(The Town Clerk has told me I his employer. I do not feel this is the case. I have never seen is job description. I have always accepted he was my boss as he often shouts orders at me)