To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Mr Cross, Mr Parsons and Mr Stewart.

The Chairman confirmed that his announcements had been circulated.

The Chairman advised that he had sent a letter of condolence on behalf of the Council to the Leader of South Kesteven Distrct Council following the death of Terl Bryant a long standing member of the South Kesteven and Stamford Town Council.

There were no announcements from the Leader, Members of the Cabinet, or the Head of Paid Service.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

No declarations of interest were received.

To receive any petitions, deputations or questions received from members of

the public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 24 which

provides that any petition, deputation or question received shall only be

considered if it relates to an item on the agenda.

The total time allowed for this is 30 minutes. Petitions, deputations and

questions will be dealt with in the order in which they are received and any

which are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response

after the meeting.

There were no petitions, deputations, or questions from members of the public.

To receive any questions submitted from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 24, 30 and 30A.  Any question received shall only be considered if it relates to an item on the agenda.

There were no questions from members of the council.

The Chairman of the Council will invite nominations for the office of Leader of

the Council. The Leader elected by the Council will remain in office until the

next round of ordinary elections.

Nominations were invited for the office of the Leader of the Council to remain in office until the next round of ordinary elections.

A nomination was received from Mr Baines who proposed the election of Mr Hemsley as Leader.  This was seconded by Mr Foster.

No further nominations were received.

RESOLVED

That Mr Hemsley be elected Leader of the Council.

--o0o--

In accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 11, paragraph 2 –

Recording of Votes – Mr Gale requested that his abstention from voting on the above

resolution be recorded.

--o0o—

Mr Hemsley gave a short speech of acceptance as follows:

Colleagues,

It is a huge privilege to take on this job. This is a very proud moment for me and my family.

As someone who has lived and worked in Rutland all my life I know just what a special place this is.

All of us in this room are guardians of that place. That comes with both honour and responsibility.

Let me tell you, if I may, a little bit more about why I am standing here tonight as your new Leader of Rutland County Council. 

I became a councillor and now Leader precisely because, just like everyone in this Chamber, I care deeply about the County that we are lucky enough to call home.

For all my life I have been a grafter – from the time my dad forced me to roll my sleeves up at the age of 13 to help out with painting, decorating and gardening,  right through to the time when I put my overalls on for good, starting out as a one-man band in the maintenance business 35 years ago.

I will bring that same sense of passion and energy to this job – I will continue to be a grafter who will commit every ounce and energy I have to what is now the most important job of all.

People say to me what are your priorities as Council Leader? It is pretty simple: I want to protect, preserve and enhance what we already have.

One thing that being a small businessman has taught me is that to protect what we have we can never stand still.

Think of back to what life was like in Rutland in the 1970s.  In many ways we have what we have now:

-            Quality of life that is the envy of most other places

-            Great schools that all parents can access

-            Good public services

-            Flourishing independent businesses

-            Low crime

-            Low unemployment

-            And a great sense of community with people look out for each other.

To protect and preserve Rutland has had to grow by welcoming new people and investing in our infrastructure.

Knowing that we have many challenges and priorities to grapple with.

For example,

-            How do ensure that our sons and daughters can afford to live in Rutland in the future, enjoying the same opportunities that we had at their age?

-            How we ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 568.

The Council is requested to note the appointment of members of the Cabinet

as may be announced by the Leader.

Council noted the Leader’s appointment of Cabinet Members and respective Portfolios as follows:

Mr O Hemsley      -           Leader and Portfolio Holder for Rutland One Public Estate & Growth, Tourism & Economic Development, Resources (other than Finance and Communications)

Mr N Begy            -           Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning Policy & Planning Operations, Highways & Transportation and Communications

Mr G Brown          -           Portfolio Holder for Regulatory Services, Waste Management, Property Services, Culture & Leisure, Finance including Revenues & Benefits and Internal Audit

Mr A Walters        -           Portfolio Holder for Safeguarding – Adults, Public Health, Health Commissioning, Community Safety & Road Safety

Mr R Foster          -           Portfolio Holder for Safeguarding – Children & Young People, Armed Forces Champion

Mr D Wilby           -           Portfolio Holder for Lifelong Learning, Early Years, Special Educational Needs & Disabilities, Inclusion

The Council is requested to note the appointment of the Deputy Leader as

may be announced by the Leader.

Council noted the Leaders appointment of the Deputy Leader as Mr N Begy.