In addition to any announcements made at the meeting, please see Paper BC/23/2 attached, detailing events attended by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
Minutes:
7.1 The report from the Chairman was noted.
7.2 The Chairman invited Councillor Busby to present his report as Leader of the Council.
7.3 Councillor Busby made the following announcements:
“I had no ambition to become leader but am honoured to represent you all and I promise to do my very best. However, this isn’t about me, it is about you. 25,613 residents voted for you to work on their behalf to ensure that we deliver the best for Babergh that we can.
Well done Councillor Nunn on getting the most votes of any of us – 1069. 14 of you are new to the process and the challenges that lie ahead. For us to succeed in our endeavours (note the name of the building) we will need to work diligently and together. We have many challenges – climate change and housing energy inefficiencies; numerous ugly infrastructure projects; changes to waste collection; the Joint Local Plan; inappropriate housing developments – volume, size, and location; struggling high streets; the high cost of living and inflationary pressures on our services.
Unlike Mid Suffolk we don’t have huge reserves to call upon to help us to deliver solutions and in fact you will be frequently reminded of the financial challenges that we face. Fortunately, we have a great team of officers to assist us and I recommend that you lean on them – certainly not on me.
With no party getting anywhere near a majority – congratulations to the Greens for polling 31% of the votes – we will have to continue to work as a coalition – it is the Babergh way after all. Group leaders have devised a unique plan for the 4 years. The leadership will rotate on an annual basis – me for the first year, Councillor Deborah Saw for the second and fourth and Councillor John Ward for the third.
As my first action I would like to appoint Councillor Deborah Saw and Councillor John Ward as deputy political leaders. Together we will lead the cabinet of 8 – 4 Greens, 3 Independents and 1 Lib Dem. We will be announcing the other Cabinet members and their portfolios shortly.”
7.4 Councillor Busby invited Councillor Ward and Councillor Saw to make announcements as Deputy Political Leaders.
7.5 Councillor Saw made the following announcements:
“I think we are all ambitious for our District and we all want to do the best for our residents and our communities. I think this is a very exciting and innovative approach – one that I am sure will get a lot of attention from other Councils around the country.
We start off looking at our joint priorities together, but I know we are all united with one purpose which is the prosperity, success, and wellbeing of our residents and their communities.”
7.6 Councillor Ward made the following announcements:
“I wish to congratulate Cllr Busby on his election as Leader of the Council. It is a great responsibility and privilege to hold that office and I am sure he will be a great ambassador for Babergh. I am particularly pleased that we have agreed an innovative coalition arrangement for the council. The consensus that will be needed to make that coalition work will be necessary as we face our biggest challenges. Cllr Busby has provided his view of these.
For me, the immediate ones are:
· Improving and retrofitting our housing stock to meet our energy saving commitments
· Resources And Waste Strategy, particularly The Recycling Consistency component and its impact on our waste collection operations
· Planning policy and the Joint Local Plan
· And, of course, the ever-present pressures on our budgets
I look forward to working with Councillors Busby and Saw to make the coalition a strong one that delivers excellent services for our residents and businesses.”
Supporting documents: