All Members of the Council confirmed that their interests as listed in their Declaration of Interests Forms were accurate and up-to-date.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Council Meeting held on 18th April 2016 be approved.

There was no business under this item.

Council RESOLVED to:

1. Agree the Appointment Committee's recommendation to make an offer of appointment to Jo Negrini to the role of Acting Head of Paid Service, designated Returning Officer and Electoral Registration Officer on an interim basis, pending the conclusion of the process for selection to the permanent role of Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service to be recommended to Full Council on 18 July 2016 under section 40 of the Localism Act 2011.
2. Note the agreement of the Appointments Committee on 28 April 2016 to the appointment of Jo Negrini to the role of Acting Chief Executive with effect from 29 April 2016 and that other interim senior management arrangements have been put in place to ensure a smooth handover and transition before the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service's last day of service on 26 June 2016.

Council considered a report from the Acting Council Solicitor and Acting Monitoring Officer detailing proposals to deliver a new model for Council meetings to increase opportunities for public participation and engagement at Council meetings and RESOLVED subject to the revised recommendation at (7) to:

1. Approve the adoption of the revised Council Procedure Rules, Part 04.A of the Constitution detailed in appendix A;
2. Approve the adoption of the revised Planning and Planning Sub-Committee Procedure Rules Part 04.K of the Constitution detailed in appendix C but that those changes referred to in para 11.2 not take effect until 1st September 2016;
3. Approve the adoption of the revised Tenders and Contracts Regulations Part 04.I of the Constitution detailed in appendix D;
4. Approve the adoption of the revised Staff Employment Procedure Rules Part 04.J of the Constitution detailed in appendix E;
5. Approve the adoption of the revised terms of reference for Pensions Committee as detailed in appendix F;
6. Note the revised terms of reference of Scrutiny Sub-Committees as detailed in para 15 of the report;
7. a) Approve adoption of the revised Scheme of Members' Allowances Part 06.A of the Constitution detailed in appendix B to reduce the allowance for Members of the Adoption Panel to £4,425 to recognise the appointment of a second Member to the Panel without increasing the sum of Allowances overall;
   b) Agree that that further consideration and decision in respect of the proposal of a one-off IT transition allowance be paid to all Members as detailed in section 10 of the report be delegated to a future meeting of the General Purposes and Audit Committee;
8. Agree that the Acting Council Solicitor and Acting Monitoring Officer be given delegated authority to make the changes and any consequential amendments to the Constitution needed to effect the recommendations agreed by Full Council within the report including changes to Part 4D - Executive Procedure Rules and elsewhere in the Constitution and to reflect any restructuring of officer roles and changes to job titles; and
9. Note that the Council's Petitions Protocol referred to in para 3.4 of the Council Procedure Rules will be amended by the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Leader of the Opposition, in accordance with the principles set out in sections 6 and 7 of the report.
10. Note that once implemented, the new model will be reviewed after twelve months to identify how well its objectives have been achieved and what further steps, if necessary, should be taken to further improve public participation and engagement at Council meetings.

The motion to elect Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor as Mayor for the Municipal Year 2016/17 was moved by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Tony Newman and seconded by Councillor Tim Pollard.

The motion was put to the vote and

RESOLVED unanimously that Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor be elected Mayor for the Council Year 2016/2017.

Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor made the Declaration of Acceptance of the Office of Mayor, as required by Section 83 of the Local Government Act 1972, and assumed the Chair.

THE MAYOR, COUNCILLOR WAYNE TRAKAS-LAWLOR - PRESIDING

The Mayor in making his acceptance speech spoke of the honour of being elected to the office of Mayor and First Citizen of Croydon saying it was one of the proudest moments of his life. He went on to thank his family, friends and councillors who have supported him on his journey to being Mayor. He went on to say that it was an important and historic night for the LGBT community in Croydon as he was the first openly gay Mayor to be elected to the office of Mayor in Croydon.
 

The Mayor thanked the outgoing Mayor, Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice and her Consort and two daughters for their hard work throughout the year in promoting Croydon.

The Mayor gave a brief introduction of his three charities for the year; the British Home, a charity in Upper Norwood area that cares for severely disabled adults; The Stanley People's Initiative, a new charity set up by the community in South Norwood bring back arts, heritage and entertainment to South Norwood; and Croydon Commitment a charity that acts as a link between local businesses, charities and voluntary groups.

He went on to speak about his vision for Croydon being a vibrant diverse town where the hopes, dreams and ambitions of its citizens can be realised. He spoke of Croydon's arts and culture, festivals and local galleries and the Fairfield Halls. He also spoke about promoting Croydon through local businesses to bring about more jobs and training opportunities for everyone in the borough.

The Mayor announced that his partner, Michael, would be his Consort for the Year and thanked his family, some of who were watching the webcast from the United States, for their support.

In conclusion the Mayor challenged all Members of the Council to embrace the challenges and changes that were going to change Croydon for the better.

The Mayor reported that he had appointed Councillor Toni Letts as the Deputy Mayor for 2016/17.

(NOTE: Following the meeting, Councillor Toni Letts made the Declaration of Acceptance of Office of Deputy Mayor, as required by Section 83 of the Local Government Act 1972).
 

The Mayor advised Council that this was a standing item and these posts were appointed for 4 years in June 2014.

The Council received a report from the Acting Council Solicitor and Action Monitoring Officer and RESOLVED:

1. Having reviewed the representation of the political groups on the Council, confirm that there are 39 Labour Group Members and 30 Conservative Group Members and one ungrouped Member (as set out in Para 3.1.1); and
2. To approve the appointment and composition of Committees as set out in paragraph 3.2.3.

The Council RESOLVED:

• To agree (or receive for information as applicable) the following appointments where the number of nominations is equal to the number of available positions:

1. To agree the appointments to Committees of the Council (Blue Schedule); and
2. To agree the appointments to all other Panels, Working Groups and Outside Bodies (Pink Schedule) and agree that during the remainder of the Council year any vacancies be filled by the decision of the relevant Committee or by the Acting Council Solicitor and Acting Monitoring Officer on the recommendation of the appropriate Group Secretary in accordance with the Council's Constitution.

• To receive for information the appointments of Cabinet Members, Cabinet Committees and Deputy Cabinet Members (Blue Schedule);

1. To receive for information the appointments of Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Cabinet (Blue Schedule);
2. To receive for information the appointments of political party group officers (Blue Schedule);
3. To receive for information the appointments to Joint Committees (Blue Schedule);
4. To receive for information the appointments to London Councils Committees and Panels and Local Government Association bodies (Blue Schedule);
5. To receive for information the appointment of Councillors to the Health & Wellbeing Board by the Leader of the Council.