Agenda Document Pack - Moray Council - 19/12/2024
Moray Council · 19 December 2024
Back to Moray Council — 19 December 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Moray Council Thursday, 19 December 2024 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of the Moray Council is to be held at Council Chambers, Council Office, High Street, Elgin, IV30 1BX on Thursday, 19 December 2024 at 09:30. BUSINESS 1. Sederunt 2. Declaration of Group Decisions and Members Interests * 3. Notice of Motion - Members Conduct in relation to the Budget Process 5 - 6 Watching the Meeting You can watch the webcast live by going to: http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_43661.html Webcasts are available to view for 1 year following the meeting. You can also attend the meeting in person, if you wish to do so, please come to the High Street entrance door and a member of staff will be let into the building. Page 1
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GUIDANCE NOTES * Declaration of Group Decisions and Members Interests - The Chair of the meeting shall seek declarations from any individual or political group at the beginning of a meeting whether any prior decision has been reached on how the individual or members of the group will vote on any item(s) of business on the Agenda, and if so on which item(s). A prior decision shall be one that the individual or the group deems to be mandatory on the individual or the group members such that the individual or the group members will be subject to sanctions should they not vote in accordance with the prior decision. Any such prior decisions will be recorded in the Minute of the meeting. Page 3
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MORAY COUNCIL Moray Council SEDERUNT Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Chair) Councillor Donald Gatt (Depute Chair) Councillor James Allan (Member) Councillor Peter Bloomfield (Member) Councillor Neil Cameron (Member) Councillor Tracy Colyer (Member) Councillor Theresa Coull (Member) Councillor John Cowe (Member) Councillor John Divers (Member) Councillor Amber Dunbar (Member) Councillor Jérémie Fernandes (Member) Councillor David Gordon (Member) Councillor Juli Harris (Member) Councillor Sandy Keith (Member) Councillor Elaine Kirby (Member) Councillor Scott Lawrence (Member) Councillor Marc Macrae (Member) Councillor Paul McBain (Member) Councillor Neil McLennan (Member) Councillor Shona Morrison (Member) Councillor Bridget Mustard (Member) Councillor Derek Ross (Member) Councillor John Stuart (Member) Councillor Draeyk van der Horn (Member) Councillor Sonya Warren (Member) Councillor Ben Williams (Member) Clerk Name: Tracey Sutherland Clerk Telephone: 07971 879268 Clerk Email: committee.services@moray.gov.uk Page 4
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__________________________________________________ NOTICE OF MOTION TO SPECIAL MEETING OF MORAY COUNCIL THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2024 Background At a meeting of Moray Council on the 22nd of October 2024 Council democratically agreed to Note the transformation work undertaken by the Libraries, Learning Centres and Heritage service to date and the future service strategy to meet changing demand/need. Note the proposal in regard to future provision of the service which aligns with the savings hierarchy of transformation and service reduction to aid the Council’s short to medium term financial strategy. Proceed with consultation on the proposed future service provision Agree a report due back to Council in January 2025 on consultation responses. Moray Council has an agreed Budget protocol this includes - A Budget development Group Strategic Leadership Forum The agreed Budget Protocol principles are set out around the best value process around collaborative working. On Monday 9th December at 3pm, meetings of the Strategic Leadership Forum and Budget development Group took place at which an updated position on Library proposals was on the agenda for both meetings as part of the agreed budget process Immediately prior to these meetings a press statement was released containing quotes from the Council Leader and Depute Leader and in which an position of the Council was stated around Library closures. This Position had not gone through due democratic process therefore should not have been portrayed as the position of Moray Council by the Council Leader. This statement also disrespected Council Officers by abdicating the responsibility of the administration group and the democratic process of full council, incorrectly attributing full responsibility to council officers for the library consultation process. Furthermore, employees affected by these proposals were not consulted before the statement was released. Item 3. Page 5
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By putting out an inaccurate press release and then having to withdraw it not only caused confusion and upset with the public but also called into question the competence and reputation of Moray Council. Most worryingly of all following the redaction and subsequent “correction” of the original press release, It was revealed that neither the Council Leader nor Depute leader had prior sight of a press release containing quotes from both and a falsely stated council position. Action Council notes these actions have led to a lack of confidence in the Council Leader and the administration group in their handling of the budget process – in relation to disrespect to council, councillors and officers. Seeks assurance that there is a recognition of failings and genuine willingness to learn and change and respect the principles of collaborative working as previously agreed. Seeks further assurance that the position of council goes through the correct democratic procedure and any press release relating to such decisions is issued through the correct process. Requests further training is scheduled on the Code of Conduct to address these issues and affirm the role of all councillors in relation to the budget process. In the absence of agreement to any of the above, Council asks that the Council Leader and Depute Leader refer themselves to the standards commission for breach of the code of conduct. Proposed By: Councillor Scott Lawrence Seconded By: Councillor Sonya Warren Date Motion Submitted: 13 December 2024 Page 6