Minutes for Council meeting, Mar 14 2012, 7.00PM official page

The council’s petition scheme provides that a petition containing 5000 signatures or more will be debated by the full council, and that the petition organiser will be given ten minutes to present the petition at the meeting and the petition will then be discussed by councillors for a maximum of 20 minutes.  The scheme also provides that the council will decide at this meeting how to respond to the petition and, where the issue is one on which the council’s executive is required to make the final decision, the council will decide whether to make recommendations to inform that decision.

A petition of over 5,000 signatures entitled “Save Orrell Recycling Centre” has been received and, in accordance with the above provision, the organiser, Councillor Clayton, will present the petition at the council meeting.  As the petition relates to a decision of the Cabinet which has already been taken, it is for council to decide whether to request the Cabinet to give further consideration to the matter.

The validation analysis of the petition and a copy of the Cabinet minute relating to the matter are attached.

Report of the Head of Service – Legal and Risk attached.

Report of the Corporate Director (People) attached.

Report of the Director, Policy and Customer attached.

Report of the Director, Policy and Customer attached, along with the minutes of the Pay and Reward Committee meeting of 6 February 2012.

At the council meeting on 14 September 2011, Councillor Fairhurst proposed the following motion, which was seconded by Councillor Bleakley:-

“This council believes in open and transparent accountability.  Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust carries out Community Services on behalf of the Council worth around £30 Million Pounds per year and therefore it is only right, correct and appropriate for WLCT to give the Council and elected members full details of how this money is spent.  Although they are a private organisation the money they use is Wigan tax payers’ money and they are accountable for how it is used.  This Council now agrees to use the powers available under its Partnership Agreement with WLCT to ensure the organisation provides the Council and its members with the fullest possible financial information relating to the provision of Community Services on behalf of the Council.”

The council resolved:-

“That this issue be referred to Cabinet for debate and reported back to a future meeting of the Council.”

The motion was considered by Cabinet in conjunction with the Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust Performance and Financial Monitoring Report for Quarters 1 and 2 of 2011/12, at its meeting on 26 February, and the relevant Cabinet minute is attached along with that report.

Report of the Head of Service – Legal and Risk attached.