To receive announcements from:
a) The Mayor
b) Leader of the Council
c) Members of the Cabinet
d) Chairs of Committees
e) Head of Paid Service
Minutes:
Mayor
40.1 The Mayor noted the sad death of Martin Blakeley, husband of former Councillor Sue Blakeley and consort to her during her time as Mayor and Sheriff, and offered the Council’s condolences to his family.
40.2 The Mayor announced that Alan Myatt, the City’s Town Crier for 27 years, had agreed to accept his nomination to become an Honorary Freeman of the City of Gloucester. A special meeting to confer the honour would take place immediately prior to the scheduled Council meeting on 28 January 2016.
40.3 The Mayor advised that a book of condolence had been set up in the main reception for Members and residents to express their sentiments to those affected by the terror attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015. He reported that he had personally offered his condolences to the Mayor of Metz, one of Gloucester’s Twin Cities, and had received a response.
40.4 The Mayor noted that the Council’s annual children’s Christmas party would take place on 12 December 2015 and he encouraged Members to allocate their tickets as soon as possible and return any unallocated tickets to the Corporate Support Team.
Leader of the Council
40.5 Councillor James thanked all those involved in making the Rugby World Cup a success for the City and reported details of the praise received, including from Sports Minister Tracey Crouch.
Cabinet Members
40.6 Councillor D. Norman noted the recent IT issues and reported that a business case was being brought forward to progress the upgrade to a cloud-based service, which would resolve the email synchronisation issues. It was anticipated that the upgrade would be completed early in the new year.
40.7 Councillor Porter reported the positive news that Barnwood Park and Arboretum had been shortlisted for an award for the Best Park in the Country.
40.8 Councillor Noakes (Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure) invited Members to attend an event at the Ed Shed at 10.00am on 24 November 2015 to have their say in the rebranding of the City’s museums.
40.9 Councillor Noakes urged Members to vote for The Guildhall in the NME award for the Best Small Venue as winning would result in publicity and a high-profile band playing at the venue.
Chairs of Committees
40.10 Councillor Lugg (Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee) invited all Members to attend the Budget meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny on 7 December 2015.
Head of Paid Service
40.11 Jon McGinty announced the departure of Martin Shields, Corporate Director of Services and Neighbourhoods. He thanked Martin for his work on a number of significant projects during his time at the Council and wished him well in his new position at Bath and North East Somerset Council.