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Cabinet considered the recommendation in draft minute 203 of the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 22 February 2019.
Sir Bob Russell addressed the Cabinet pursuant to the provisions of Meetings General Procedure Rule 5(1). It had been Council policy since 1992 to seek City Status for Colchester. City Status had been sought in 1992, 2000, 2002 and 2012 with no significant political opposition. Colchester was Britain’s First City and the claim to be Britain’s oldest Recorded Town was now inaccurate. Colchester needed to reclaim its status as a city and be bold going forward.
Councillor Davies, Chair of the Scrutiny Panel, attended and addressed the Cabinet. The Scrutiny Panel had considered the process of the decision making, not the merits of the strapline. The main concern of the Scrutiny Panel had been that there had been no discussion at Cabinet on the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group
and no reasons given for the dismissal of its recommendation that an online public consultation be held. The Panel had been informed of private discussions being held, but this was contrary to the spirit of openness. Residents were entitled to see issues debated openly and she looked forward to receiving the reasons for the Cabinet’s decision.
Councillor G. Oxford attended and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the Cabinet. He considered that the issues of the signs produced as part of his mayoral legacy and the new strapline had become entangled. If the Cabinet was to go forward with the strapline, he felt it should replicate the way it was shown on the mayoral legacy signs, including the colours.
Councillor Willetts attended and with the consent of the Chair addressed the Cabinet. Whilst under the Cabinet model of Council governance, the Cabinet had wide ranging powers, this was balanced by the need to ensure it acted in accordance with the principles of decision making. These were part of the Council’s constitution and included the need to have regard to due consultation. The Task and Finish Group had recommended further consultation and it was a matter of regret that the Cabinet had not followed this guiding principle. The Scrutiny Panel was entitled to ask for an explanation as to why the Cabinet had not decided to follow the recommendation of the Task and Finish group in respect of consultation.
Councillor Cory, Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Strategy, explained that the Heritage and Tourism Task and Finish Group had taken the decision to review the strapline. They had consulted with experts., and had made a recommendation, although this was not unanimous and neither did it exactly reflect the views of experts. The Cabinet had also listened to experts and followed the recommendation in part and had taken the essence of their recommendation.
Councillor T. Young, Portfolio Holder for business and Culture, acknowledged that the Cabinet could have handled the discussion at Cabinet on 30 January 2019 better and that there should have been a more open debate. The views of the Scrutiny Panel were welcomed. In terms of the reasons for not accepting the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group, Cabinet was of the view that it had due regard to consultation. It had consulted with the Task and Finish Group, and the views of local historians and marketing experts had been taken into account. The Council was a representative democracy and Councillors were elected to take decision on behalf of residents. It was not necessary to consult on every decision, and Cabinet had felt that this was a decision that dd not require further consultation. He hoped that Cabinet would now feel able to confirm the original decision taken at the meeting on 30 January 2019.
Councillor Lilley, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Community Safety and Licensing, explained that the decision had been taken quickly on 30 January 2019, and that there had been concern about the proposal in the recommendation to include the word “Roman” which neglected other crucial parts of Colchester’s history, such as the Civil War period.
Councillor Goss, Portfolio Holder for Waste, Environment and Transportation, explained that in the long term he felt that the Council should consult with residents about how they wanted their history portraying. He also emphasised that the mayoral legacy signs were entirely separate from the work on the new strapline, and that the only expenditure had been in relation to the mayoral signs. He felt that the strapline should reflect the wording on the mayoral signs going forward.
Councillor Barlow, Portfolio Holder for Commercial Services, highlighted that the bid for City Status in 2012 had been led by residents and not by the Council. The decision to use Britain’s First City had built on this bid.
RESOLVED that:-
(a)
The recommendation from the Scrutiny Panel meeting of 22 February 2019 be acknowledged and accepted;
(b)
The decision in minute 329 of the Cabinet meeting of 30 January 2019 in respect of the recommendation from the Heritage and Tourism Task and Finish Group be confirmed.
REASONS
In the course of the debate Cabinet had responded to the recommendation of the Scrutiny Panel and explained the reasons why it had not followed the recommendation of the Task and Finish Group in respect of online public consultation.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
It was open to the Cabinet not to accept the recommendation of the Scrutiny Panel and confirm the decision without further explanation.