Minutes of an EXTRAORDINARY MEETING of the COUNCIL held on TUESDAY the 16th day of SEPTEMBER 2008 at 7.00 p.m.

Present: 
Cllr R Pike              Town Mayor in the Chair
Cllr Mrs M Govier     Deputy Town Mayor  
Cllr D Best
Cllr. M. Harper
Cllr C Jenkins
Cllr. I. Jennings
Cllr. P. Sanders
Cllr. J. Sellis
Cllr. D. Whitcomb

In Attendance:  Deputy Town Clerk

261.   APOLOGIES
Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Mrs A Johnson, Cllr. Mrs. J. Metcalf, Cllr E Sanders, Cllr Mrs D. Sellis and Cllr E Sherrell.

262. PROPOSALS FOR UNITARY LOCAL GOVERNMENT ARRANGEMENTS IN DEVON 
Cllr. Pike referred to the meeting of Council on the 9 September 2008, saying that due to the lateness of that meeting he had called this meeting to discuss the proposals put forward by the Boundary Committee for a unitary Devon. He was aware that there was a feeling among many of the members to maintain the status quo, but this would need to be substantiated with sound reasoning.

After discussion it was RESOLVED that the Town Council wished to retain the three tier system as present.

The Mayor then adjourned the meeting whilst the Deputy Town Clerk left the Chamber with Cllr. Mrs. Govier and Cllr. P. Sanders, to collect further administrative information for discussion.

On their return the Mayor resumed the meeting.

The Mayor said that he felt that there was a good working partnership with County and Borough Councils and that this was especially important for small parishes, which could rely on having guidance and support to hand.

Cllr. Mrs. Govier voiced concern on how elected members of a Unitary Devon could fairly represent the large area they would represent. It was the feeling of the meeting that this could affect the public’s ability or willingness to stand for election and members stressed the lack of clarity over the question of Community Boards.

With the agreement of the meeting, the Mayor suspended the Standing Orders on Rules of Debate.

In the debate that followed, members felt that there was insufficient information within the Boundary Committee’s proposals to show how service to the public would be improved and that with so few elected members to serve such a large county, it was difficult to see how such a Councillor could be effective in representing the local community. Statistics would suggest that instead of a councillor representing approximately 800 people, this would become one councillor representing approximately 7,000, which would be detrimental to their representation under The Representation of the People Act.

Concerns were also felt about the lack of clarity in the proposal for Community Boards and it was noted that since the beginning of the consultation period, the role of such boards seemed to have become ever more fluid, which resulted in there being no firm information on which to form an opinion. This was also true of any suggested financial savings. Nationally set targets would have to be achieved by the unitary authority and what was now being proposed might well not be implemented.

Ideas for town and parish councils being able to undertake more services if they so wished could be facilitated under the existing three tier system.

It was generally agreed that a Unitary Devon would result in representational, financial and material disadvantage and disadvantage by process.

Standing Orders on Rules of Debate were re-invoked.

The information that had been tabled was considered. On a proposal by Cllr. Pike and being seconded by Cllr. Mrs. Govier, the following response to the Boundary Committee on their proposals for a Unitary Council for Devon, was RESOLVED nem con. Tavistock Town Council would like to see the status quo maintained and to encourage more partnership opportunities and the sharing of services and procurements between all the authorities in Devon, including Devon County Council, West Devon Borough Council and parish and town councils, with the ability to call on councillors and officers of these councils as well as outside bodies to advise as and when required, without loss of representation.

Being a rural shire, the County of Devon must maintain the elected representation as at present and without loss and we would specifically draw your attention to the following points:

• Tavistock Town Council’s response has been shaped by the reaction of the people of Tavistock, which has been expressed through a wide ranging public engagement process undertaken by the Council over the consultation period.
• Tavistock Town Council rejects and opposes both proposals on the grounds that the process of public consultation undertaken by the Boundary Committee is flawed in that un-costed proposals have been put before the public to consider without proper explanations or details of how the new unitary council(s) might actually work and improve upon the status quo.
• The Boundary Committee has chosen to limit its work to looking only at unitary government options and failed to properly consider and evaluate its proposals alongside the status quo, including the intentions of the current Devon authorities to implement shared services arrangements through the ‘Integrated Devon’ initiative. Recent advice from the Department of Communities and Local Government confirms that this comparison with the status quo should be made by the Boundary Committee and furthermore that the public are entitled to express a preference for the status quo alongside any proposals for change. Tavistock Town Council believes that this too is further evidence of a flawed process.
• The democratic deficit that would result from the implementation of these proposals is totally unacceptable. It would place the people of Tavistock at significant disadvantage in relation to their rights to effective elected representation compared with many other communities with unitary council arrangements. The proposals would also severely damage the diversity and quality of elected representation for the people of Tavistock.
• The imposition of a large unitary Council for Devon (under either of the Boundary Committee’s proposals) cannot satisfy the requirement for effective community engagement, will take the process of governance further from the people and is in conflict with the Government’s current policy and intentions in relation to the new White Paper “Communities in Control” and in our opinion point 2.44, Page 15 of the Draft Proposal for Unitary Local Government in Devon would not be achievable.

263. SEAL 
RESOLVED that the seal be affixed to the various Deeds and Documents to be made or entered into for the carrying into effect the several decisions and matters approved by the Council this day.

Rising 8.25 p.m.

Email: info@tavistock.gov.uk
Telephone:01822 613529

Town Council Offices Drake Road Tavistock Devon PL19 0AU