Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence or notification of substitute members.

In accordance with the local Code of Conduct, a councillor is required to disclose at the meeting any Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) that they may have in respect of any matter for consideration on this agenda.  Any councillor with a DPI must not participate in any discussion or vote regarding that matter and they must withdraw from the meeting immediately before consideration of the matter.

If that DPI has not been registered, the councillor must notify the Monitoring Officer of the details of the DPI within 28 days of the date of the meeting.

Councillors are further invited to disclose any non-pecuniary interest which may be relevant to any matter on this agenda, in the interests of transparency, and to confirm that it will not affect their objectivity in relation to that matter.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests.

To confirm the minutes of the Executive Advisory Board meeting held on 15 October 2020.

The minutes of the meeting of the Executive Advisory Board held on 15 October 2020 were confirmed as a correct record, and would be signed by the Chairman at the earliest opportunity.

The Executive Advisory Board (EAB) considered a report which was prepared annually to invite the Executive to review the work carried out over the past twelve months by the various working groups (including boards and panels) that had been established by the Executive, the Leader or Lead Councillors, together with the work they were likely to undertake over the next twelve months.  As part of this review the report also requested the Executive to determine whether these groups should continue as presently constituted and, if so, to make or confirm appointments to them and to identify any changes required to their terms of reference.  The requirement to submit this report to the Executive was in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 24 (j).

The EAB was recommended to consider the report and make comments and recommendations as appropriate to be submitted to the Executive when it considered this matter on 5 January 2021.

In his introduction to the report, the Leader of the Council drew attention to the proposal to disband the Museum Working Group (MWG) and expressed a view that, although delivery of the Museum Project was currently unlikely owing to challenging circumstances, there remained a need for a MWG to guide the future direction of the Museum service.  The Leader also highlighted proposals to establish two new working groups.  The purpose of the first working group was to give detailed consideration to the recommendations of the recent Local Government Association (LGA) Planning Committee Peer Review whilst the second working group would oversee the Boundary Commission’s electoral review of the Borough.

The Democratic Services and Elections Manager advised that, although this review would normally take place in May of each year, on this occasion it had been delayed owing to the Coronavirus pandemic and any membership changes the Executive agreed in January 2021 would remain in place until the commencement of the next municipal year.

Nikki Nelson-Smith, a co-opted member of the MWG, was present at the meeting and invited to speak in that respect by the Chairman.  Ms Nelson-Smith spoke in support of continuing the MWG, which she believed was a beneficial sounding board for the relevant Lead Councillor and would inform the future development of the Museum service.  She was of the opinion that the Group should have a wide remit and endeavour to improve the visitor experience and heritage attraction which could potentially enhance tourism and attract visitors to the town thereby building the local economy.  The Board was advised that the Museum had undergone a refurbishment whilst it was closed and that consultants and experts had concluded that Guildford deserved a museum and that its collection included objects of national significance.  Research had confirmed that the Museum’s current location within a scheduled ancient monument site sharing a curtilage with the Castle was beneficial with the potential to string together the heritage buildings of the town.  A Forward Plan had been drafted to inform how the service may move forward and to develop the policies to underpin  ...  view the full minutes text for item C10

The Chairman advised that she and the Director of Service Delivery were holding discussions in respect of Forward Plan items which might usefully come before the EAB for consideration and members were welcome to suggest any discussion topics to the Chairman or Vice-Chairman.

To consider and approve the EAB’s draft work programme with reference to the

Executive Forward Plan. 

The EAB work programme was noted and the Chairman expressed the Board’s gratitude to the officers who had assisted and supported the EAB throughout the past year.