Agenda item - Mayor's Communications.

27.1       The Mayor called on Councillor Theobald to come forward and present Tim Nicholls, Head of Environmental Health & Licensing the Best Partnership Award for Managing the Night-Time Economy, which had been given at the recently held Brighton and Hove Public Service Awards 2009.

27.2       The Mayor then noted that Councillor Smith in his capacity as Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation & Tourism had recently attended the Eurocities Annual Conference and been issued with the new Members’ Certificate for the Eurocities Network and offered her congratulations to him and the Leader of the Council.

27.3       The Mayor then offered her thanks to the Democratic Services Team who had offered their services to the Martlets, one of her mayoral charities, and had spent a day painting the basement of the new charity shop in Blatchington Road, Hove.  Both she and her consort, Councillor Norman had joined the team for part of the day and know that the team enjoyed giving their time to such an organisation.  She had received a letter of thanks from the Retail Manager of the shop for what proved to be a sterling effort with up to three coats of paint going on in places and hoped that such support to voluntary organisations would be something that the whole council would take forward.

27.4       The Mayor then referred to Item 36 on the agenda, the Local Development Framework – Brighton and Hove Core Strategy: Submission and in particular to the proposed protocol for the debate and approval of the Core Strategy which was detailed in the Addendum papers that had been circulated prior to the meeting.  She noted that Councillor Mears wished to speak in relation to the protocol and therefore called on Councillor Mears.

27.5       Councillor Mears thanked the Mayor and stated that in view of the revision to the protocol at the Leaders Group on Monday to incorporate joint amendments, she wished to propose an amendment.  She felt that in the interests of openness and transparency, each of the elements making up the overall amendments should be taken and voted on separately rather than as a block.

27.6       Councillor Simson formally seconded the proposed amendment.

27.7       The Mayor put the proposed amendment to the vote, which was lost.  

27.8       The Mayor then moved that the protocol as detailed in the addendum papers should be accepted and used to govern the debate and any resolution in relation to agenda item 36.  She also noted that in agreeing to the use of the protocol, the council would be agreeing to the suspension of Standing Orders to the extend that was necessary for the business to be transacted as set out in the protocol.

27.9       The motion was carried.