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Communities, Housing and Environment Committee

25 August 2020

 

Request to Reduce the Number of Nominative Trustee Positions from Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity)

 

Final Decision-Maker

Communities, Housing and Environment Committee

Lead Head of Service

Angela Woodhouse

 

Lead Officer and Report Author

Ryan O’Connell, Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Oliviya Parfitt, Democratic Services Officer

Classification

Public

Wards affected

ALL

 

Executive Summary

 

Democratic Services have received a request from Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity), to reduce the number of Council appointed Nominative Trustees from four to two.

 

As outlined within the Council’s constitution, this Committee is able to appoint Members to a vacant position (Part 2, Rule 2.2.3) for any Outside Body assigned to it. However, the authority to exercise any other function, sits with Full Council (Part 2, Rule 2.1(1)(22).

 

Purpose of Report

 

Decision

 

 

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:

1.   That Council be recommended to approve the request received by Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity); to reduce the number of Nominative Trustees appointed by the Council from four to two.

 

 

Timetable

Meeting

Date

Communities, Housing and Environment Committee

25 August 2020

Full Council

30 September 2020



Request to Reduce the Number of Nominative Trustee Positions from Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity)

 

1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

 

Issue

Implications

Sign-off

Impact on Corporate Priorities

The recommendation within this report is unlikely to materially affect the achievement of corporate priorities.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Cross Cutting Objectives

None.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Risk Management

See paragraph 5.1

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Financial

There are no financial implications.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Staffing

A reduction in the number of Nominative Trustees would minimally reduce the workload of Democratic Services in relation to this Outside Body.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Legal

The administration of outside bodies is in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and the standing orders and/or agreements of each outside body.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Privacy and Data Protection

There are no privacy and data protection implications.

Policy and Information Team

Equalities

There are no equalities implications.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Public Health

 

 

There are no public health implications.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Crime and Disorder

There are no Crime and Disorder implications.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

Procurement

There are no procurement implications.

Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

 

 

2.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

 

2.1     The appointment of Council representatives to Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity), hereafter known as the Charity, falls under the remit of the Communities, Housing and Environment Committee, as decided during the 7 March 2018 Council meeting. This Committee is responsible for appointing a total of four Nominative Trustees, as outlined in the Charity’s Scheme shown below (Clause 10).

2.2     The Charity has requested that the number of Nominative Trustee positions be reduced from four to two, due to the difficulties experienced in obtaining nominations from Members with the desired experience and skillset. This includes experience in IT, Marketing, Public Relations, Listed Building Development, Renovation and Repair, Investment Advice, Housing Management, Funding and Accounting within the Social Housing Sector and general experience in the ‘not for profit’ sector. This had led to vacancies remaining unfilled for long periods.

 

2.3     An individual that is not a member of the Council can be appointed to the position of a Nominative Trustee (See Clause 10 above) but the Charity has expressed that this leads to a complex and time-consuming procedure, as opposed to being able to appoint a co-opted Trustee (as shown below)

 

Clause 19

 

2.4     As six Trustees must be in attendance to achieve Quorum, vacant nominative positions have increased the pressure on co-opted trustees for the Charity to conduct its business.

 

2.5     In May 2019 Democratic Services were informed that the Charity was considering reducing the number of nominative trustee positions held which was confirmed in July 2020, whereby Trustees agreed at a meeting held on 16 July 2020:

 

‘To reduce the number of nominative trustees from four to two (following consultation with and approval from Maidstone Borough Council)’.

 

2.6     The delay in acting upon the request is in part due to staff changes, staff shortages and adjustments in working practice and staff redeployment due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It was agreed at the 1 July 2020 Democracy and General Purposes Committee meeting, that the administration of Outside Bodies would remain a low operational priority. However, given the age of the request and reasons states above, it is felt that a recommendation to Council to approve the reduction would better enable the Charity to exercise its functions.

 

2.7     Reducing the number of Nominative Trustees will minimally reduce the workload for Democratic Services as fewer positions will need to be advertised in the future.

 

 

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

 

3.1     The Committee could choose to recommend that the reduction in the number of Nominative Trustee Positions, from four to two, be agreed by Full Council.  

 

3.2     The Committee chooses not to recommend the reduction in the number of Nominative Trustee positions to Full Council.

 

 

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

 

4.1    Option 3.1 is the preferred option for the reasons as outlined in Section 2.

 

 

5.       RISK

5.1    The report has no significant impact on risk.

6.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

 

6.1     None.

 

 

7.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

 

7.1     If the Committee recommends to Council that the number of Nominative Trustees appointed by the Council, and this is agreed, the Charity will then be informed. The necessary changes would be made to the Charity’s scheme and the Charity Commission would be informed. Implementing the changes would not be the Council’s responsibility but would fall to the Cutbush and Corrall Charity.

 

 

 

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

 

None.

 

 

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

The Cutbush and Corrall Charity (Incorporating the Quested Almshouse Charity) Scheme.