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Maidstone Borough Council

Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Tuesday 5 August 2008

Nomination of Working Group for “Speed of Council Decision Making”

Report of: Senior Overview and Scrutiny Officer

1.      Background

1.1     At the meeting of the Committee on 1 July 2008, Members agreed that a review of the speed of Council decision-making should be undertaken by a working group, following the submission of this as a suggestion for review by a parish council.

1.2     The Overview and Scrutiny Member Handbook states the following with regard to working groups:

“Task and finish panels are usually smaller in membership than their parent committee: between 3 and 5 members is appropriate. The task and finish panel would be expected to appoint a chair and would be supported by the scrutiny team. It would report back its findings to its parent committee and the parent committee would agree any final report and recommendations. It is important that the panels are set clear time-limits: between 3 and 6 months is usually appropriate.”

1.3     The Working Group will set its terms of reference at its first meeting and will be provided with the attached report to consider to assist with this.

1.4     The Working Group Members will need to be available during working hours; due to the busy meetings schedule and constraints on officer and Member time, daytime meetings allow for more meetings to be held in a shorter period of time, ensuring that the review maintains momentum and is completed in a reasonable timeframe.

1.5     If there are not enough Members of the Committee available to take part in this Working Group, it is recommended that Group Leaders be approached to nominate representatives.

2.      Recommendations

2.1     Members are recommended to:

a)   Establish how many Working Group Members would be appropriate;

b)   Consider whether political proportionality is required for this Working Group;

c)   Nominate representatives for the Working Group; and

d)   If there are not enough nominations from the Committee, instruct the Senior Overview and Scrutiny Officer to approach Group Leaders for nominations.