HERITAGE, CULTURE AND LEISURE COMMITTEE			5 January 2016
Is the final decision on the recommendations in this report to be made at this meeting?				Yes

Change to the Committee Cycle for Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee

Final Decision-Maker	Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee
Lead Head of Service	Paul Riley, Head of Finance and Resources
Lead Officer and Report Author	Caroline Matthews, Democratic Services Officer
Classification	Public
Wards affected

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:
That the Democracy Committee be recommended to revise the frequency of meetings of this Committee from bi-monthly to monthly as part of its review of the Constitution in view of the anticipated increase in workload of this Committee.

This report relates to the following corporate priorities:
� Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all � � Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough

Timetable
*Meeting*		*Date*
Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee		5 January 2016
Democracy Committee		27 January 2016

Change to the Committee Cycle for Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee

1. PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1�� To consider whether it would be appropriate to request a change to the frequency of this Committee�s meetings from bi-monthly to monthly.

2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.1 When the new Constitution was originally adopted by Council last year it was envisaged that the Heritage, Culture and Leisure Committee would not have as much business as the other three Service Committees so it should meet on a bi-monthly basis.

2.2 However, with major development planned for Mote Park, Maidstone Museum and the development of the Visitor Economy, all of which fall under the responsibility of this Committee, it is envisaged that the business for this Committee will increase.� A copy of the Committee�s work programme is attached as Appendix �A�.

2.3 In view of this, Councillors Newton, Pickett and Paterson have requested that this Committee considers making a recommendation to the Democracy Committee to change the frequency of meetings from bi-monthly to monthly when it carries out its review of the Constitution later this month.

3. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

3.1 If the recommendation is agreed, a Reference from this Committee will be presented to the Democracy Committee at its meeting on 27 January 2016 detailing the recommendation made by this Committee.

4. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	Keeping Maidstone Borough an attractive place for all Securing a successful economy for Maidstone Borough	Head of Finance and Resources
Risk Management	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Financial	There are many financial implications arising from a change in the frequency of meetings. It is important to note that this may have a bearing on the remuneration of the Chairman and staffing costs which would impact on the Council�s budget.	Section 151 Officer
Staffing	Any changes to the Committee cycle may affect staffing resources.	Head of Finance and Resources
Legal	There are no legal implications.	Head of Finance and Resources
Equality Impact Needs Assessment	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Environmental/Sustainable Development	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Community Safety	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Human Rights Act	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Procurement	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources
Asset Management	None identified	Head of Finance and Resources

5. REPORT APPENDICES

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

� Appendix A