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DEMOCRACY AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE |
26 JANUARY 2022 |
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Independent Remuneration Panel – Appointment of Independent Person |
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Final Decision-Maker |
COUNCIL |
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Lead Head of Service |
Angela Woodhouse (Head of Policy, Communications and Governance) |
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Lead Officer and Report Author |
Lara Banks (Democratic Services Officer) |
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Classification |
Public report with private appendices.
Exempt Category – the information contained within Appendices 2-3 is considered exempt under the following paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972: Paragraph 1 – Information relating to any individual.
Public Interest Test - it is not in the public interest to make the information contained in this exempt Appendix public as to do so would reveal personal details of a member of the public who has applied to serve as an Independent Person. Similarly, it would be inappropriate to conduct the interviews in public because of the likely disclosure of information relating to an individual.
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Wards affected |
All
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Executive Summary |
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Ahead of the Council’s move to executive arrangements, the Independent Remuneration Panel is required to meet to make their recommendations to Council on the Member Allowance Scheme. In order to do this, a third member of the panel needs to be appointed.
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Purpose of Report
Decision.
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This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee: |
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1. To consider the applications received to fill the vacancy on the Independent Remuneration Panel 2. That a recommendation be made to Council for the preferred candidate to be appointed as an Independent Person on the Independent Remuneration Panel for the review taking place in February 2022.
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Timetable |
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Meeting |
Date |
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Democracy and General Purposes Committee |
26 January 2022 |
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Council |
31 January 2022 |
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Independent Remuneration Panel – Appointment of Independent Person |
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1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 In accordance with the requirements of the Local Authorities (Members’ Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, the Council is required to have an Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP), the purpose of which is to make recommendations to the Council on its Members’ Allowance Scheme and that of Parish Councils.
1.2 These include recommendations on childcare allowances, pension arrangements, and travel and subsistence among other considerations.
1.3 The Council will be moving to an executive system of governance from its next annual meeting for the Municipal Year 2022/23. The IRP is required to meet to review the Members Allowance Scheme ahead of the new governance arrangements coming into place.
1.4 The panel consists of three Members, and there is currently one vacancy. This was advertised on the Council’s website and the advert can be seen at Appendix 1.
1.5 It is proposed that the interview be conducted in private because of the likely disclosure of information relating to an individual.
1.6 As no applications had been received at the time of publication, the deadline for submission has been extended and applications will be sent to Committee Members for their consideration ahead of the interviews.
2. AVAILABLE OPTIONS
2.1 That the Committee recommend to Council the appointment of an Independent Person to the Independent Remuneration Panel.
2.2 That the Committee do not recommend to Council the appointment of an Independent Person to the Independent Remuneration Panel. This is not recommended as it would prevent the review of the Members’ Allowance Scheme ahead of the change to the governance system.
3. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
3.1 That the Committee recommend to Council the appointment of an Independent Person to the Independent Remuneration Panel. This will ensure that a full panel is able to meet on the 8th and 22nd February 2022 to agree the Members’ Allowance Scheme, which can then be recommended to Council within the appropriate timeframe.
4. RISK
4.1 There is
a risk that an unsuitable person will be appointed to serve on the panel,
however the selection process is designed to minimise this possibility.
5. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION
5.1 The Committee will interview the candidates and recommend the appointment of the preferred candidate to full Council at their meeting on 31st January 2022.
5.2 The IRP will then meet on the 8th February and 22nd February 2022.
6. REPORT APPENDICES
The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:
· Appendix 1: Job advert
· Exempt Appendix 2: Interview Assessment Form
7. BACKGROUND PAPERS
None.