Democracy and General Purposes Committee			29 March 2023

Community Governance Review (Parishes) � Timetable Amendment

Final Decision-Maker	Democracy and General Purposes Committee
Lead Head of Service	Angela Woodhouse, Director of Strategy, Governance and Insight
Lead Officer and Report Author	Ryan O�Connell, Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Classification	Public
Wards affected	All

Executive Summary
The Community Governance Review Stage 2 Consultation is delayed from April 2023 to start in June 2023.� The timetable should be formally amended and publicised so that the community know when actions will be taken and when they can participate in consultation.
Purpose of Report Decision

This report makes the following recommendations to this Committee:
That the amendment to the timetable set out at 2.1 below be agreed

Timetable
*Meeting*		*Date*
Democracy and General Purposes Committee		29 March 2023

Community Governance Review (Parishes) � Timetable Amendment

1. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

Issue	Implications	Sign-off
Impact on Corporate Priorities	The four Strategic Plan objectives are: � Embracing Growth and Enabling Infrastructure � Safe, Clean and Green � Homes and Communities � A Thriving Place The Community Governance Review will materially impact on the Council�s priorities through confirming or changing Community Governance arrangements in different areas.� However, the decision to delay the 2^nd stage consultation will not materially impact the Community Governance Review as it uses up planned contingency.	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Cross Cutting Objectives	The four cross-cutting objectives are: � Heritage is Respected � Health Inequalities are Addressed and Reduced � Deprivation and Social Mobility is Improved � Biodiversity and Environmental Sustainability is respected The Community Governance Review will materially impact on the Council�s objectives through confirming or changing Community Governance arrangements in different areas.� However, the decision to delay the 2^nd stage consultation will not materially impact the Community Governance Review as it uses up planned contingency.	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Risk Management	Contingency time has been used to delay the Stage 2 Consultation which increases risks due to any further delays, but is within acceptable limits.	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Financial	None	Section 151 Officer & Finance Team
Staffing	The delay to the Stage 2 consultation enables the Democratic and Electoral Services team to focus on the May 2023 elections and supporting the Governance structures of the Council.	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Legal	The review is being conducted by the Council in accordance with Part 4, Chapter 3 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (the 2007 Act). The Council is required to have regard to the Guidance on Community Governance Reviews issued by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. It is good practice to formally agree amendments to the timetable.	Interim Team Leader (Contentious and Corporate Governance)
Privacy and Data Protection	None	Policy and Information Team
Equalities	None	Policy & Information Manager
Public Health	None	Public Health Officer
Crime and Disorder	None	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Procurement	None	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager
Biodiversity and Climate Change	None	Democratic and Electoral Services Manager

2.�� INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.1 In October 2022 the Council approved the Terms of Reference for the Community Governance Review.� The Terms of Reference set out an indicative timetable as follows (the proposed amendment to that timetable is underlined below):

Event	Date
Consideration of Terms of Reference by Democracy and General Purposes Committee	19 September 2022
Approval of Terms of Reference by Council	28 September 2022
Terms of Reference Published	3 October 2022
First Consultation Stage	November 2022 � January 2023
Approval of draft recommendations by Democracy and General Purposes Committee	29 March 2023
Second Consultation Stage � Draft Recommendations	~~April 2023 � June 2023~~ June 2023 � August 2023
Final Recommendations considered by Democracy and General Purposes Committee	September 2023
Final recommendations approved by Council	September 2023
Community Governance Order(s) made	October 2023

2.2 The first consultation stage began on time and the responses to that consultation have been received and considered by officers.� Officers have also met and considered practical changes and proposals based on the objectives set out in the terms of reference.�

2.3 However, given the extent of work required to fully assess those proposals and work up the details of them to bring to a workshop with Councillors to create proposals for the Stage 2 consultation (Draft Recommendations) this consultation cannot commence by the time indicated.

2.4 Through consultation with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Committee the decision was taken to revise the timetable with Stage 2 consultation beginning post the May 2023 elections once due time and resource could be put into bringing forward assessed proposals to Councillors.

2.5 This delay has two benefits:

1. That the currently reduced Democratic and Electoral Services team can focus its limited resources on supporting the Governance arrangements of the Council and on delivering the May 2023 election; and

2. That more time can be spent on fully assessing the proposals to the quality that Councillors would expect before the Committee determines which ones to take forward to Stage 2.

2.6�� This delay has the following impacts:

1. The initial expectations of the community will be based on the original timetable � these will not be met, The new timetable will be publicised if agreed.

2. The planned contingency time built into the timetable is being used to accommodate this delay.� This increases the overall risk that the review will not deliver on time.� This risk has been assessed and mitigated by the �detailed draft timetable for action as follows:

Date	Event
15 May � 28 May 2023	Officer work on proposals and officer group sessions
31 May 2023	Information provided to Councillors
7 June 2023	Councillor event � D&GP Members with contributions from relevant Ward Councillors
13 June 2023	D&GP agenda publication
21 June 2023	D&GP Meeting
23 June 2023	6 week consultation start with targeted consultation with significantly impacted parishes
14 August 2023	Results
30/31 August 2023	D&GP workshop on final outcomes
5 September 2023	D&GP publication
13 September 2023	D&GP
27 September 2023	Council

This table is indicative only as the calendar of meetings 2023/24 has not yet been approved by Council.

2.7�� As a result of this assessment the risk is considered acceptable and the amendment recommended.

3. AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1 Option 1 � Amend the timetable as described in 2.1 � this has been assessed as acceptable to the review and allows the change to be communicated.

3.2 Option 2 � Propose an alternative timetable � this will not have been assessed.

3.3 Option 3 � make no amendment to the timetable as currently published which would mean the delays would likely occur but would not be communicated and deadlines will be missed.

4. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 Option 1 for the reasons set out above.

5. RISK

5.1 Risk has been assessed in 2.6 and 2.7 above.

6. CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

6.1 The Chairman and Vice-Chair have been consulted on this change and have indicated they support it.

7. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

7.1 The new timetable would be published on the website.

8. REPORT APPENDICES

� None

9. BACKGROUND PAPERS

None