MAIDSTONE BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

COUNCIL

 

27 APRIL 2011

 

JOINT REPORT OF THE HEAD OF DEMOCRATIC SERVICES AND MONITORING OFFICER

 

Report prepared by Neil Harris 

 

 

1.                 REVIEW OF COMMITTEES

 

1.1              Issue for Decision

 

1.1.1         To consider the outcome of a review of committees undertaken for consideration before and implementation at the start of the new municipal year 2011/12.

 

1.2              Recommendation of Head of Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer

1.2.1         Overview and Scrutiny Committees

 

That option 3 of 3 committees based on the Council’s new strategic priorities as detailed in the attached Terms of Reference be adopted as described in section 1.3.3.

1.2.2         Planning Committee

 

1.2.2.1    That, with effect from the start of the Municipal Year 2011/12, the number of members on Planning Committee be reduced from 13 to 11.

1.2.3         Licensing and Licensing Act 2003 Committees

1.2.3.1    That no changes are made to the Licensing and Licensing Act 2003 Committees.

 

1.2.4         Employment and Development Panel

 

1.2.4.1    That the terms of reference of the Employment and Development Panel be expanded to include responsibilities currently undertaken by the Joint Consultative Committee and the Investigatory Committee.

1.2.4.2    That the functions set out below delegated to the Employment and Development Panel be dealt with as follows:-

 

(a)      Appraisals - to be delegated to a sub-committee of 5 members

(b)      Acting as an Investigatory committee in disciplinary matters for staff on the JNC Conditions of Service for Chief Officers of Local Authorities - to be delegated to a sub-committee of 5 members

(c)      Hearing and determining of appeals under the disciplinary procedures for staff on the JNC Conditions of Service for Chief Officers of Local Authorities – to be delegated to a Sub-Committee of 5 members who must be different to those members appointed to serve on (b) above.

 

1.2.4.3   That the delegation to the General Purposes Group as set out below be transferred to the Employment and Development Panel:-

 

“To advise the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Head of Human Resources on Member development priorities where appropriate.”

 

1.2.4.4   That to accommodate the additional delegations and to appoint the sub-committees that the membership of the Employment and Development Panel increase from 8 members to 12 members and include at least 2 members of the Executive.

 

1.2.5         Local Development Document Advisory Group

 

1.2.5.1    That the Local Development Document Advisory Group is disbanded

             and that its role of giving advice to the Cabinet and the Cabinet Member for Regeneration on the Local Development Documents and Local Development Framework is transferred to the appropriate body within the Overview and Scrutiny function.

 

1.2.5.2    That a Task and Finish Panel, appointed by the appropriate Overview and Scrutiny committee and which is politically balanced by nominations from Group Leaders, is established to take on the advisory function to the Executive during the Local Development Document process as well as the role of Overview and Scrutiny within the policy framework process.

 

1.2.6         Strategic Housing Advisory Committee

 

1.2.6.1    That the Strategic Housing Advisory Committee is disbanded.

 

1.2.6.2    That a new Housing Consultative Board comprising 7 members is created with terms of reference as recommended by the Cabinet on 9 March 2011 and that the Housing Consultative Board is established initially for a period of 12 months from May 2011 as an Advisory Sub Committee to the Executive to be appointed by the Leader on the nomination of Group Leaders but with the Board being politically balanced.

 

1.2.7         Joint Consultative Committee

 

1.2.7.1    That the Joint Consultative Committee is disbanded and that its terms of reference are transferred to the Employment and Development Panel.

 

1.2.8         Investigatory Committee

 

1.2.8.1    That the Investigatory Committee be disbanded and its terms of reference are transferred to the Employment and Development Panel and that the function be delegated to a Sub Committee of 5 members as detailed in section 1.2.4 above.

 

1.2.9         Joint Transportation Board

 

1.2.9.1    That the Joint Transportation Board be retained and reviewed in the context of the establishment of a Locality Board for Maidstone.

 

1.2.10      General Purposes Group

 

1.2.10.1 That the General Purposes Group be retained, with a reduced membership of 6, and that its terms of reference be amended as set out in section 1.3.18.2.

 

1.2.11      Planning Referrals Committee

 

1.2.11.1 That the Planning Referrals Committee be retained with a membership of 3.

 

1.2.12      Audit Committee

 

1.2.12.1 That the Committee be retained.

 

1.2.13      Standards Committee

 

1.2.13.1 That the future of the Standards Committee is looked at separately taking into account legislation currently being considered in parliament and what the Council would want to do locally.

 

1.2.14   That, with effect from 18 May 2011, the constitution be amended accordingly.

 

 

 

 

1.3              Reasons for Recommendation

 

1.3.1         Overview and Scrutiny Committees

 

1.3.2         Background

 

1.3.2.1    There are currently 4 Committees each with a membership of 7 which is allocated to 4 Conservatives and 3 Liberal Democrats and each Committee is politically balanced. These meet on a monthly basis. The Council is required by law to have an Overview and Scrutiny function though how this is set up is left to each Authority.

 

The Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA) costs for these are 4 Chairmen at £5,831 each, giving a total of £23,324.

 

The main role of scrutiny is:

 

a) policy development and review, and

 

b) holding the executive to account. 

 

In terms of the first, this is done by commenting and inputting on policy framework documents, small one off reviews and major policy reviews. The Executive are held to account by call-ins and a review of the decision making process after the decision has been made. These Committees fulfill a very necessary and legal need.

 

1.3.3         Options

 

1.3.3.1    In 2009/10 the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on behalf of all the Overview and Scrutiny Committees, undertook a review of their structure and recommended to the Council at its meeting in April 2010 the current structure.  In light of this recent decision it could be considered that there was no need for a review but in a year there have been a number of significant changes namely a new Strategic Plan with new priorities and the need to make a saving of £30,000 in the scrutiny function by 2013/14. Therefore, having looked at the structure there appear to be 3 main options open to the Council and these are as follows:-

 

·         Retention of the existing system of 4 Committees

 

·         One Overview and Scrutiny Committee that commission’s policy review panels. In this option the main Committee undertakes the formal business and holds the Executive to account whist the Panels undertake the policy review function.

 

·         The third option takes into account the Councils’ priorities as highlighted in its Strategic Plan, and changes the structure to have 3 O&S Committees mirroring the Council’s new strategic priorities.

 

1.3.3.2    The retention of the existing system does not seek to address any of the changing circumstances and therefore at this stage should be seen as an option which the Council should not take forward.

 

1.3.3.3    The second option of 1 Committee plus policy review panels (task and finish) can respond to all of the changes that have been highlighted. It would also enable statutory requirements to be met i.e. that the Council scrutinises the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership at least twice a year which could be achieved by establishing a formally constituted subcommittee of the main committee. Any panels appointed would report their findings back to the commissioning body; additionally they would be able to include any non executive member of the council and would not need to be politically balanced. The consequences would include a saving of £17,493 (resulting from fewer member allowances); potentially reduced officer attendance at meetings and reduced time in preparation for these meetings which could help achieve savings elsewhere. There would also be a potential reduction in the range of work undertaken through overview and scrutiny. The Strategic Plan and its new priorities could be encompassed in the policy reviews commissioned by the main Committee. Additionally, with the intention that the policy review panels will not require direct scrutiny officer attendance and support given by assistance on research and draft report compilation, it would be feasible to achieve the scrutiny officer team saving of £30,000 earlier than 2013/14. However, all of the changes envisaged in this option are quite significant both in terms of structure and methods of operation and perhaps could be too large a step to take at this moment in time.

 

1.3.3.4    The third option is to have 3 Committees based on the Council’s new strategic priorities. This option makes a saving of 1 fewer SRA, a saving of £5,831. The Committees would be based on the new Strategic Plan and will reflect the new priorities. By reducing to 3 Committees there is the potential to reduce the scrutiny staff time needed and assists in achieving the £30,000 saving required by 2013/14.

 

1.3.3.5    Attached to the report are draft terms of reference to both of the above alternative options.

 

1.3.3.6    On balance the Council may consider it is not ready to change to option 2 and may feel that proceeding with option 3 is the right step at this moment in time.

 

 

 

 

1.3.4         Planning Committee

 

1.3.4.1    Planning Committee has a membership of 13 consisting of 7 Conservatives and 6 Liberal Democrats which is politically balanced. The Committee meets every 3 weeks. The Council has a legal duty in terms of the planning function but it is down to the Council to determine how it operates this function. The Council has a Planning Committee as well as delegating decisions for a significant proportion of applications to Officers.

 

1.3.4.2    The Special Responsibility Allowance cost is £5,831 paid to the Chairman.

 

1.3.4.3    The Committee’s role is to determine those planning applications that come before it in accordance with the terms of reference of the Committee.

 

1.3.4.4    Factors which need to be considered in making judgements about the planning committee include the need to ensure that there is a balance of experience and knowledge about the borough, for the members to be well trained in planning matters and the responsibilities of the planning authority. Amongst other things the Planning Committee has a significant interface with both the community and developers and hence has an important role to play in terms of the reputation of the authority.

 

1.3.4.5    The majority of planning decisions are made by officers using delegated authority. At the current time it is proposed to consider only the issue of the size of the Committee.

 

1.3.4.6    Reducing the size of the Committee allows for more focused training and more efficient decision making.  If the size of the committee is reduced from 13 to 11 these benefits can be achieved whilst still retaining the ability of committee to have a mix of the different skills required by members including new and less experienced members. Reduced Committee numbers would free up Members to serve on the Licensing Committee (as members or substitutes).

 

1.3.5         Licensing and Licensing Act 2003 Committees

 

1.3.5.1    There are 2 Licensing Committees which deal with all licensing matters but the Licensing Act 2003 Committee is responsible for all licensing arising from the Licensing Act 2003.  Each Committee has a membership of 10 consisting of 5 Conservatives, 4 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent. These Committees are politically balanced. The Committee meets 6 times a year having reduced its number of meetings from 8. Additionally, the Licensing Act 2003 Committee has a Sub Committee which determines any reviews of licensing applications. The Council has a legal duty for the licensing function and in respect of the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 Committee has a legal obligation to appoint that Committee.

 

1.3.5.2    The Special Responsibility Allowance cost is £4,664. This allowance is shared equally between the Chairmen.

 

1.3.5.3    The role of the Committees are to set Council policy for the aspects of licensing including street trading, statement of licensing policy, gambling and sexual entertainment venues amongst many others. The Committee also has the very important role of appeal on individual license applications.

 

1.3.6         Options

 

1.3.6.1    There is a legal requirement for the Licensing Act 2003 Committee to have a membership of at least 10 and it makes sense that the membership of both is the same. This is also relevant to actual members as well where having the same membership has worked well in the past. Last year the Committee did not need to meet as many times as there were meetings scheduled and in agreeing the calendar of meetings it was agreed that the number of meetings would be reduced from 8 to 6. Therefore it is suggested that with the already agreed change in the number of meetings that no other changes are made.

 

1.3.7         Employment and Development Panel

 

1.3.7.1    The Employment and Development Panel (“EDP”) has a membership of 8 consisting of 4 Conservatives 3 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent and is politically balanced. The Committee meets on an ad hoc basis. There is no legal requirement for this Committee. The Council has a duty to its staff and a responsibility to set terms and conditions for employment and chooses to undertake some of these duties through this panel.

 

1.3.7.2    There is no Special Responsibility Allowance for this panel.

 

1.3.7.3    The principal role of this panel relates to the terms and conditions of employment for staff, the appointment of the Chief Executive and Directors as well as reviewing their annual performance.

 

 

 

 

1.3.8         Options

 

1.3.8.1    It is suggested that it is not appropriate for the detail considered by this Committee to be dealt with at Council and therefore a need for this body exists. There are various ways in which this could be done but the panel has worked successfully for a number of years and there would seem to be no reason to change it.

 

1.3.8.2    However as part of the review of committees there are proposed changes to the Joint Consultative Committee and the Investigatory Committee; these are set out later in the report where it is recommended that the current responsibilities of both are incorporated into the EDP.

 

1.3.8.3    The main purpose of this Committee is to determine the terms and conditions of employment of staff and rightly this is a matter for the whole panel.

 

1.3.8.4    If a decision is made to integrate the Investigatory Panel and member development with the EDP, it is suggested in this instance that Sub-Committees should comprise 5 members and hence the panel itself should increase from 8 to 12.

 

1.3.9         Local Development Document Advisory Group

 

1.3.9.1    Local Development Document Advisory Group has a membership of 12 consisting of 6 Conservatives, 5 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent. This Committee is politically balanced. The Committee meets on an ad hoc basis and in the last year four meetings were held. There is no legal requirement for this Committee. In practice many members of Local Development Document Advisory Group have extensive planning experience. Responsibility for decision making on spatial planning policy falls largely within the remit of the Executive which ultimately, with respect to the Local Development Framework (which is a policy framework document), makes recommendations to Council. Hence Local Development Document Advisory Group is an advisory committee to the Cabinet and the Cabinet member for Regeneration.

 

1.3.9.2    The Special Responsibility Allowance cost is £1,666 paid to the Chairman.

 

1.3.9.3    As the Local Development Framework is a policy framework document there is a legislative requirement, reflected in the Constitution, that this document is considered by Overview and Scrutiny.  

 

1.3.9.4    In practice over the last 12 months several of the draft policy documents and associated reports have been considered by both Local Development Document Advisory Group and Overview and Scrutiny (both pre-decision and post decision via call-in) which has resulted in some degree of duplication and delay in consideration of the LDF and hence inefficient working for both members and officers.

 

1.3.10      Options

 

1.3.10.1 The status quo would be to retain the current arrangements as described above.

 

1.3.10.2 There is no legal requirement for Local Development Document Advisory Group. Hence a second option would be to disband it and rely simply on Overview and Scrutiny’s consideration of the LDF as a framework policy document.

 

1.3.10.3 However, it is recognised that a particular strength of Local Development Document Advisory Group is the depth of expertise and interest of the members who serve on it and the consequent well informed advice provided to the Executive. It may not be desirable to populate a wide ranging O&S committee simply with members with this expertise. One way of simplifying the current arrangements while retaining the strengths of a Local Development Document Advisory Group would be to establish an Overview and Scrutiny Task and Finish Panel which would be appointed by the proposed Regeneration and Economic Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Given the nature of the work it is important that the panel appointed be politically balanced. The way in which appointments would be made is also key; typically Task and Finish Panels comprise a sub-group of the main O&S Committee with other ad hoc participants; in this case it is suggested that appointments would be identified by means of nominations of the Group Leaders in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 which stipulates that the wishes of political groups for appointments to committees and sub-committees must be accepted.

 

1.3.10.4 On balance it is recommended that Local Development Document Advisory Group be disbanded and that planning policy documents are considered by a Task and Finish Group of Overview and Scrutiny in the way described above.

1.3.11      Strategic Housing Advisory Committee

 

1.3.11.1 The Strategic Housing Advisory Committee has a membership of 6 consisting of 3 Conservatives and 3 Liberal Democrats. This Committee is politically balanced and meets on an ad hoc basis. There is no legal requirement for this Committee or its proposed successor the Housing Consultative Board as the proposed new terms of reference falls within the remit of the Executive. The Committee /Board act as an advisory body to the Cabinet or Cabinet Member.

 

1.3.11.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs relating to this committee.

 

1.3.11.3 The Strategic Housing Advisory Committee’s previous role of looking at Maidstone Housing Trust came to an end when Golding Homes was set up. However the Committee had already evolved to a certain extent by taking a more strategic role in terms of Housing. As it was an advisory body to the Cabinet Member and the Cabinet has agreed to recommend to Council that the Committee is disbanded and a new advisory body established named the Housing Consultative Board. The Cabinet has also asked that this review looks at the best way of achieving this aim.

 

1.3.12      Options

 

1.3.12.1 There are 3 options by which this advisory role can be achieved:-

 

a)   A formal advisory committee appointed by the council in the same manner as the Strategic Housing Advisory Committee

 

b)   An informal Advisory Committee appointed by the Cabinet Member which would act in accordance with the agreed terms of reference advising the Cabinet Member accordingly. The only difference is that it would be appointed by the Cabinet Member which gives more flexibility in that it would not need to be politically balanced. Meetings could still be called like any other meeting.

 

c)   The role could be undertaken by Overview and Scrutiny either through one of the Committees, a Sub Committee or a Panel. Currently the only direct involvement in the role of Overview and Scrutiny is that the Housing Strategy is a Policy Framework document and would need to be considered by them before Cabinet makes a recommendation to Council. This is only a part of the intended role of the new body.

 

1.3.12.2 The original Committee had a very specific role arising from the transfer of housing stock from the council to Maidstone Housing Trust. The Cabinet has identified the need for an advisory board which is able to give advice over a wider range of strategic housing issues for a variety of reasons including the wide range of legislative and financial changes affecting housing provision and management. It wishes to pilot a Housing Consultative Board arrangement for a period of 12 months and has defined specific outcomes which will be used to assess the value of the board.

 

1.3.12.3 Therefore, on balance, it is suggested that the preferred option is that a Housing Consultative Board is created, that is broadly politically balanced with members identified by the party leaders.

 

1.3.13      Joint Consultative Committee

 

1.3.13.1 The Joint Consultative Committee has a membership of 8, consisting of 4 Conservatives, 3 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent.  The Committee meets on an ad hoc basis. The Council has no legal requirement for this Committee; however it is good practice that there is a forum for discussions with the Trade Unions.

 

1.3.13.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs relating to this Committee.

 

1.3.13.3 The Joint Consultative Committee is a consultative forum between elected members and Trade Union Representatives at the Council relating to Health and Safety issues at work, changes in staff structure and terms and conditions of employment.  No individual cases are discussed at this forum. Any conclusion from the forum is then referred to the appropriate Council decision making body.

 

1.3.14      Options

 

1.3.14.1 This Committee has met on very few occasions in the last few years with issues between Council and Unions being settled through discussion and negotiation with officers.  However, it is a useful forum to have in existence should there be a requirement to find a way forward for matters that cannot be resolved through the usual channels. It is therefore recommended that the forum continues but that in view of the fact that it only meets on an ad hoc and irregular basis the role of the consultative forum is encompassed within the terms of reference of the Employment and Development Panel who could undertake this role as a whole committee or a Sub-Committee of the panel.

 

1.3.15      Investigatory Committee

 

1.3.15.1 The Investigatory Committee has a membership of 8, consisting of 4 Conservatives, 3 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent.  This committee meets when required and has not met for a number of years. The Council needs to appoint an Investigating Committee when it is undertaking investigations into disciplinary matters for staff on the JNC Conditions for Service for Chief Officers of Local Authorities.  However, these instances are rare.

 

1.3.15.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs relating to this committee.

 

1.3.15.3 The committee has a defined role within the Constitution acting as an investigatory body on disciplinary matters as indicated above but has not met for a number of years and has only been required once in the last 27 years.

 

1.3.15.4 As this committee has only met once in the last 27 years there seems little reason for its existence to continue. However, when required the committee needs to convene quickly It is recommended that the Investigatory Committee is disbanded and that the responsibilities are incorporated in the terms of reference for the Employment and Development Panel who appoint a Sub Committee for this purpose but that any members appointed to this must be different to those appointed to the Appeals Panel. A panel of 5 members is suggested as this size means that these members can get into the details of the case quickly.

 

1.3.16      Joint Transportation Board

 

1.3.16.1 This is an informal non statutory joint Committee with the Kent County Council and the number of Borough Council members matches the number of County Council members within the Maidstone area which gives a membership of 9, consisting of 4 Conservatives, 4 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent. The Board meets quarterly. There is no legal requirement for this Board; most of the functions relate to Kent County Council. It acts as an advisory body to both either the Kent County Council or the Maidstone Borough Council as appropriate.

 

1.3.16.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs for this Authority.

 

1.3.16.3 The Council could consider whether the influence of this Board over the decision making processes of the Kent County Council is sufficient to continue with this body but it is felt that as it does give a power of influence it is worth continuing in this format for the short term. However it is suggested that, in the future, its existence is reconsidered in light of the intention that Locality Boards comprising elected members from district and county divisions be created across Kent.

 

 

 

1.3.17      General Purposes Group

 

1.3.17.1 The General Purposes Group has a membership of 9, consisting of 4 Conservative, 4 Liberal Democrats and 1 Independent.  This is a politically balanced Group and meets five times a year. There is no legal requirement for this Group and it currently has a role of catch all Committee.

 

1.3.17.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs relating to this Group.

 

1.3.17.3 The General Purposes Group was set up to take away from Full Council a number of detailed issues which should be dealt with by a smaller group of members and to amalgamate a number of other Committees for example dealing with mayoral and other civic issues. The terms of reference reflect this position showing a number of many and varied powers including catch all delegations. There are benefits for having a catch all Committee but there is also the problem with these Committees that they can create a life of their own.

 

1.3.18      Options

 

1.3.18.1 The options available in respect of the General Purposes Group are as follows:-

 

a)        Retain it in its existing format

b)        Disband it and reallocate its terms of reference to other bodies

c)        Retain the group but reduce its powers to include only the following and reduce its membership to 6

 

1)     Electoral registration and boundary issues

2)     Appointment of the Independent Remuneration Panel

3)     Approve the Council Tax Base

4)     Appoint Council nominees to outside bodies

5)     Mayoral and other civic issues which cannot be resolved through any other channel

 

1.3.18.2 On balance a group meeting on an ad hoc basis with a reduced terms of reference (see below) would still serve a useful purpose, and therefore adoption of option c) is recommended

 

a)    In parallel with the Executive Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Standards Committee and the Monitoring Officer, to consider matters relating to changes in the Constitution and make recommendations to Council as appropriate.

 

Action - Deleted but that the constitution is amended to allow all Non Executive Committees the right to make recommendations to Council amending the constitution

 

b)    To consider any matters relating to electoral registration, elections or electoral boundaries which have not been delegated to the Electoral Registration Officer or Returning Officer.

 

Action –Retained

 

c)   To recommend to the Council the appointment of an Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer.

 

Action –retained

 

d)   To recommend to the Council the appointment of Independent Persons to serve on the Standards Committee.

 

Action – Retain and review in the light of forthcoming legislation relating to the national standards framework 

 

e)   To be responsible for the appointment of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Members‘Allowances.

 

Action – Retain

 

f)   To consider matters relating to the Mayoralty where appropriate.

 

Action – Retain

 

g)   To advise the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and the Head of Human Resources on Member development priorities where appropriate.

 

Action –Delete and transfer to the Employment and Development Panel; if this is agreed amend the name of the panel to Member and Employment and Development Panel

 

h)   To approve the Council Tax Base.

 

Action –Retain

 

i)    To appoint Council nominees to outside bodies and seminars as appropriate.

 

Action – Retain

 

j)    To consider other non-executive functions not allocated to a Committee or to an Officer and to make recommendations to the Council, as appropriate.

 

Action – Delete

 

1.3.19      Planning Referrals Committee

 

1.3.19.1 The Planning Referrals Committee has a membership of 3 with one representative from each political group. This Committee is not politically balanced. This Committee has never met to consider a referral. There is no legal requirement for this Committee but in the past it has been seen as helpful to have in place a means for the Head of Development Management to have an outlet if he believes the Planning Committee is likley to make a decision which could have significant cost implications.

 

1.3.19.2 There are no Special Responsibility Allowance costs for this committee.

 

1.3.19.3 The purpose and need for the committee has been set out above and there has been a recent reduction of the membership to 3.

 

1.3.20      Abolition of the Committee is an option but it does act as a useful back stop and therefore seems inappropriate to do so; steps have previously been taken to diminish its impact on tying up member nominations by reducing its membership to 3.

 

1.3.21      Audit Committee

 

1.3.21.1 The Audit Committee has a membership of 5 Councillors and 1 non voting independent member. The Committee is politically balanced and meets 6 times a year. There is no legal requirement for this Committee but it is good practice to have such a Committee and it has worked well for Maidstone since it was created.

 

1.3.21.2 The Chairman receives a Special Responsibility Allowance of £1666 per annum.

 

1.3.21.3 The Committee has a role as the Council’s financial watchdog for the Authority and of taking the lead in financial matters. The Committee has functioned effectively for the last few years; a recent peer review produced a largely favourable report and identified a number of modest changes which have been considered by the Committee and appropriate actions agreed. 

 

1.3.21.4 The Committee could be abolished but that would not be in accord with good practice and the effective working of the Committee since its inception.

 

1.3.22      Standards Committee

 

1.3.22.1 The Committee has a membership of 6 Councillors, 4 Independent members and 4 Parish Council representatives. There are 5 meetings a year. There is a legal requirement for this Committee at present though this requirement will be removed within the next 12 months and even by the end of the calendar year.

 

1.3.22.2 The Chairman of the Committee receives a Special Responsibility Allowance of £1666 and the 8 co-opted members £331 per annum each.

 

1.3.22.3 This Committees’ role is changing as a result of legislation and the Council will need to look at how it deals with code of conduct issues in the future.

 

1.3.23      It is not intended that this report should deal with the future of the Standards Committee.

 

1.4              Alternative Action and why not Recommended

 

1.4.1         The Council could decide to take no action but to do so would miss the opportunity to rationalise the Council’s decision making processes and the use of member and officer resources which is particularly key in the current period of austerity.

 

1.5              Impact on Corporate Objectives

 

1.5.1         The rationalisation of the decision making system will contribute to achieving the strategic  objective of corporate and customer excellence as it will deliver a more efficient and cost effective service.

 

1.6               Risk Management

 

1.6.1         The proposed changes represent a fairly modest change in the context of the overall governance arrangements for the Council. A range of options has been considered and consideration has been given to how best to retain the strengths of the current arrangements while removing rarely used Committees, removing duplication and otherwise seeking to make the Council’s arrangements more effective and efficient within the resources available. 

 

 

 

1.7              Other Implications

 

1.7.1    

1.      Financial	x
2.           Staffing	x
3.           Legal	x
4.           Equality Impact Needs Assessment
5.           Environmental/Sustainable Development
6.           Community Safety
7.           Human Rights Act
8.           Procurement
9.           Asset Management

 

 

1.7.2         The implications highlighted above have been dealt with in the body of the report.

 

1.8              Relevant Documents

 

1.8.1         Appendices

 

1.8.2         Appendix relating to Overview and Scrutiny

 

1.8.3         Background Documents

 

1.8.4         Council Constitution

 

IS THIS A KEY DECISION REPORT? X     Yes                                               No     If yes, when did it first appear in the Forward Plan?   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..     This is a Key Decision because: ………………………………………………………………………..   …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….       Wards/Parishes affected: …………………………………………………………………………………..   ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..