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COUNCILS WHICH CHANGED TO COMMITTEE SYSTEM THIS YEAR |
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Council |
Tier |
Political Control |
Old System |
New System (Summary) |
Supporting Documentation |
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Sutton |
London Borough |
42 LibDem, 11 Conservative, 1 Labour |
EXECUTIVE AND SCRUTINY: Executive, 4 scrutiny committees, 5 advisory groups, regulatory committees, 6 Local Committees |
COMMITTEE SYSTEM: 5 cross cutting committees (strategy and resources; environment and neighbourhood; children, family and education; housing, economy and business; adult social services and health), 1scrutiny committee, regulatory committees, 6 local committees. Each of the proposed committees would have ten Councillors on them, apart from the Strategy and Resources Committee which would have 15. The new committees would meet five times a year and be politically balanced. Committees would determine how to manage their business and could establish their own working groups or sub-committees if required having regard to the resource implications to ensure that these groups could be properly supported by officers. There would also be specific lead roles for members in certain areas e.g. Resources. There is still a Scrutiny Committee to undertake the council's statutory scrutiny responsibilities in respect of Health, Crime&Disorder, and Flood Risk Management. |
Approved 30th April 2012. Minutes and agenda including links to relevant reports: http://sutton.moderngov.co.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=19030; public document pack at http://sutton.moderngov.co.uk/mgConvert2Pdf.aspx?ID=4175&T=9 |
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Kingston upon Thames |
Royal (London) Borough |
27 LibDem, 21 Conservative (with broad agreement on the change). |
COMMITTEE SYSTEM: Decisions are made by 3 Strategic (People, Place&Sustainability, Policy&Resources), 4 Neighbourhood and 2 Regulatory Committees, with a Scrutiny Panel, Standards Committee, and Health Overview Panel. The Scrutiny Panel will deal with any decisions called in by the community - ie.100 people who live, work or study in the Borough. The Scrutiny Panel cannot change decisions, but reviews the evidence on which decisions have been made and any additional consuderations. Decisions my be referred back to Committee to reconsider taking into account the Panel's views. Portfolio holders remain but no cabinet. (Derek Osbourne (Lib Dem) explains: “To all intents and purposes we have restored committees, but the roles of portfolio holders are now much wider than those of chairs in the old pre-2000 system.” “There will be health scrutiny and we have a scrutiny committee that can be convened if 100 members of the public petition it to be, which is useful for things where parties agree but there is controversy.” (http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/corporate-core/governance/committee-system-could-now-be-outdated-councils-warned/5043884.article) Description on website: http://www.kingston.gov.uk/information/your_council/council_and_democracy/council_and_decision_making.htm. |
April 2011: Council changed to new system retaining old system for legal reasons. Council decided to change system officially on 17th April 2012. Decision formalised 9th May 2012. Minutes including links to relevant reports: http://www.kingston.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/committeeminutes/moderngov.htm?mgl=ieListDocuments.aspx&CId=137&MID=6445#AI19317 |
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Nottinghamshire |
County |
35 Conservative, 15 Labour, 9 LibDem, 4 Mansfield Independent Forum, 1 Independent, 1 Selston Independents, 1 UKIP, 1 vacancy. |
COMMITTEE SYSTEM: Policy Committee and 'policy area' committees (e.g. Children and Young People's Committee, Finance and Property Committee). Also 2 scrutiny committees which focus on health issues. List of committees is at http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/dms/Committees.aspx. Nottinghamshire CC leader Kay Cutts (Con) said there would be two area committees to scrutinise hospitals, while the health and wellbeing board would oversee other health aspects. Crime and disorder would be scrutinised by the policy committee, on which all committee chairs would sit. “If a committee makes a decision it will expect a report on implementation six months later and will scrutinise progress,” Cllr Cutts said. |
Approved at full Council meeting on 17th May 2012. Minutes and links to relevant reports: http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/dms/Meetings/tabid/70/ctl/ViewMeetingPublic/mid/397/Meeting/93/Committee/2/Default.aspx. (An early version of the report from March is at http://itsacr02a.nottscc.gov.uk/apps/ce/memman/memman.nsf/AB0438F3D90C221980257871004A2697/$file/11_Change%20to%20Governance%20Arrangements%20Report.pdf; there will have been an earlier version in January ) |
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Brighton and Hove |
City |
23 Green, 18 Conservative, 13 Labour&Coop |
COMMITTEE SYSTEM. The basic change to the structure of council meetings is that Cabinet Member Meetings have become committees. As a result, Cabinet Members now serve as Chair to the relevant committee. The Council plans a health and wellbeing scrutiny committee and a general scrutiny committee convened as needed. |
Motion
was made by the Labour&Coop group in May 2011 following agreement
underthe previous Council that it wished to return to the Committee system.
Council agenda: |
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South Gloucestershire |
County |
The Conservatives have 34 councillors at South Gloucestershire, but Labour and the Liberal Democrats have 36. |
LEADER AND CABINET |
COMMITTEE SYSTEM: The majority of council decisions will be
taken by 10 committees, made up of elected members drawn from all parties
according to the makeup of the Council, with a Chair elected for each
committee. |
Majority decision at Council on 21/3/2012 - see http://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=5056&Ver=4. To be introduced from Council's annual meeting 23/5/12 where appointments to committees were discussed - see http://council.southglos.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=5057&Ver=4. |
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COUNCILS WHICH MADE OR CONSIDERED MAKING SOME CHANGES THIS YEAR FOLLOWING LOCALISM ACT |
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Council |
Tier |
Political Control |
Old System |
New System (Summary) |
Supporting Documentation |
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Tunbridge Wells |
Borough |
37 Conservatives, 5 LibDems, 2 Independents, 2 Labour, 2 UKIP |
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3 Cabinet Advisory Boards composed of non-executive members and Cabinet Members, open to the public, with remits agreed at the start of each year. The Cabinet Advisory Boards are not overview and scrutiny committees and will therefore not be able to consider call-ins or to establish task and finish groups. The number of overview & scrutiny committees has been reduced to one. The role of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee will be to operate a task & finish model, to undertake focussed reviews to improve the borough and to consider any call-ins (although these should be reduced under this structure). The following Cabinet Working groups will be removed: Members’ Learning & Development Group, Tunbridge Wells Transport Forum, Public Health & Wellbeing Members’ Working Group and Children & Young People Members’ Working Group. |
http://democracy.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=134&MId=1506&Ver=4 Reports pack p19 onwards |
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Kent |
County |
Conservative |
Hybrid model involving Cabinet Committees but also Leader and Cabinet |
First debate Oct 2011 in https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=3485 reports pack p27 onwards, then agreed Dec 2011 https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=3486&Ver=4; further details refined at https://democracy.kent.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=113&MId=3904&Ver=4; |
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Cornwall |
County |
47 Conservative, 38 LibDem, 30 Independent, 5 Mebyon Kernow, 1 Labour, 1 Independent, 1 Vacant |
Cabinet system via the strong leader model |
Under debate; still seems to be at consultation and visiting stage and debating how to go about the review |
Governance Review Panel has been set up to investigate options. Meetings of this review panel are documented at https://democracy.cornwall.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=890. For discussions following on from this at full council See https://democracy.cornwall.gov.uk/mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=4402 pp85-90; https://democracy.cornwall.gov.uk/mgChooseDocPack.aspx?ID=4030 pp.30-34 and also earlier meetings - This seems to be mainly copies of the other meetings but some members comments too? |
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Newark and Sherwood |
District |
22 Conservative, 15 Labour, 4 Independents, 3 LibDems, 2 Newark and Sherwood Independents |
In Annual Council meeting on 8/3/2012 it was decided to move to the Committee system of governance in May 2013. The Councillors' Commission is currently working on detailed arrangements and the delay allows for consultation. On the same date there was a motion that 'Liberal Democrats call upon all parties to discuss the possibility of the use of some hybrid system which will allow the input of minority party view into decision making without the possible worst effects of absolute proportionality.' |
http://www.newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk/agendas/annualcouncil150512/ p18. |
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Solihull |
Metropolitan Borough |
28 Conservatives, 6 Greens, 10 LibDems, 1 IRRA, 6 Labour |
Article from Feb 2012 says Leader Ken Meeson (Con) expects to reopen the debate later this year. He said the council had looked at a hybrid model where portfolio holders would chair a committee the decisions of which they would sign off.However, that model “met objections that the committee would not really be taking the decision,” he explained.“The problem is speed of decision [of cabinets] against wider involvement of councillors. (http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/corporate-core/governance/small-but-significant-shift-to-committees/5040639.article) No Council or Governance Committee minutes deal with this issue since this article was published. |
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Cheshire East |
44 Conservative, 14 Labour, 4 LIbDem, 3 Middlewich First, 2 Handforth Ratepayers, 4 Independent, 1 Shavington First |
Corporate Scrutiny Committee Constitution Committee report recommended in Jan 2012 that the Corporate Scrutiny Committee and Constitution Committee set up a Joint Member Working Group on a 5:1:1 basis with a view to investigating in detail all available options to review governance arrangements under the Localism Act 2011. At Council meeting on 16th May 2012 it was decided that: (1) with effect from the end of a shadow period of operation, which shall end no earlier than September 2012, the existing Overview and Scrutiny Committees will be dissolved and be replaced with two Overview and Scrutiny Committees with the names and provisional terms of reference set out in Appendix 1 of the report;(2) with immediate effect Council establishes, initially in shadow form, up to nine Policy Groups, aligned with the Cabinet, with the provisional terms of reference set out in Appendix 2 of the report; |
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East Cambridgeshire |
committee structure |
reorganisation of committees in Feb 2011 |
http://www.eastcambs.gov.uk/press/new-committee-structures-improve-council-performance; |
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Darlington |
Report on the Localism Act brought to Council in 10th May 2012 recommended that the option to move to a Committee system is brought to members' attention for consideration. Looked at changes necessary in order to implement Committee system. The earliest that the system could be implemented is therefore 2013. |
http://www.darlington.gov.uk/PublicMinutes/Council/May%2010%202012/Item%207b.pdf; for report follow link from http://www.darlington.gov.uk/democracy/democracy/democraticinvolvement/political+management/Meeting.htm?id=1440 |
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Ribble Valley |
Previously had 'alternative arrangements'. The Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee had 14 Members and meets five times a year. |
27March 2012 report to the Policy&Finance Committee said Council had option to continue with present O&S arrangements, transfer O&S responsibilties to another Committee, cease to perform such functions, or adopt a model such as Leader and Cabinet or Mayor and Cabinet. A sub-group of four members was appointed to make recommendations. Council said it was committed to retaining the existing Committee System. |
http://www.ribblevalley.gov.uk/egov_downloads/Changes_to_Governance_Arrangements.pdf |
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Kensington and Chelsea |
Conservative |
There was suggestion by CFPS that council were looking at Committee System. However cannot find further references to this and council minutes on website are corrupt |
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Barnet |
Conservative |
Still has Leader, Cabinet, O&S |
There was suggestion by CFPS that council were looking at Committee System. No relevant items in Council or Constitution committee meeting minutes from Oct 2011 to date. |
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Wandsworth |
47 Conservative, 13 Labour |
An updated Leader and Cabinet system following a consultation in 2009: http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/info/10058/decision_making/597/executive_arrangements_consultation; http://ww3.wandsworth.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=296&MId=3361&Ver=4 |
There was suggestion by CFPS that council were looking at Committee System. Nothing immediately apparent. |
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Hertfordshire |
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There was suggestion by CFPS that council were looking at Committee System. Nothing immediately apparent. |
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COUNCILS WHICH CHANGED THEIR STRUCTURES PRIOR TO LOCALISM ACT (OFTEN RESULT OF HEALTH ACT 2007) |
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Council |
Tier |
Political Control |
Old System |
New System (Summary) |
Supporting Documentation |
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Huntingdonshire |
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Changed in Nov 2010 to executive leader and cabinet executive to comply with Local Govt and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. |
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Stratford on Avon |
District |
committee structure with a cabinet and O&S |
Changed to a revised committee structure in May 2010 - number of O&S committees reduced from 1 to 2. Cabinet retained. Also some changes to the advisory/working groups for the cabinet and some general committees. |
https://secure.maidstone.gov.uk/,DanaInfo=democracy.stratford.gov.uk+mgAi.aspx?ID=10392 |
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Northampton |
Borough |
Conservative |
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Following a consultation in November 2010, a report was presented to council in December 2010. Council was asked to resolve to operate either the Leader and Cabinet (England) Executive model or the Directly Elected Mayor and Cabinet model from May 2011. It was resolved hat the Leader and Cabinet Executive (England) model be adopted. This was based on the requirements under Health, not the Localism Act. Cannot see any further Council minutes including this issue from Oct 2011 to date. |
http://www.northamptonboroughcouncil.com/councillors/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=242&MId=6515 |