Issue - meetings

The Chief Executive to submit a report which asks Members to consider proposals for approval of new governance arrangements.

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Orson, referred to the previously circulated report and explained that

(a)  the first report established the direction of the Council and this report was about how the Council was most effectively to get there.  The Peer Challenge recognised the Council had some issues in how it made decisions and the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Governance Review carried out in March 2018 set these out in more detail and made some recommendations for how the Council could improve.  The LGA’s report was received by the Governance Committee on 27 March 2018 and following that an informal Governance Development Group of Members and Officers was convened which explored these more fully.  The group met twice and looked at a range of areas including the Committee structure, policy development, the role of Leader, Chairs and Vice Chairs and representatives on outside bodies;

(b)  the Governance Development Group had made an extensive range of recommendations which the Group believed would help improve the Council’s governance processes; remove duplication and streamline decision-making.  At a time when local government finances were under such pressure it was imperative that the Council increased not only the efficiency of its services but also the way in which the democratic function operated and key recommendations within the report included :-

·         Rationalisation to three more autonomous  policy committees; Corporate, People and Place, removing overlap and duplication and creating a better alignment between the corporate priorities and corporate management structures

·         A commitment to build a new Town and Place Partnership with a broader appeal and influence to  help the council raise the profile of the Borough and encourage investment

·         Removal of a range of sub-structures, working groups and boards and replacement with a much clearer route to policy development through a new policy forum

·         These along with a range of other improvements listed within the report would not only improve how the Council carried out its business, they would also deliver a financial and productivity saving to the Council

(c)  the group’s proposals were considered by an Ad Hoc Governance Committee on 30  April 2018 and the questions and comments received from that meeting had been circulated to Councillors.  He was grateful for the contributions made at that meeting and believed that these proposals represented a very positive step in the right direction for this Council.  It was important to note however that this report represented the first phase of improvements and that further work was planned for the Governance Development Group.  This was in line with the LGA recommendations which advised the Council should review its scheme of delegation and Constitution more fully and also look at the merits of alternative governance arrangements.  He added that he looked forward to welcoming the new Director for Legal and Democratic Services who would play a key role in supporting this work and then proposed the recommendations at paragraphs 2.1 to 2.27 of the report and that the vote on the recommendations be taken ‘en bloc’.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 127