The Chief Executive to submit a report which asks Members to consider proposals for approval of new governance arrangements.
Minutes:
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 Deputy Leader, Councillor Higgins, seconded the motion and reserved
his right to speak.
It was pointed out that there had been an oversight in the proposed amendments to the Constitution at Appendix
E where there was reference to the Melton Economic and Environmental Affairs
Committee and this should refer to the Place Committee. The Councillor supported the report and the
simplification of the structure and was pleased that at this stage the Council
had not moved to a Cabinet/Scrutiny model.
The Councillor felt that in a small Council such as Melton, the
Committee model gave the opportunity for all Members to contribute. However the Councillor would not oppose an
alternative structure in the future.
It was requested
that the vote not be taken ‘en bloc’ as a Member did
not agree with recommendations 2.13 and 2.14 relating to the membership of the
policy and regulatory forums.
The Mayor advised
that the Leader had included in his motion that the vote be taken ‘en bloc’ therefore it was the Leader’s decision as to
whether he accepted this change in voting arrangements.
The Leader
responded that the motion remain as put, ie. ‘en bloc’.
There was a
discussion on the role of the Policy Forum and there was a view that it should
include the opposition. However it was
felt that it was usual for the ruling group to set the policy of the Council.
It was suggested
that the concerned Councillor may wish to put an amendment to give all
Councillors the opportunity to consider the opposing view.
The Mayor asked if
the Councillor would like to put an amendment and therefore adjourned the
meeting at 6.55 p.m. for the Councillor to consider this. The meeting reconvened at 7.09 p.m.
Councillor Blase
put an amendment which requested that the Council take a vote on
recommendations 2.1-2.12 ‘en bloc’, and
recommendations 2.15 to 2.27 ‘en bloc’ and amend 2.13
and 2.14 to add the following wording after the last word of each
recommendation as follows :-
2.13 …‘along with a
representative of other groups or parties.’
2.14 …‘along with a
representative of other groups or parties.’
Councillor Holmes
seconded the amendment.
Clarification was
requested as to whether the amendment meant a representative of all other
parties or just one representative.
Councillor Blase confirmed it would be one representative. The Solicitor to the Council gave further
clarification that it was one representative out of the other groups. Councillor Holmes also clarified that it was
one representative from a minority group.
It was then asked
how it would be determined which group would provide the representative
particularly in the current circumstances.
It was also questioned whether it was legal to have a Member
representing independents.
The Chief Executive
clarified that these were informal groups not subject to political balance and
were not decision-making. It was
requested that a single representative be appointed to represent the non-ruling
group.
Councillor Greenow
raised a point of clarification that a group was a constituted body and could
not be constituted by a different group.
He added that to have a non-ruling group representative would be a
matter for the non-ruling groups to determine how it was allocated. The Chief Executive explained that the other
Members should make that decision and this was not a decision-making body. .
The Leader stated
that he opposed the amendment and was grateful that the difficulties of this representation had been
outlined. He felt the report was
positive and would help to stop duplication and urged Members to not support
the amendment.
Other Members felt
the amendment brought potentially another layer of democracy and once the electorate had decided the
balance of power, the ruling group should be able to have informal discussions
such as in these forums. Others felt the amendment was not clear in its wording
and could have been raised earlier at the briefing. It was felt that the original motion was
forward thinking and would help to
future proof the Council.
On the amendment
being put to the vote, the amendment was lost.
The Deputy Leader
referred to his reserved right to speak and stated that it had been good to
debate the well put paper. He added that
the approving the recommendations would modernise the Council and urged
Councillors not to vote against the motion and support the ‘en
bloc’ vote.
The Leader referred
to the late amendment and that it may have been helpful for advice to have been
sought before the meeting. He asked the
Council to accept his motion to take an ‘en bloc’
vote on all the recommendations.
On being put to the vote, the original motion was carried.
RESOLVED that
(1)
the
comments of the Ad hoc Governance Committee held on 30 April 2018 on the
proposed new Governance arrangements be
noted;
(2)
the new
Committee structure as set out at Appendix A be approved and this come into effect
from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(3)
it be
approved that a new policy committee be created called ‘Corporate Committee’
and this replace the existing Policy, Finance and Administration Committee in
name and the terms of reference for this committee be as set out at Appendix A
and the new committee come into effect from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(4)
it be
approved that a new policy committee be created called ‘People Committee’ and
this replace the existing Community and Social Affairs Committee in name and
the terms of reference for this committee be as set out at Appendix A and the
new committee come into effect from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(5)
it be
approved that a new policy committee be created called ‘Place Committee’ and
this replace the existing Rural, Economic and Environmental Committee in name
and the terms of reference for this committee be as set out at Appendix A and
the new committee come into effect from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(6)
a new
delegation to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the
Council be approved to authorise
one-off supplementary expenditure, required as a consequence of decisions made
from the policy committees, up to a cumulative maximum of £100,000 in any one
year;
(7)
it be
approved that the Town Area Committee be disestablished and removed from the
Council’s decision-making structure with effect from the Annual Meeting on 15
May 2018;
(8)
it be
approved that special expenses be the responsibility of the Place Committee and any outstanding
business for the Town Area Committee be transferred to the appropriate
committee with effect from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(9)
it be
approved that the Council work with partners and support the development of a
new town and place partnership involving local stakeholders and businesses, the
terms of reference for which to be determined once the membership is
established. An informal steering group
of representatives from key stakeholders; including the Chair and Vice Chair of
the Place Committee be convened to develop the approach;
(10)
the
revised terms of reference of the Governance Committee be approved with effect
from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(11)
the
revised terms of reference of the Planning Committee be approved with effect
from the Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(12)
the
revised terms of reference of the Licensing and Regulatory Committee be approved with effect from the
Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018;
(13)
it be
approved that an informal Policy Forum be developed to replace the existing Conservative
Chairs group and the membership of this group be the Leader, Deputy
Leader, Chairs and Vice Chairs of the
People and Place Committees and senior officers as determined by the Chief
Executive;
(14)
it be
approved that an informal Regulatory Forum be developed and the membership of
this group be the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Regulatory Committees and
senior officers as determined by the Chief Executive;
(15)
it be
approved that the following working groups be disbanded with effect from the
Annual Meeting on 15 May 2018 :-
·
Budget and Strategic Planning Working Group
·
Cattle Market Working Group
·
Economy Board
·
Planning Enforcement Working Group
·
Sports, Leisure and Culture Working Group
·
Tenant Consultative Working Group
(16)
it be
approved that Lead Members be removed from the Constitution and no longer be
part of the governance arrangements with effect from the Annual Meeting on 15
May 2018. The same applies to the term
‘Champions’, that these no longer form part of the Council’s governance
arrangements;
(17)
it be
approved that representatives on Outside Organisations and Partnerships be the
Leader or relevant Committee Chair as the default position except where there
is a business reason for a different Member.
The Leader or Committee Chair may nominate their Deputy or Vice chair as
required;
(18)
it be
approved that committee minutes no longer be included on the Full Council
agenda under the item ‘Questions from Members’.
Members will still be able to submit questions to the Leader and
Committee Chairs as they do currently;
(19)
it be
approved that Committees will not typically receive information only items,
rather Members will be kept informed of new initiatives and policy development
through an improved Members’ Bulletin and wider briefings as necessary; as well
as more directly through the Chairs and Leader themselves;
(20)
it be
approved that taking into account the views of the Chairman of the Welland Independent Remuneration Panel the Special
Responsibility Allowances (SRA) for the Leader,
Deputy Leader, Chair and Vice Chair roles of the three existing policy
committees transfer to the three new policy committee roles as set out at para
3.12 of this report and the Member Allowances Scheme be updated accordingly
with effect from 16 May 2018;
(21)
it be
approved that the SRA for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Town Area Committee
be deleted from the Member Allowance Scheme and the scheme be updated
accordingly with effect from 16 May 2018;
(22)
it be approved that a short interim review of any impact on Special Responsibility
Allowances as a result of these changes should take place in January 2019 once
the new arrangements have had a chance to embed. This would be subject to any wider governance
changes being proposed;
(23)
the
principle be approved that the Calendar of Meetings for 2018 19 remain as
previously drafted and considered by the Governance Committee on 27 March 2018
subject to removal of the Town Area Committee dates and the three existing
policy committees be replaced by the three new policy committee names ie. Corporate (PFA), People (CSA), Place (MEEA). The Calendar of Meetings to be considered
for approval at the Annual Meeting of the Council on 15 May 2018;
(24)
the
deferred items for adoption in the Constitution that were previously presented
to the Governance Committee held on 27 March 2018 and to the Ad hoc Governance
Committee held on 30 April 2018 as set out at Appendix E be approved;
(25)
it be
approved that the Constitution be updated in respect of all matters listed and
subsequently approved above where appropriate;
(26)
it be
approved that the Governance Development Group be retained in its current
format and membership and continue to review the Council’s governance
arrangements including a review of the scheme of delegation to officers to
offer more flexibility and consider the merits of alternative governance models
and report to the Governance Committee and subsequently the Full Council in due
course;
(27)
it be
noted that as a result of the new Governance arrangements, transitional
arrangements need to be in force until work is completed on their
implementation including a review of the Council’s Constitution including the
Financial Procedure Rules and the Policy Framework following the prioritisation
exercise and the realignment of budgets into the new committee structure and
responsibilities which will commence when the budgets are set for 2019/20 with
budget monitoring under the new arrangements not implemented fully under the
2019/20 financial year.
Supporting documents: