Decision details

Council considered a report presented by the Monitoring Officer in relation to the establishment of the Council’s committees and proportionality for the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

In line with the provisions within legislation and the Council’s constitution, the Annual Meeting of Council was required to:

·         appoint at least one Scrutiny Committee and other such committees as the Council considered appropriate to deal with matters which were neither reserved to Council nor were Executive Functions;

·         decide the size and terms of reference for those committees;

·         decide the allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with the Political Balance rules.

The size and terms of reference for each committee were set out in Appendix 1 to the report.  Appendix 3 to the report showed the allocation of Committee seats which best met the requirements of Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 as far as was reasonably practicable.

The report proposed that the Joint Employment and Appeals Committee be disestablished, as this body had dealt with appointments to the Strategic Alliance Management Team, which no longer existed.  The report also proposed that the membership of Planning Committee be increased to 10 members, as well as the Local Plan Implementation Advisory Group.  It was also proposed to increase the membership of the Climate Change and Communities Scrutiny Committee and the Finance and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee from 7 to 8 members.  This would take the total seats on the scrutiny committees to 30.  The final proposed change was to disestablish the Audit and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee and to replace it with a separate Audit Committee and a Finance and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee.  The terms of reference for the new committee were set out in Appendix 2 to the report.

Moved by Councillor Duncan McGregor and seconded by Councillor Steve Fritchley

RESOLVED that (1) the Council’s committees, their terms of reference and the size, as set out in Appendix 1 and 2 be established for the 2023/24 Municipal Year in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.1(k);

            (2) the Joint Employment and Appeals Committee and Audit and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee be disestablished;

            (3) the Council agrees the allocation of seats on committees as set out in Appendix 3, in accordance with the political balance rules;

            (4) authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and relevant Committee Chair (when appointed), to make amendments to the terms of reference for committees arising within the 2023/24 Municipal Year.

(Monitoring Officer/Governance & Civic Manager)