Issue - meetings

To establish the Council’s Committees and Advisory Groups for the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

Council considered a report in relation to the establishment of the Council’s committees and proportionality for the 2025/26 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 of committee was set out in Appendix 1 to the report with the proposal to disestablish the Employment and Personnel Committee as recommended by the Standards Committee held on 12^th May 2025.

The Monitoring Officer informed Council that he had been informed within the last 24 hours of recent changes to the Council’s political structure which necessitated further changes to the political balance calculations and review of the number of seats allocated to each group.  Therefore, he sought Council approval for delegated authority to agree in consultation with group leaders revised political balance and membership to committees and confirm these as soon as practicable.

Moved by Councillor Steve Fritchley and seconded by Councillor Tom Munro

RESOLVED that (1) the Employment and Personnel Committee be disestablished;

(2) the Council’s committees, their terms of reference and size, as set out in Appendix 1 adjusted with the removal of the Employment and Personnel Committee, be established for the 2025/26 Municipal Year in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.1(k);

          (3) that delegated authority be given to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with Group Leaders to review and agree the political balance of the Council and allocation of seats on committees in accordance with the political balance rules;

          (4) authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the relevant Committee Chair (when appointed), to make amendments to the terms of reference for committees arising within the 2025/26 Municipal Year.