Agenda item

(Notice - Approval of alternative arrangements for appointments to some Committees and Sub-Committees on a non-proportionate basis, is to be considered).

The Council considered a report which proposed the allocation of seats on Committees and Sub-Committees of the Council, having regard to political balance in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, following the Borough Council Elections held on 4th May, 2017.

The Council was also advised of adjustments necessary to reflect a best proportionate fit in accordance with the principles of proportionality, as set out within paragraph 25 of the report.

It was reported that following the dispatch of the agenda papers, a list of Political Group nominations for the appointment of Members to serve on Committees, Sub-Committees and Scrutiny Panels, had been tabled at the meeting, which outlined nominations received from Group Leaders.

The Council was also requested to make appointments and co?options to other Committees of the Council, not subject to the requirement for proportional balance.

Members noted that the proposed allocation of seats set out in the report, was based on:-

(i)        Proportionality being applied to the Committees/Sub-Committees shown in the table below based on the membership indicated:-

(ii)       Proportionality would not apply to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee or the four Overview and Scrutiny Standing Panels, in order to maximise cross-party representation;

(iii)      the Licensing Committee, set up under the Licensing Act 2003, need not be politically proportionate.  However, in seeking nominations from Group Leaders onto these 14 seats, these had been sought in proportion to the overall composition on the Council.  The appointment of Licensing Sub-Committees to conduct hearings under Section 10 of the Licensing Act 2003, was a statutory function reserved by the Act to the statutory Licensing Committee.  Accordingly, it was a matter for the Licensing Committee to appoint these Sub?Committees and to schedule any required meetings; and

(iv)      Proportionality would not apply to the Health and Wellbeing Board in accordance with legislative requirements.

RESOLVED that

(1)       seats on Committees and Sub-Committees be allocated as set out in the table at paragraph 25 of the report, subject to the Labour Group losing one seat on each of the following Committees:-

·        Chief Officers Appeals Committee; and

·        Chief Officers Investigatory Sub-Committee

(2)       as a consequence of the loss of the 2 seats at (1) above, the two seats be allocated to the two Independent Members, Councillors Nigel Cannings and John Cooke, as follows:-

(a)     Councillor Nigel Cannings

·      Chief Officers Investigatory Sub-Committee

(b)     Councillor John Cooke

·      Chief Officers Appeals Committee

(3)       the membership of Committees and Sub-Committees for 2017/18 including substitute provision in respect of the Chief Officers’ Appointments Committee, the Chief Officers’ Appeals Committee and the Employee Relations Disputes Resolution Committee, be as set out in the schedule attached to these minutes at Appendix A in accordance with the wishes of Political Groups;

(4)       it be noted that in appointing Members to the Audit Committee in accordance with CIPFA guidance, any Member appointed to Cabinet should not be a member of the Audit Committee;

(5)       the requirement to include an Executive Member on the Chief Officers Appointments Committee, be noted;

(6)       for the reasons referred to in paragraph 8(iii) of the report, the rules of proportionality do not apply to the Licensing Committee;

(7)       the membership of the Licensing Committee be as set out in the schedule attached to these minutes at Appendix A;

(8)       the membership of the Joint Safety Committee, the Parish Councils’ Joint Consultative Committee and the Member Development Working Group, be as set out in the schedule attached to these minutes at Appendix A;

(9)       Doncaster CVS and New Horizons be removed from the membership of the Health & Wellbeing Board, as set out at paragraph 55 of the report;

(10)    the appointments of John Hoare as the Church of England representative and Bernadette Nesbit as the Roman Catholic representative on the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel and on the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee where this is considering issues relating to education matters,be endorsed;

(11)    the number of Overview and Scrutiny Parent Governor Representatives be reduced from 3 to 2 for the reasons stated at paragraph 42 of the report and any appointments to the 2 outstanding vacancies be determined by OSMC during the course of the year;

(12)    future appointments made during the course of the year to any of the Co-opted Member vacancies, be determined by the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee;

(13)    the appointment of workforce representatives as non-voting invitees onto the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee and the Standing Panels, as detailed at paragraph 44 to 45 of the report, and as set out in the schedule attached to these minutes at Appendix A, be approved;

(14)    the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee appoint as necessary, any further non-voting invitees to its membership or the membership of the Standing Panels during the course of the year, should it deem necessary;

(15)    David Harle and Monica Clarke be re-appointed as non-voting co-opted Members on the Audit Committee for a four year period, to align their terms of office with those of Elected Members and be reviewed at the Annual Council Meeting in 2021; and

(16)    the Council reaffirms that future reviews on the proportional allocation of seats on Committees and Sub-Committees, be limited to the Annual Meeting and if appropriate, a mid-point in the year.