Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2016, previously circulated

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2016 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

The Cabinet will, at its next meeting, receive a report on progress with the Devolution Deal/ Combined Authority. It will seek also approval to (a) arrangements agreed by partner Councils for the preparation and approval of a HoSW Productivity Plan in support of the partnership’s aspirations for a devolution deal previously approved by the Council (Minute 157/10 December 2016)) and (b) agreement, in principle, to the creation of a Joint Committee for the HoSW to start work, in the Autumn of  2017, (subject to ratification at the next Annual Meeting of the Council and following County Council elections).

The Committee noted that the Cabinet would, at its next meeting, receive a report on progress with the Devolution Deal/ Combined Authority seeking, inter alia, the approval of  (a) arrangements agreed by partner Councils for the preparation and approval of a HoSW Productivity Plan in support of the partnership’s aspirations for a devolution deal previously approved by the Council (Minute 157/10 December 2016)) and (b) agreement, in principle, to the creation of a Joint Committee for the HoSW to start work, in the Autumn of  2017, with all  detail reserved. Members endorsed the establishment of a Joint Committee, in principle, subject to ratification and reaffirmation of that at the Annual Meeting of the Council following the 2017 County Council elections and approval of all necessary governance arrangements.

Report of the Independent Members Allowances Remuneration Panel for 2017, attached.  

[Mr Brian Tanner, Chairman of the Independent Panel, will attend to present the Annual Report and respond to any questions.]

The Committee considered the Report of the Independent Members’ Allowances Remuneration Panel for 2017.  Mr B Tanner, the Chairman of the Panel, attended and spoke at the invitation of the Committee to present the Panel’s Annual Report and respond to questions from Members.

Members welcomed the Panel’s acknowledgment that while historically there had been little scope for improvement the structure of the County Council’s scheme remained fit for purpose with sound principles and noted that, in commending its Report to the Council, the Panel had not suggested any significant amendments to the basic structure of the Council’s scheme.

The Panel had nonetheless recommended a number of minor amendments to the Scheme in support of their view that allowances should keep pace with the economy generally and that consideration could perhaps be given by the County Council after the 2017 elections to uprating of basic and special responsibility allowances, as set out in Appendix 1 of it’s Report.

Members noted that there was no proposal within the Council’s draft budget for 2017/18 to increase Members’ Allowances in that year acknowledging also that the newly elected County Council would be able to review the current Constitution, which included the Scheme of Allowances for Members, if its wished. Moreover, Members also acknowledged and reiterated the importance of Political Group Leaders taking a robust approach to performance management as identified in the Panel's Report and as previously agreed (Minute 339(d)/4 February 2016 refers).

It was MOVED by Councillor Greenslade, SECONDED by Councillor Way, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the Report of the Independent Panel be welcomed and its Members be thanked for their work;

(b) that the Committee notes the Report’s conclusions and recommends the County Council make no change to the current scheme at this time.

The Council’s Working Practices contain a number of general principles, shown below in italics, which are followed when distributing information to members of the Council by Officers over and above the rights of members set out in the Access to Information Procedure Rules (para 13.3) and the Member/Officer Protocol (para 4), also attached.

‘When Information is asked for by a Member

If it is purely a local constituency problem or question of fact a reply will only be sent to the member raising the question.  If the issue raised impinges on the policy of a specific Cabinet Member holder or Committee the member will be advised that, unless he or she has asked that the exchange of correspondence be confidential, a copy of the correspondence will be sent to the appropriate Cabinet Member /Committee Chairman and spokespersons.

Information Prepared by an Officer for an Cabinet Member or Chairman of a Committee

If the information is provided at the request of the Cabinet Member or Chairman it will not be further distributed. If the information being provided also raises questions of appointments or nominations by a Committee, the Group Whips/Secretary will be advised. If the information provided for an Cabinet Member/Chairman is general information relating to a particular area of the County then a copy will be sent to the Local Member(s) for information.

Rights Under the General Law

A Member also has a right to see papers where he/she genuinely has a "need to know" in connection with his/her duties as a County Councillor. This test is easily satisfied if he/she is a Member of the Committee to which the issue relates but less so in other cases. Applications should be made to the Chief Officer/Head of Service who will refer the request to the Monitoring Officer in doubtful cases.

Conventions Adopted Constraining the Legal Rights set out above

The following Code of Guidance has been adopted by the Council:

(i)   a member who has a right to inspect documents should consider whether he/she has a personal or prejudicial interest in the matter covered by the document and whether any action contemplated in the light of the information obtained might conflict with the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(ii)   a member requiring information should make application to a senior officer of the Department holding that information. Applications should not be made direct to junior officers;

(iii)  an application must allow the officer time to satisfy him/herself that records do not contains exempt information which a member cannot have access to. If they do, such material may have to be removed’.

The Committee is asked to:

(a) confirm that these principles should also apply to any information distributed by a Cabinet Member or Chairman where such information relates generally to County Council Services or any matter for which the Council has responsibility and was provided by or based upon information provided by an Officer in line with the protocol and to agree to the Council’s Working Practices being revised accordingly;  ...  view the full agenda text for item 20.

The Committee reviewed the operation of the Council’s Working Practices relating to the distribution of information to members of the Council by Officers, over and above therights of members set out in the Access to Information Procedure Rules (para 13.3) as set out in full on the Agenda for this meeting. 

It was MOVED by Councillor Hart, SECONDED by Councillor Hughes, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the Committee confirm that the principles referred to above should also apply to any information distributed by a Cabinet Member or Chairman where such information relates generally to County Council Services or any matter for which the Council has responsibility and was provided by or based upon information provided by an Officer in line with the protocol and to agree to the Council’s Working Practices being revised accordingly;

(b) that Officers be reminded of the need to maintain confidentiality of information provided to a local member, in line with the protocol, where so requested.