Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Suite - County Hall

Contact: Karen Strahan 01392 382264  Email: karen.strahan@devon.gov.uk

Items
Note No. Item

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58.

Minutes

Minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2019.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 6 February 2019 be signed as a correct record.

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59.

Items requiring urgent attention

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

Minutes:

(An item taken under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972).

 

The Chair had decided that the Committee should consider this item as a matter of urgency, to discuss concerns raised by some Members of the Council that the annual meeting of the County Council would take place on the same day as the European Elections.

 

The Committee noted the requirements of the Local Government Act 1972 that a principal council shall hold an annual meeting on such day in the month of March, April or May as the Council may fix. The Council’s Constitution further stated that the Annual Meeting of the Council would be held during the month of May, unless otherwise directed by the Council.

 

Members discussed the logistical difficulties in changing the date at this late stage, notwithstanding the inability to obtain Council agreement to any such change in sufficient time to be compliant with the legislation. Officers had also explored the available facilities to host the meeting the following week, but again this had proved unfeasible to manage.

60.

Notice of Motion - Parental Leave Policies (Councillors) pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Factual Briefing Note provided by the County Solicitor (CSO/19/10) in response to the Notice of Motion previously submitted to the Council Meeting on 21 February 2019 and referred to this Committee under Standing Order 6(6).

Minutes:

The Committee considered the factual briefing note provided by the County Solicitor (CSO/19/10) in response to the Notice of Motion previously submitted to the Council Meeting on 21 February 2019 and referred to the Procedures Committee under Standing Order 6(6).

 

The factual briefing note had been prepared in order to facilitate the Committee’s discussion of the Notice of Motion outlined below: 

 

This Council notes:

 

  • That analysis of the 2018 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 34% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2017.
  • That across England, Labour has improved its representation of women, with 45% women compared with 40% in 2014, and the Liberal Democrat's representation is up from 34% to 36% whilst the Conservative Party saw a fall from 31% to 29% in the share of its councillors who are female;
  • That as of the 2017 DCC elections, only 18 out of 60 county councillors are women. Only three women were under 45 years of age
  • As of summer 2017, only 4% of councils in England and Wales have parental leave policies, according to research by the Fawcett Society;
  • That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their age or background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to have more children to remain as councillors;
  • That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption and fostering leave to support those who choose to adopt and foster.
  • As there are County Council elections in 2021 the Council needs to review its policies with a view to encouraging prospective people who may be interested in standing for the County with a view to improving a wider range of people of younger age and gender to better reflect the Devon Community  

 

This Council resolves:

 

  • To refer to the Procedures Committee this motion to consider whether to recommend the adoption of the attached parental leave policy (see below) to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting and fostering;
  • To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as appropriate;

 

Parental Leave Policy for Councils

Introduction

 

This Policy sets out Members’ entitlement to maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave and relevant allowances.

 

The objective of the policy is to ensure that insofar as possible Members are able to take appropriate leave at the time of birth or adoption, that both parents are able to take leave, and that reasonable and adequate arrangements are in place to provide cover for portfolio-holders and others in receipt of Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA) during any period of leave taken. 

 

Improved provision for new parents will contribute towards increasing the diversity of experience, age and background of local authority councillors. It will also assist with retaining experienced councillors – particularly women –  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60.

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61.

North Devon District Council (Re-Organisation of Community Governance)(No 1) Order 2019 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

The Committee is asked to note the Order made by North devon District Council which affects the Parish Boundaries of Barnstaple, Landkey, Swimbridge, Goodleigh, Bishops Nympton and South Molton within the District of North Devon.

 

The information had also been sent to all North Devon Councillors.

Minutes:

The Committee received the information regarding the Order made by North Devon District Council which affected the Parish Boundaries of Barnstaple, Landkey, Swimbridge, Goodleigh, Bishops Nympton and South Molton within the District of North Devon.

 

They further noted the maps circulated with the agenda and that the information had been sent to all North Devon Councillors.