Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed those present and introductions were made.

Apologies were received from Councillor Geoff Gollop with Councillor Mark Weston substituting.

The following matters were discussed:

·       Members noted the Membership as set out in the Annual Business Report.

·       The Working Group confirmed the dates for meetings, as detailed in the accompanying papers.

·       Councillor Eddy moved that the Terms of Reference be approved, and this was seconded by Councillor Bartle.

·       Councillor Eddy moved that Councillor Bartle be elected as Chair, and this was seconded by Councillor Beech.  As there were no other nominations this was carried.

·       Councillor Weston moved that Councillor Gollop be elected as Vice Chair and this was seconded by Councillor Pearce.  As there were no other nominations this was carried.

RESOLVED:

·       That the Membership of the Group for 2022/23 be noted.

·       That the meeting dates set out in the report be confirmed.

·       That the Terms of Reference be approved.

·       That Councillor Jenny Bartle be elected Chair of the Committee Model Working Group for the remainder of the 22/23 Municipal Year.

·       That Councillor Geoff Gollop be elected Vice Chair of the Working Group for the remainder of the 22/23 Municipal Year.

There were no declarations of interest.

NB. up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or councillor may participate in Public Forum. The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.

Please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received via email at the latest by 5 pm on 23 January 2023.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting. For this meeting this means that your submission must be received via email at the latest by 12.00 noon on 26 January 2023.

The following public forum business was received for the meeting. 

Members approved the work programme.

RESOLVED:  That the Work Programme be approved.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services provided a brief introduction to the report, following which the Head of the Executive Office provided a presentation and responded to questions from Members. The ensuing discussion was as follows:

·       The current key decision pathway required the Council to publish forthcoming key decisions 28 days in advance. The threshold for a key decision was presently those resulting in expenditure or savings of £500k or over or being significant in terms of its effects on communities living or working in two or more wards in the city.  Members confirmed that the principles of political oversight and long-term planning needed to remain in place, therefore it was agreed that Policy Committees would publish Forward Plans, ideally at least 2-months in advance with final details to be confirmed at a later date.  It was also suggested that ward Members be kept fully informed about Key Decisions affecting their wards.

·       Decisions that cost between £100k and £499k (i.e., below the key decision threshold) were Officer Executive Decisions (OEDs) taken by senior officers.  OEDs were made in consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members and details of the decision were then published.  Members advised that they would like to consider how this arrangement would work in the committee model, with a view to determining if any changes should be made to improve transparency.

·       Members noted the approach to emergency decision making, details of which were covered in the Council’s Access to Information rules (see APR15 and 16), agreeing that a similar mechanism would need to be in place, with details to be agreed in due course. 

·       The Group discussed the principle about democratic decision making and all agreed that the current levels of political oversight must be retained, which included that all decisions currently made by Members must continue to be so.

·       Members were advised that the Council could choose to have a Leader and Deputy Leader in the Committee Model. The benefits included having named individuals who could speak on behalf of the Council, although some Members were concerned about the potential for the Leader and Deputy Leader to have too many ‘powers.’  After discussion, Members agreed that Leader and Deputy Leader positions would be created, with both positions appointed by Full Council.  It was noted that a fuller discussion about the roles and responsibilities of the Leader and Deputy Leader would take place at a future meeting, to include job roles from other Local Authorities.

·       Members inquired about the various external bodies e.g., Boards which had Cabinet Member involvement and it was agreed that details would be provided following the meeting.

·       Regarding Call In, Members agreed that once the Group had determined the number of Committees and their responsibilities this would be given further consideration, but there was consensus that this process should be retained.

·       Members considered the approach to briefings, confirming that the Chairs and Vice Chairs of each policy Committee would be invited to attend, in a similar way to how Cabinet Member briefings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This item was deferred to a later meeting.