Agenda and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest at the meeting.

To agree as a true record the minutes of the meetings held on 31 August and 26 September 2023.

The minutes of the meetings held on 31 August and 29 September 2023 were agreed as true records of the meetings.

To discuss the responses from the group, following the proposals discussed at the previous meeting relating to the committee structure, role of spokespersons, recission process and referral to committee process.

David Kitson, of Bevan Brittan, introduced his presentation which set out the proposed structure for the new committee system, along with descriptions for each of the service committees, role descriptions for the spokespersons, and a summary of officer delegations.

Members commented on various aspects of the presentation and made points including the following:

·       In terms of the spokesperson role, was this adequately defined in terms of the role description and title of the role?

·       Could the Chair and Vice-Chair of Committees also be the spokespeople?

·       Would it make sense for the spokespersons to be aligned with the remit of the two directors, for each of the committees, rather than having 9 different people? Would it be more appropriate, rather than setting the spokespersons at the outset, if there were particular topics which needed input, could a task and finish group be created? The current proposals around spokespersons did not seem streamlined.

·       The draft role description for spokesperson made clear that there was no decision-making powers. The spokesperson would act as the check and balance, sense checking where required, and liaising with officers.

·       It was the role of the Independent Remuneration to make recommendations in terms of any Special Responsibility Allowances.

David Kitson responded to some of the issues raised and made points including the following:

·       The spokesperson title was appropriate as it did not suggest that the role had any decision-making powers. It was important to ensure it was clear publicly what the nature of the role was, which would offer some mitigation against any risks in terms of ostensible authority.

·       It was possible for spokespersons to also be the Chair and Vice-Chair of Committees, but it was important to ensure the role was not too burdensome, so it reduced the focus of the Chair. If there were fewer spokespersons, the role would be broader.

·       Task and Finish Groups could be created, and Members could pick topics for this where appropriate. A committee model of governance was not as streamlined as a Cabinet model, as there were no cabinet member decision making powers. Officers therefore needed to be given greater delegations to ensure decision making could still be efficient. It was likely that once the authority was working within the new governance arrangements, tweaks would need to be made.

David then outlined the referral and recission processes, inviting feedback, particularly in respect of the thresholds. Members commented on various aspects, including the following:

·       In terms of the referral process for officer key decisions, there was a requirement for representatives from two political groups to sign the request. What would happen in the event of a change in political balance?

·       Did the MO, as well as the Chief Executive, have the authority to reject a request for referral to committee? If an item was rejected, how would this then be reported?

·       The recission process acted as a second crash barrier, and three days to put in a rescission request seemed adequate.

David responded to some of the issues raised, and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Working Group Members indicated that in terms of financial limits, it would be useful to see the current levels before making a decision. It was agreed that this information be provided for the next meeting of the Working Group, and a further discussion would take place.

David Kitson advised that an all Member Briefing would include high level principles for the new structure, which might still require some finessing.  The briefing was scheduled for November, with the date and time to be agreed.

The Working Group Members made points including the following:

·       It would be useful to do a comparison exercise for the all member briefing, using all decisions made by Cabinet in the last two years, showing which committee each decision would be made by in the new arrangements, and those which would be delegated to officers. 

·       It would be useful to discuss the role of the spokesperson at an all member briefing, particularly in terms of the number of spokespersons and how they would be appointed. The workload demands on officers to operationalise the matter also needed to be considered.

It was agreed by the working group that the roles and scopes of spokesperson and the Chair and Vice-Chair of Committees would be further discussed at the next meeting of the Working Group, with examples and options prepared by David.