Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 7^th November, 2017 be received and approved.

The Vice Chairman introduced the item and reminded Members of the outcomes from the last meeting and the investigative work that has been requested to further the review into appointments to Outside Bodies and their subsequent administration.

The Scrutiny Manager reiterated that the Panel had indicated at the last meeting that Members were not looking to reduce the number of Outside Bodies appointed to at the present time.  It had also been acknowledged that the current costs associated with Outside Body attendance was low and would not therefore be an influencing factor in any recommendations made to Cabinet regarding future arrangements.

Members had previously agreed that the broad classification of Outside Bodies into three categories was helpful and would help define the relationship between them and the Council.  The Panel had also welcomed the suggestion that Member representatives (on Outside Bodies) be required to complete an annual report on activity and also to form a basis for ongoing appraisal of the Outside Bodies and their continued synchronisation with the Council’s corporate priorities.

At the previous meeting it was also agreed that the designation of a contact officer for each of the three Outside Bodies categories (i.e. Strategic, Statutory, Community/Citizenship) would be beneficial to assist Members in their roles as Council representatives and to be on hand to provide advice and support as necessary.

The Members’ Survey had highlighted that some Members felt that they were slightly unsure of their role on their particular outside body or whether it was linked to any priorities identified by the Council.  It was agreed that an A-Z list of Outside Bodies would be extremely useful, especially for new Members as part of the Members’ Handbook, outlining the main aims and objectives of the Outside Bodies, their link to the Council’s priorities and details of the role to be undertaken.

To conclude, a Panel Member suggested that should an Outside Body be designated within the Community/Citizenship category and not appointed to, details of the organisation be circulated to Members to give them the opportunity to offer voluntarily support and attendance to the Outside Body as desired.

RESOLVED that

a)    Outside Bodies be designated into three main categories:-

Strategic

Statutory

Community/Citizenship;

b)    Outside Bodies which enable the Council to be represented at a Strategic level, where there is a clear benefit to the Council and it supports the delivery of the Corporate Plan, shall continue to be supported with appointments made by the Council as appropriate;

c)    Outside Bodies, which enable the Council to be represented because of Statutory requirements, shall continue to be supported and appointments made by the Council as appropriate;

d)    any new requests for Member representatives on Outside Bodies that fall within the Community/Citizenship categorisation are only appointed if there is a demonstrable strategic link to the Council’s Corporate Plan Themes and Priorities and minimum costs are incurred;

e)    where the Council appoints a representative to an Outside Body, that Member (or nominated Member from group appointments) shall provide a written report  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.