Agenda item

To consider the Executive Head of Transformation’s report.

The Council received the report of the Governance Working Group in relation to:

(i)            The Committee Structure and the Terms of Reference of the Executive, Committees and Other Bodies;

(ii)           The Social Media Protocol for Councillors; and

(iii)          The Protocol for the Recording of Council, Executive and Committee Meetings.

The Working Group has reviewed the Council’s current committee structure and had made a number of recommendations regarding the future appointment of committees and revisions to the Terms of Reference of the Executive, Committees and Other Bodies.

It had been proposed that the Council focus scrutiny on one committee (Policy and Finance Scrutiny Committee), establishing an Audit and Standards Committee and transferring the responsibilities of the Selection Committee, in respect of appointments to outside bodies, to the Executive, taking into account the recommendations of the Group Leaders.

The use of Task and Finish Working Groups to carry out in-depth work had been recommended as had the deletion of the Appeals Committee, as Members were no longer involved in determining appeals.

The changes proposed to the Social Media Protocol were to allow Members to use Council facilities for blogs, be they personal or party political. The changes proposed to the Protocol for Recording Meetings were to recognise that where Members were restricted in using media devices during consideration of particular items, they may need to maintain contact in the event of an emergency.

The required changes to the Social Media Protocol and the Protocol for the Recording of Meetings had been implemented by the Executive Head of Transformation under delegated authority.

It was proposed by Councillor Moira Gibson, seconded by Councillor Richard Brooks and

            Resolved that

(i)      the revised committee structure, as attached at Annex A to the agenda report, be adopted;

(ii)     the following consequential changes arising from the revised committee structure be noted;

a.       that the Selection Committee not be re-appointed;

b.      that the Community Services and Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committees be replaced by a Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee, to be responsible for the scrutiny of all of the Council’s functions;

c.       that a combined Audit and Standards Committee be established to replace the existing Standards Hearing and Determination Committee and the Audit meetings of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee;

(iii)    the revised Terms of Reference of the Executive, Committees and Other Bodies at Part 3, Section E of the Constitution, as attached at Annex B to the agenda report, be adopted;

(iv)    officers be authorised to make any consequential changes to Article 6, Article 9 and Article 13 resulting from the review of the Council’s scrutiny arrangements;

(v)     the Scheme of Delegation of Functions to Officers be amended to authorise the Monitoring Officer to appoint members to the Hearing Sub Committees from the membership of the Audit and Standards Committee; and

(vi)    membership levels for each of the committees be as follows:

The Mayor in the Chair