Agenda item

The Governance Working Group had met on 11 January 2019, where it had reviewed

The Working Group had reviewed revisions to the ICT Code of Practice for Councillors, which had included the addition of a paragraph prohibiting the auto-forwarding of emails to another email account, including to Surrey County Council email addresses;new sections on data protection to reflect recent legislative changes; andthe inclusion of a sentence reminding Members to write emails in a business-like manner.

The Working Group had also considered the restriction on councillors using non-council email addresses for council businesses and had recognised that, in some instances, political group work was more appropriately managed through personal email accounts and this provision would need to be treated flexibly.  It was also agreed to extend paragraph 8.1 regarding the Council retaining the right to monitor email usage to clarify that this would only take place under the supervision of the Monitoring Officer.

Members were reminded that the Council, at its Annual Meeting in May, would be asked to establish Standing Committees for the 2019/20 municipal year. The Working Group had reviewed the size of the committees, taking into account the reduced Council size from May 2019 onwards, and had a reduction of members appointed to the larger committees, in line with the 12.5% reduction in the Council size.It was felt that the Audit & Standards Committee and Appointments Committee had a suitable number of members, with 7 and 5 members respectively and no changes were proposed to the size of these committees.

The Working Group had noted that the membership of the Planning Applications Committee had traditionally allowed for 1 member per ward; the Council would have 14 wards from May 2019, which would correspond with the proposed reduction by 12.5%. However, it was suggested that an uneven number of members on Planning Applications Committee could help address the issue of using the Chairman’s casting vote and it was therefore proposed that this committee would comprise 15 members.

The Working Group had reviewed a number of proposed amendments to the Constitution. The changes proposed principally updated references in the Constitution and ensured that cross references in different sections of the Constitution were consistent.

The maximum number of members of the Executive that could be appointed to the Regulatory Committees and the Joint Staff Consultative Group had been reviewed in view of the reduction in councillors from May 2019, taking into account a potential reduction in the size of committees, whilst also recognising a need to ensure an appropriate balance of members on these non-executive bodies. These reasons had been noted but it was suggested that such an amendment could affect the majority group leader’s ability to allocate sufficient members to a committee. It had been agreed to recommend that the rule be amended so it was expressed as a percentage of the body’s membership, but the situation would be monitored.

A new Social Media Guide for councillors had been reviewed by the Group. This guide was intended to provide practical guidance for councillors in their use of social media and would sit alongside the Social Media Protocol for Councillors, which formed part of the Documents Which Support the Constitution.

The Social Media Protocol for Councillors had also been reviewed, including an additional paragraph encouraging councillors to share the posts on their own social media channels whilst also requesting that they do not post questions or political statements below the posts on the Council’s page. Concerns had been expressed about restricting councillors’ ability to express views on the Council’s pages and it had been agreed that the paragraph would be revised and circulated to its members for agreement.

The Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy had been updated to reflect amendments to job titles and the change of the Council’s External Auditor. In accordance with the Scheme of Delegation of Functions to Officers, following feedback from the Working Group, the Executive Head of Corporate agreed the proposed changes to the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy.

RESOLVED that

                             (i)            the ICT Code of Practice for Members, as attached at Annex A to the agenda report, be agreed;

                            (ii)            from May 2019, membership levels for each of the committees be as follows:

                          (iii)            minor updates to the Constitution, as attached at Annex B to the agenda report, be agreed; and

                          (iv)            the revised Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy, as set out at Annex C to the agenda report, be noted.