Agenda item

Constitutional Matters : Committees and Internal Bodies

Decision:

(A) Appointment of Committees

(a) That the Constituion Committee be incorporated into the Democratic Services Committee, and that Full Council review, make or revoke by-laws;

(b) That the Committees as outlined in section 1.04 of the report be appointed; and

(B) Determination of the size of Committees

That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.06 of the report, noting the restrictions that must now apply to the membership of the Planning Committee.

That the terms of reference for each committee in Part 2 of the Constitution be approved (noting the changes in respect of the Constitution and Democratic Services Committees).

(D) Political Balance

(a) That (1) the Constitution be amended to show that no substitutes are permitted on the Planning Committee and that the quorum shall be 50%; and (2) that the Constitution be amended so that in the event of 2 Members, from a multiple Member ward being nominated to the Planning Committee, then the seat will be allocated

· In the first instance by agreement between the 2 respective group leaders;

· In the event that agreement is not possible, to the first nomination to be received by the Proper Officer; and

· That the required level of training of 75% for a Member to sit on the Planning Committee had been achieved.

(b) That the seats be allocated in accordance with political balances (and the rules on membership of the Planning Committee)

(E) Appointment of Chairs of Standing Committees

(a) That the Chair of the following Committees be appointed (noting any restrictions on eligibility):

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee – Councillor Dave Hughes
Licensing Committee – Councillor Sharps
Planning and Development Control Committee – Councillor Wisinger

(b) That the following groups Chair the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as outlined:

Community and Enterprise - Labour Group

Education and Youth - Labour Group

Corporate Resources - Conservative Group

Environment - New Independents Group

Organisational Change - Independent Alliance Group

Social & Health Care - Independent Group

(F) Local Choice Issues

That the existing Local Choice Issues as detailed in the report be confirmed.

(G) Nomination to Internal Bodies

That the make-up of the Appointments Committee be approved.

(H) Standards Committee

(a) That the following three Members be appointed to the Standards Committee:-

Councillors: Heesom, Paul Johnson, and Woolley

(b) that town and community councils be consulted on the reappointment of the town and community council representative, in that the current representative continue in office until such time as he was reappointed or a new appointment was made.

Minutes:

The Council considered the report of the Chief Officer (Governance) which dealt with matters that required decision at the Annual Meeting of the County Council in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.1 (vii) – (xiv). The report was split into sections, each one dealing with one decision that needed to be made and the relevant issues for consideration. Each section was considered and voted on in turn.

In addition, Council also considered the appointment of a new lay member to the Audit Committee which was outlined in a separate report, and also approved the process for selecting a town and community representative on the Standards Committee. There was also a number of changes to be made in how the Planning Committee would operate to ensure compliance with legislation which came into force on 5^th May 2017.

(A) Appointment of Committees

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Constitution provided for the appointment of the following: Audit Committee; Clwyd Pension Fund Committee; Constitution Committee; Democratic Services Committee; Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions); Licensing Committee; Planning and Development Control Committee; Standards Committee and six Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

The Constitution Committee and Democratic Services Committee had very similar roles. At the last meeting of the Constitution Committee there was a request for the two committees to be combined. The statutory remit was considered sufficiently broad to encompass the role fulfilled by the Constitution Committee so it was therefore recommended to incorporate the Constitution Committee into the Democratic Services Committee.

Councillor Aaron Shotton moved approval of the recommendations as outlined in the report which were seconded by Councillor Attridge.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Constituion Committee be incorporated into the Democratic Services Committee, and that Full Council review, make or revoke by-laws;

(b) That the Committees as outlined in section 1.04 of the report be appointed; and

(B) Determination of the size of Committees

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the size of each committee must be decided at the Annual Meeting. Details of the provision for the size of the Committees were outlined in the report.

The Size and Composition of Local Planning Authority Committees (Wales) Regulations 2017 were made on 21^st March and came into force on 5^th May 2017. They required that the Planning Committee should be between 11 and 21 Members in size and no larger than 50% of the total membership of the Council. The proposed size of the Committee met those requirements.

Councillor Aaron Shotton moved approval of the recommendations as outlined in the report which was seconded by Councillor Attridge.

RESOLVED:

That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.06 of the report, noting the restrictions that must now apply to the membership of the Planning Committee.

The Chief Officer Governance explained that the Annual Meeting was required to decide the terms of reference of the committees that it appointed. The existing terms of reference of the existing Committees were as set out in Part 2 of the Constitution.

Councillor Attridge moved approval of the recommendations as outlined in the report which was seconded by Councillor Aaron Shotton.

RESOLVED:

That the terms of reference for each committee in Part 2 of the Constitution be approved (noting the changes in respect of the Constitution and Democratic Services Committees).

(D) Political Balance

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that at, or as soon as practicable after the Annual Meeting, the Council was required to decide the allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with the Political Balance Rules contained in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990 as amended.

There were a total of 157 seats for Councillors across all of the Council Committees based on the current group membership and the entitlement of each group to seats was outlined in paragraph 1.15 of the report.

Councillor Peers moved an amendment that the a third bullet point be added to 1.16 in that the required level of training of 75% should be undertaken for a Member to sit on the Planning Committee. This was seconded by Councillor Richard Jones and on being put to the vote was carried.

Councillor Aaron Shotton moved approval of the recommendations as outlined in paragraph 1.17 of the report which was seconded by Councillor Attridge.

RESOLVED:

· In the first instance by agreement between the 2 respective group leaders;

· In the event that agreement is not possible, to the first nomination to be received by the Proper Officer; and

· That the required level of training of 75% for a Member to sit on the Planning Committee had been achieved.

(b) That the seats be allocated in accordance with political balances (and the rules on membership of the Planning Committee)

(E) Appointment of Chairs of Standing Committees

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that Committee Chairs were appointed by different bodies, some of which were subject to restrictions. A table in paragraph 1.18 of the report outlined which body appointed which Chair and what restrictions (if any) applied.

Councillor Aaron Shotton moved the following, which was seconded by Councillor Attidge:

That Councillor Dave Hughes be appointed as Chair of the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee;
That Councillor Sharps be appointed as Chair of the Licensing Committee; and
That Councillor Wisinger be appointed as Chair of Planning Committee

Councillor Peers moved an amendment. He felt as the Independent Alliance Group was the second largest group of the Council they should be allocated the Chair of Licensing Committee. He commented on the number of paid positions that the Independent Group had received the previous year which had amounted to 50% of the Council membership. He moved Councillor Rosetta Dolphin as Chair of Licensing Committee which was seconded by Councillor Rosetta Dolphin. On being put to the vote this was lost and the substantive motion, as moved by Councillor Aaron Shotton, was voted on and carried.

In the absence of a nomination for the Chair of Constitution and Democratic Services Committee, the Chief Officer (Governance) explained that a nomination would be sought at the first meeting of the Committee.

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Chairs of Overview and Scrutiny Committees were chosen by the political groups based on the strength of the various groups and which had seats on the Cabinet. Chairs were allocated to groups with a place on Cabinet first and any entitlement was rounded down to the nearest whole number. The remaining Chairs were then allocated to groups without a seat on Cabinet, rounding up to the nearest whole number.

Councillor Aaron Shotton moved the following, which was seconded by Councillor Attridge:

Overview & Scrutiny Committee Group to Choose Chair

Community & Enterprise Labour (Councillor Ron Hampson)

Education & Youth Labour (Councillor Dave Healey)

Corporate Resources Conservative

Environment New Independents

Organisational Change Independent Alliance

Social & Health Care Independent

Councillor Peers commented that the size of the Liberal Democrat and New Independent groups were the same and given that the New Independent group had the Chairmanship of Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee the previous year he felt it was only fair that this now should be given to the Liberal Democrat group which he moved as a formal amendment. This was seconded by Councillor Owen Thomas. On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

The substantive motion, as moved by Councillor Aaron Shotton was put to the vote and carried.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Chair of the following Committees be appointed (noting any restrictions on eligibility):

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee – Councillor Dave Hughes
Licensing Committee – Councillor Sharps
Planning and Development Control Committee – Councillor Wisinger

(b) That the following groups Chair the Overview and Scrutiny Committees as outlined:

Community and Enterprise - Labour Group

Education and Youth - Labour Group

Corporate Resources - Conservative Group

Environment - New Independents Group

Organisational Change - Independent Alliance Group

Social & Health Care - Independent Group

(F) Local Choice Issues

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Council was required to agree such part of the Scheme of Delegation as the Council determined it was for the Council to agree. This related to local choice functions which could be decided either by the Council or the Cabinet and/or delegated to officers. The table of Local Choice Functions was included in Part 3, Section A, Table 4 of the Constitution.

Councillor Attridge moved approval that the existing Local Choice Issues be confirmed which was seconded by Councillor Aaron Shotton.

RESOLVED:

That the existing Local Choice Issues as detailed in the report be confirmed.

(G) Nomination to Internal Bodies

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the existing Scheme of Delegation provided for an Appointments Committee for first and second tier officers comprising 7 Members. This was not a Standing Committee and was convened when required by seeking nominations from Group Leaders. Previously it had been usual for Committee Members to be politically balanced including the relevant Cabinet Member. The Council had previously agreed that the Chair of Vice-Chair of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee be one of the Members of the Committee and it was recommended to continue that practice.

Councillor Attridge moved approval of the recommendations as outlined in the report which was seconded by Councillor Aaron Shotton.

RESOLVED:

That the make-up of the Appointments Committee be approved.

(H) Standards Committee

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Standards Committee included five independent members, a Town and Community Council representative and three Councillors (who could not also be the Leader or a Cabinet Member). The three Members would be appointed for the whole term of the Council. Councillors Woolley and McGuill could serve one further term only. Councillor Cox had already served two terms and therefore could not be reappointed. Councillor Woolley indicated that he was happy to be appointed for a further term however Councillor McGuill could not due to commitments on an outside body. Following a question from Councillor Peers, the Chief Officer (Governance) confirmed that the County Councillors were reappointed at the Annual Meeting in 2016 but that they were already part way through their four year term.

The term of office for the town and community representative had come to an end. The Council could reappoint the current representative or it could seek a new representative. The current representative, Councillor Duggan-Keen from Caerwys Town Council, had made a valuable contribution to the work of the Committee and was willing to serve again. It was proposed that the Council consult Town and Community Councils on his reappointment for a further term and that he continue in office until such time as he was reappointed or a new appointment was made.

Councillor Aaron Shotton recommended the appointment of Councillors Paul Johnson and Arnold Woolley to the Standards Committee. Councillor Chris Dolphin recommended the appointment of Councillor Heesom to the Standards Committee. On being put to the vote the nominations for the three Councillors was carried.

Councillor Shotton recommended that town and community councils be consulted on the reappointment of the Town and Community Council representative, in that Mr Duggan-Keen who was the current representative continue in office until such time as he was reappointed or a new appointment was made.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the following three Members be appointed to the Standards Committee:-

Councillors: Heesom, Paul Johnson, and Woolley

Supporting documents: