Issue - meetings

Appointment of Committees

That the Council appoint the following committees:

Audit Committee

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Planning Committee

Standards Committee

The six Overview & Scrutiny Committees listed in paragraph 1.01

Determination of the size of committees

That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.03 of the report.

Terms of Reference of committees and Pension Delegations

That the terms of reference for each committee in Part 2 of the Constitution be approved).

Political Balance

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

(b)       That the Constitution be amended so that in the event of two Members from a multiple Member ward being nominated to the Planning Committee, then the seat be allocated:

·         In the first instance, by agreement between the two respective Group Leaders;

·         In the event that agreement is not possible, the Chief Officer to draw lots from the nominations to decide which councillor can take up the seat.

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

·             Constitution & Democratic Services Committee - Councillor Rita Johnson

·             Licensing Committee - Councillor Sharps

·             Planning Committee - Councillor Wisinger

(b)       That the following groups be allocated the chair of the Overview & 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

Local Choice Functions

That the existing Local Choice functions as set out in the Constitution be confirmed.

Nominations to Internal Bodies

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

Standards Committee

That the composition and membership of the Standards Committee be noted.

Appointments to Outside Bodies

That Council notes that nominees to Outside Bodies have been appointed for the whole council term and the Chief Executive’s power to vary those nominations (in consultation with Group Leaders).

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.

(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 & Democratic Services Committee; Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions); Licensing Committee; Planning Committee; Standards Committee and six Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

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

RESOLVED:

That the Council appoint the following committees:

Audit Committee

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Planning Committee

Standards Committee

The six Overview & Scrutiny Committees listed in paragraph 1.01

(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.

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

RESOLVED:

That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.03 of the report.

(C)       Terms of Reference of Committees and Pension Delegations

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 Bithell.

RESOLVED:

That the terms of reference for each committee in Part 2 of the Constitution be approved).

(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 157 seats in total for Councillors across all of the committees based on the current group membership and the entitlement of each group to seats was shown in paragraph 1.12 of the report.  As there had been no change in group sizes, the current political balance seat calculations were appended for consideration as one of a number of possible solutions.

Councillor Peers referred to Planning Committee membership restrictions on multiple member wards as set out in the legislation and the mechanism agreed by the Council to firstly resolve these nominations through negotiation between respective Group Leaders.  If this could not be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10