Issue - meetings

Constitutional Issues including Committees

Meeting: 24/05/2022 - Flintshire County Council (Item 7)

7 Constitutional Issues including Committees pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

(i)        Appointment of Committees

 

That Council appoints the following Committees:

 

Appeals Committee;

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee;

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Climate Change Committee

Governance and Audit Committee

Grievance Committee

Grievance Appeals Committee

Investigation and Disciplinary Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Planning Committee

Standards Committee; and

The five Overview & Scrutiny Committees as listed in the report. 

 

(ii)        Determination of the size of Committees

 

(a)       That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.04 of the report, and the size of the Grievance Committee, Grievance Appeals Committee, and Investigation and Disciplinary Committee be increased to 13; and

 

(b)       That the political balance and terms of reference for the Climate Change Committee be established at the next meeting of the County Council on 19 July 2022. 

 

(iii)       Terms of Reference of Committees

 

That the terms of reference for each Committee as set out in the Constitution be approved.

 

(iv)      Political Balance

 

(a)       That seats be allocated in accordance with political balance as set out

in Appendix 1 and the rules on membership of the Committees as set

out in paragraphs 1.09 – 1.14;

 

(b)       That the seats on the Grievance, Grievance Appeals and Investigation

and Disciplinary Committees be allocated to give a broad political

spread of membership; and

 

(c)        That further consideration be given to rules 3 and 4, as detailed in paragraph 1.12 of the report, to improve current procedures on making nominations to the Planning Committee.  

 

(v)       Appointment of Chairs of Standing Committees

 

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

 

·             Clwyd Pension Fund Committee - Councillor Ted Palmer

·             Planning Committee - Councillor Richard Lloyd

·             Constitution and Democratic Services Committee - Councillor Rob Davies

·             Licensing Committee - Councillor Rosetta Dolphin

 

(b)       That the Grievance Committee, the Grievance Appeals Committee and Investigation & Disciplinary Committee should each appoint its own Chair from amongst its membership; and

 

(c)        That the following groups be allocated the Chair of the Overview & Scrutiny Committees as outlined:

 

Overview & Scrutiny Committee            Group to Choose Chair

Corporate Resources                                  Independent (Councillor Richard Jones)

Community, Housing & Assets                 Independent (Councillor Helen Brown)

Education, Youth & Culture                      Labour (Councillor Teresa Carberry)

Environment & Economy                           Labour (Councillor David Evans)

Social & Health Care                                  Liberal Democrat

 

(vi)      Approval of the Constitution

 

That the rules, procedures, delegations and codes/protocols within the Constitution be approved.

 

(vii)     Nominations to Internal Bodies

 

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

 

(viii)    Standards Committee

 

That the composition and membership of the Standards Committee be noted, including the appointment of Councillors Teresa Carberry, Andrew Parkhurst, and Anthony Wren to replace the membership of Councillors Gladys Healey, Patrick Heesom and Arnold Woolley.

 

(ix)      Appointments to Outside Bodies

 

That Council delegates authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with Group Leaders, to make appointments to outside bodies for this council term. Including authority to change any appointment (in consultation with group leaders) during the Council term as required.

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 also dealt with the appointment of other Committees and Chairs and other issues such as allocation of seats, under political balance.

 

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.

 

(i)        Appointment of Committees

 

The Chief Officer (Governance) explained that the Constitution provided for the appointment of the following: Appeals Committee; Clwyd Pension Fund Committee; Constitution and Democratic Services Committee; Governance and Audit Committee; Grievance Committee; Grievance Appeals Committee; Investigation and Disciplinary Committee; Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions); Licensing Committee; Planning Committee; Standards Committee; and five Overview & Scrutiny Committees (as listed in paragraph 1.01 of the report). 

 

Councillor Ian Roberts advised that the Licensing Committee was being passed to an Independent Group. 

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved an amendment to the recommendation in the report and proposed the creation of a new Climate Change Committee to drive forward the Council’s vision to seek solutions to the impact of climate change on local communities in Flintshire.  This was seconded by Councillor Chris Bithell and when put to the vote was carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Council appoints the following Committees:

 

Appeals Committee;

Clwyd Pension Fund Committee;

Constitution and Democratic Services Committee

Climate Change Committee

Governance and Audit Committee

Grievance Committee

Grievance Appeals Committee

Investigation and Disciplinary Committee

Joint Governance Committee (for Pensions)

Licensing Committee

Planning Committee

Standards Committee; and

The five Overview & Scrutiny Committees as listed in the report. 

 

(ii)        Determination of the size of Committees 

 

The Chief Officer explained that the size of each committee must be decided at the Annual Meeting.  Council had previously agreed that the major Committees should be large enough for all political groups to be represented.

 

The Chief Officer explained that the size of the Grievance Committee, Grievance Appeals Committee, and Investigation and Disciplinary Committee, as detailed in 1.04 of the report, had subsequently been increased to 13 to accommodate all political groups.

 

In response to the concerns expressed by Councillor Bernie Attridge on the proposed political balance, as outlined in the report, and the need to determine political balance for the new Climate Change Committee, the Chief Officer suggested that the terms of reference and membership for the Climate Change Committee be determined at the next meeting of the County Council on 19 July, and the political balance for Committees also be reviewed and recalculated.

 

Councillor Bernie Attridge moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Richard Jones.  When put to the vote this was carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)       That the size of each Committee be as set out in paragraph 1.04 of the report, and the size of the Grievance Committee, Grievance Appeals Committee, and Investigation and Disciplinary Committee be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7