Agenda item

(i)        Appointment of Committees

 

That Council appoints the following Committees:

 

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;

Recovery Committee;

Standards Committee; and

The five Overview & Scrutiny Committees listed in the report. 

 

(ii)        Determination of the size of Committees

 

That the size of each committee be as set out in paragraph 1.04 of the report.

 

(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

 

That the seats be allocated in accordance with political balance as set out in appendix 2 to the report and the rules on membership of the Committees as set out in paragraphs 1.08 – 1.14 of the report, and that the seats on the Grievance, Grievance Appeals and Investigation and Disciplinary Committees be allocated to give a broad political spread of membership. 

 

(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

·             Constitution and Democratic Services Committee - Councillor Neville Phillips

·             Licensing Committee - Councillor Tony Sharps

·             Planning Committee - Councillor David Wisinger

·             Recovery Committee – Councillor Richard Jones

 

(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:

 

Community, Housing & Assets                 Labour (Councillor Ian Dunbar)

Education, Youth & Culture          Labour (Councillor David Healey)

Corporate Resources                      Conservative

Environment & Economy               Independent Alliance

Social & Health Care                      Liberal Democrat

 

(vi)      Approval of the Constitution

 

That the rules, procedures, delegations and codes/protocols within the Constitution be approved, including the temporary changes to the rules of procedure to accommodate virtual meetings.

 

(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 change to membership of Councillor Gladys Healey replacing Councillor Paul Johnson.

 

(ix)      Appointments to Outside Bodies

 

That Council notes the nominees to Outside Bodies that have been appointed for the whole Council terms 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 proposed the creation of a new Recovery Committee to oversee the vital work of helping the Council to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 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; Recovery Committee; Standards Committee; and the five Overview & Scrutiny Committees. 

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That Council appoints the following Committees:

 

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;

Recovery Committee;

Standards Committee; and

The five Overview & Scrutiny Committees 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.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the size of each committee be as set out in paragraph 1.04 of the report.

 

 

(iii)       Terms of Reference of Committees

 

The Chief Officer explained that the Annual Meeting was required to decide the terms of reference of the Committees that it appointed.  The terms of reference for the Recovery Committee were appended to the report.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

 

(iv)      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.  Those rules did not apply to Cabinet nor to the Standards Committee.  The rules of political balance would apply to the new Recovery Committee.

 

In order to achieve political balance, it had been necessary to separate out the ‘employment’ Committees, which were the Grievance, Grievance Appeals and Investigation and Disciplinary Committees.   Otherwise, the smaller groups would be disadvantaged by having to use part of their seat allocation on committees which seldom, if ever, met.

 

There were 131 seats for Councillors across all of the Council Committees based on the current group membership.  The entitlement of each group to seats was set out in the table in the report.

 

Councillor Mike Peers sought clarification that Councillor Andy Hughes would be aligned with the Liberal Democrat Group, which was confirmed.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Christine Jones.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the seats be allocated in accordance with political balance as set out in appendix 2 to the report and the rules on membership of the Committees as set out in paragraphs 1.08 – 1.14 of the report, and that the seats on the Grievance, Grievance Appeals and Investigation and Disciplinary Committees be allocated to give a broad political spread of membership. 

 

 

(v)       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 1.17 of the report outlined which body appointed which Chair and what restrictions (if any) applied. 

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved the following, which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin:

 

• That Councillor Ted Palmerbe appointed as Chair of the Clwyd Pension Fund Committee;
• That Councillor Neville Phillips be appointed as Chair of the Constitution & Democratic Services Committee;
• That Councillor Tony Sharps be appointed as Chair of the Licensing Committee.
• That Councillor David Wisinger be appointed as Chair of Planning Committee; and
• That Councillor Richard Jones be appointed as Chair of Recovery Committee.

 

The Chief Officer explained that the chairs of Overview & 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 Ian Roberts moved the following, which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin:

 

Overview & Scrutiny Committee      Group to Choose Chair

Community, Housing & Assets           Labour (Councillor Ian Dunbar)

Education, Youth & Culture                 Labour (Councillor David Healey)

Corporate Resources                            Conservative

Environment & Economy                     Independent Alliance

Social & Health Care                             Liberal Democrat

 

On being put to the vote, this was carried.

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

 

·             Clwyd Pension Fund Committee - Councillor Ted Palmer

·             Constitution and Democratic Services Committee - Councillor Neville Phillips

·             Licensing Committee - Councillor Tony Sharps

·             Planning Committee - Councillor David Wisinger

·             Recovery Committee – Councillor Richard Jones

 

(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:

 

Community, Housing & Assets                 Labour (Councillor Ian Dunbar)

Education, Youth & Culture          Labour (Councillor David Healey)

Corporate Resources                      Conservative

Environment & Economy               Independent Alliance

Social & Health Care                      Liberal Democrat

 

(vi)      Approval of the Constitution

 

The Chief Officer explained that the Constitution set out how the Council functioned and contained within it:

 

·         Rules and procedures for managing meetings and Council business;

·         Delegations to the Cabinet (including the choice of what was to be and what was not to be an executive function;

·         Delegations to committees and advisory groups in line with their terms of reference;

·         Delegations to officers; and

·         Codes and protocols to support high standards of ethical behaviour and governance

 

The Constitution was kept under rolling review during each term of the Council and every code/protocol would be reviewed at least once as part of a scheduled review.  Changes were also made as and when required if a scheduled review had already taken place or was not due for some time.  During the next 12 months the Council would review:

 

·         Procedure Rules for meetings to facilitate hybrid meetings;

·         The Code of Conduct in line with a review by Welsh Government;

·         The Planning Code of Practice as agreed at the meeting in April; and

·         The Protocol on Member Involvement in Other Wards.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Billy Mullin.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the rules, procedures, delegations and codes/protocols within the Constitution be approved, including the temporary changes to the rules of procedure to accommodate virtual meetings.

 

 

 

(vii)     Nominations to Internal Bodies

 

The Chief Officer explained that the existing Scheme of Delegation provided for an Appointments Committee for first and second tier officers, comprising seven Members.  This was not a standing committee and was convened when required by seeking nominations from Group Leaders.  In the past it had been useful for Committee Members to be politically balanced including the relevant Cabinet Member.  In April, Council had agreed to a slightly larger Appointments Committee for the recruitment of a new Chief Executive.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved approval of the recommendation in the report which was seconded by Councillor Christine Jones.

 

RESOLVED:

 

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

 

(viii)    Standards Committee

 

The Chief Officer explained the composition and membership of the Standards Committee which Members were requested to note along with the appointment of Members to Outside Bodies for the whole term of the Council.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts advised that as Councillor Paul Johnson was now a Cabinet member, his would be replaced by Councillor Gladys Healey on Standards Committee.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Christine Jones.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the composition and membership of the Standards Committee be noted, including the change to membership of Councillor Gladys Healey replacing Councillor Paul Johnson.

 

(ix)      Appointments to Outside Bodies

 

The Chief Officer explained that at the Annual Meeting in 2017 Council appointed Members to outside bodies for the whole term of the Council.  It also gave the Chief Executive, in consultation with Group Leaders, the power to make changes to those nominations as required.

 

Councillor Ian Roberts moved the recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Christine Jones.

 

RESOLVED:

 

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