Issue - meetings

To appoint Members to serve on the Appointments Board, as required by Procedure Rule 15. (Please see Agenda Item 15 for report of the Director of Strategy and Resources on the nominations from the Leaders of all Groups to the places allocated to their respective Groups.)

Referring back to Agenda Item 15 - Appointment of Membership of Committees of the Council the Chairperson advised that the Council needed to confirm the membership of the Appointments Board (the Board), now that Committee Chairpersons had been appointed.

The Director of Strategy and Resources advised of the proposed Membership of the Board as set out in Appendix 1 to Agenda Item 15.

The Leader of the Council referred to the need for a non-aligned person to be appointed to the Appointments Board and nominated Councillor V J Bell. This was duly seconded.

In response to a query the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer provided some clarity regarding the named substitutes for the Leader of the Council and Committee Chairpersons explaining that these were predetermined substitutes as set out in the Constitution.

Following a further query regarding the Council’s earlier appointment of three Opposition Leaders and whether the Membership of this Board should be amended to reflect this, the Director of Strategy and Resources advised that because the Council had agreed there would be three Opposition Leaders the Board membership should be amended accordingly. The Director advised that following this amendment, taking into consideration those named positions already highlighted as proposed members of the Board and according to political balance requirements, the Maldon District Support Group would need to confirm whether Councillor W Stamp (as Chairperson of the Performance, Governance and Audit Committee) or Councillor J C Stilts (as an Opposition Leader) would take the seat allocated to their Group. Under political balance only one seat was available to the Maldon District Support Group.

Councillor Stilts advised that she would give way to Councillor Stamp and not sit on the Appointments Board.

The Leader of the Council then clarified the proposed nominations from each of the Political Groups.

Councillor A S Fluker commented that the membership of the Board needed to be amended to state Opposition Leaders and he proposed that this change be made. In response the Chairperson clarified that as advised by the Director of Strategy and Resources this had been agreed by the Council earlier.

In response to a question regarding substitutes for Committee Chairpersons and maintaining political balance, the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring explained that normal substitution arrangements did not apply as the Constitution already set out who would substitute. In respect of the political balance requirements, Legislation required the Council to apply these to the best of its ability, if however, this was not possible Legislation said that this would not annul any decision made.

The Chairperson then put to the Council that the membership of the Appointments Board be confirmed, and this was duly agreed.

RESOLVED that the membership of the Appointments Board for the ensuing Municipal Year be as follows:

Leader of the Council (Councillor R H Siddall)*

Leaders of the Opposition (Councillors J Driver and S J N Morgan)*

* or their deputies

Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson of the Strategy & Resources and Performance, Governance & Audit Committees

Councillor V J Bell