Agenda item

To appoint Members to serve on Committees, as required by Procedure Rule 15. (Report of the Director of Strategy and Resources on the nominations of the Leaders of all Groups to the places allocated to their respective Groups, copy to follow).

The Council considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources, circulated prior to the meeting, to appoint serving Members to Committees for the Municipal year to May 2025.

At this point the Chairperson advised that Membership of the Appointments Board would be considered following the appointment of Committee Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons.

The Chairperson referred to the Motion submitted by Councillor R H Siddall and duly seconded by Councillor P L Spenceley, deferred from an earlier point on the agenda, and asked Councillor Siddall to present his Motion.

Councillor Siddall provided background information to his Motion, highlighting the excellent work of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and how, if agreed, his Motion would make things logistically easier and enable the Committee to run smoothly with good representation. He then moved:

That the Constitution be amended with immediate effect, to permit members put forward by political groups that sit on the Strategy and Resources Committee (S&R) and the Performance Government and Audit Committee (PG&A) are also able to be put forward to sit on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (O&S). This is subject to the requirement of maintaining political balance. This dispensation does not extend to the Chairs or Vice Chairs of S&R and PG&A, who will continue to be ineligible to sit on O&S.

In response to the Motion, the Director of Strategy and Resources advised that the Council’s previous decision to change to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (O&S) Terms of Reference had been made to give truer oversight and separation from decisions that may be scrutinised. The 2022 Corporate Governance Audit had also given good assurance on the Council’s governance and as part of that noted the O&S arrangement as good practice. It was the view of Officers that changing the Terms of Reference would impact on the independence of the O&S and go against good governance best practice that had been put in place.

During the debate that followed a number of Members spoke both in favour and against the proposed Motion.

In accordance with Procedure Rule No. 13 (3) Councillor A S Fluker requested a recorded vote which was duly seconded. The Chairperson then put the Motion in the name of Councillor Siddall to the Council and the voting was as follows: 

For the recommendation:

Councillors M G Bassenger, D O Bown, S J Burwood, J Driver, A Fittock, J C Hughes, K Jennings, M R Miller, S J N Morgan, C P Morley, R G Pratt, N G F Shaughnessy, R H Siddall, N D Spenceley, P L Spenceley, E L Stephens, N J Swindle and L L Wiffen.

Against the recommendation:

Councillors V J Bell, A S Fluker, L J Haywood, A M Lay, M G Neall, W Stamp, J C Stilts and S White.

Abstentions:

Councillors M F L Durham, K M H Lagan, W J Laybourn, U G C Siddall-Norman and M E Thompson.

The Chairman declared that the Motion was therefore agreed.

The Chairperson moved to the report and highlighted there were a number of Committees to which the Council would need to nominate and appoint a non-aligned Councillor. The Leader of the Council presented the report and proposed the following non-aligned Member nominations which were duly seconded:

For the second non-aligned Councillor on the Strategy and Resources Committee, Councillor Siddall proposed Councillor S White, however following this proposal Councillor S White declined the nomination. He then proposed Councillor U G C Siddall-Norman who declined the nomination. Councillor Siddall then proposed Councillor V J Bell who also declined the nomination. As there were no other non-aligned Members that could be nominated the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer advised that although the political balance provisions could not be complied with the Council was only obliged to meet this threshold and therefore in this instance the vacant seat could be filled by another other Member from another political Group. Councillor Siddall proposed that Councillor M G Bassenger be nominated to the Strategy and Resources Committee. This proposal was duly seconded. Councillor J Stilts proposed that Councillor L G H Lagan be nominated, and this proposal was duly seconded. Upon a vote being taken the Chairperson declared that Councillor Lagan was appointed to the Strategy and Resources Committee.

The Leader of the Council then continued with nominations of non-aligned Councillors as follows:

When nominating Councillor Stephens, a member of the Maldon District Independent Group to the Joint Standards Committee the Leader advised that this was to ensure the remaining vacant position was filled.

The Chairperson put the nominations from the Leader to the Council and these were duly agreed.

The Chairperson moved recommendation (i) that the Member nominations as set out in Appendix A be approved, and this was duly agreed. He then moved recommendations (ii) and (iii) as set out in the report, noting that in respect of recommendation (ii) this referred to the nominations just made by the Leader of the Council. These were duly agreed.

At this point Councillor J Driver, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, advised that in respect of the Strategy and Resources Committee membership, he wished to swap Councillor P L Spenceley with Councillor N D Spenceley. The Chairperson referred to the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer who advised that although a vote had been passed, should a member say they no longer wished to sit on a Committee then there would be a vacant seat. Political balance applied and therefore, in this case, the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group would have to put forward a nomination which the Council would be obliged to accept.

Councillor P L Spenceley then declared that she no longer wished to sit on the Strategy and Resources Committee. The Chairperson declared that Councillor N D Spenceley was therefore nominated to the Strategy and Resources Committee.

Councillor A S Fluker queried the governance in relation to the change in Committee Membership decision, referring to the six-month rule. In response the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer advised that the six-month rule did not apply because the Council had to fill the vacancy as soon as possible.

The Chairperson moved the proposed change to the Membership of the Strategy and Resources Committee, and this was duly agreed.

RESOLVED

(i)             That the Constitution be amended with immediate effect, to permit members of the Strategy and Resources Committee (S&R) and the Performance Government and Audit Committee (PG&A) to sit on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (O&S). This is subject to the requirement of maintaining political balance. This dispensation does not extend to the Chairpersons or Vice-Chairpersons of S&R and PG&A, who will continue to be ineligible to sit on O&S;

(ii)            That subject to the amendment to the Strategy and Resources Committee as detailed above, the Membership of the Committees of the Council as set out below, be agreed:

(iii)           that Members’ note the Chairperson’s job description attached at Appendix B to the report.