To: Annual Council Meeting – 17 May 2012
By: Democratic Services & Scrutiny Manager
Classification: Unrestricted
Wards Affected: N/A
Summary: This report seeks approval to the composition of Committees, Panels and Boards for 2012/13.
For Decision
1.0 Introduction
1.1 This report seeks agreement of the number and sizes of Committees, Panels and Boards for 2012/13. It then goes on to address the issue of political proportionality and the allocation of seats on those bodies to political Groups.
1.2 In this report, the phrase “independent member” means a person appointed to a standards committee, or sub-committee of the standards committee, under section 53(4)(b) or 55(7)(a) of the Local Government Act 2000. Section 53 of the 2000 Act prescribes that such an independent member can not be a Member or an officer of that or any other relevant local authority.
1.3 Note that when the provisions of the Localism Act 2011 in respect of the standards regime and the structure of Standards Committees are implemented, the provisions set out in section 1.2 above will be repealed. It is anticipated that might happen in, or shortly after, July 2012. It is hoped that a full explanation of these changes will be reported to the July 2012 meeting of Council (but that is subject to the necessary secondary legislation having been passed).
2.1 It is for Council to decide the number and sizes of committees.
2.2 The Leader has proposed the number and sizes of Committees, Panels and Boards for 2012/13 to which political proportionality is applied in Table 1 below. These committee sizes are the same as at the end of the 2011/12 Municipal Year.
Table 1
|
Committee |
Number of Members |
|
Planning Committee |
16 |
|
Licensing Board |
15 |
|
Overview and Scrutiny Panel |
15 |
|
Governance and Audit Committee |
9 |
|
General Purposes Committee |
8 |
|
Boundary and Electoral Arrangements Working Party |
7 |
|
Constitutional Review Working Party |
4 (+2 independent) |
|
Joint Transportation Board* |
8 (+1 parish) |
*NOTE Under section 15 of the Local Government Housing Act 1989 proportionality applies to this body but not towards the total number of seats.
2.3 The Standards Committee is not subject to proportionality. The number of seats on the Standards Committee may however change as a result of any recommendations that emerge from the Standards Committee meeting on 9 May 2012, and any decisions that Council make take upon the report on the “Localism Act 2011 – Interim Arrangements for Standards Regime” at item 7 of the agenda
Table 2
|
Standards Committee |
7 (+ 4 independent, + 3 parish) |
2.4 Though the Constitutional Review Working Party is bound by proportionality in respect of elected Members, Council agreed in May 2008 that two independent members would be appointed to the Committee (under section 53(4)(b) or 55(7)(a) of the Local Government Act 2000), one of whom would act as Chairman.
2.5 Recommendation
To confirm the number of committees for the 2012/13 Municipal Year and the number of members serving on each committee as shown in Tables 1 and 2.
3.0 Political Balance
3.1 The Local Government and Housing Act 1989 requires the Council to allocate seats on committees to political Groups in accordance with the size of each group on the Council as a whole and in accordance with the following principles which should be observed as far as is reasonably practicable:
a) That not all seats on the same committee are allocated to the same political
group;
b) That the majority of the seats on a committee are allocated to a particular political group if the number of persons belonging to that group is a majority of the Council’s membership;
c) That, subject to a) and b) above, the number of seats on committees
allocated to each political group bears the same proportion of the total of all
the seats on committees;
d) That, subject to a), b) and c) above, the number of seats on a committee
allocated to each political group bears the same proportion to the number of
all seats on that committee.
3.2 For the purposes of political balance a Group is required to have at least two members and to have been formally constituted as a political Group before the meeting.
3.3 The allocation of seats to political Groups for the 2012/13 Municipal Year is illustrated in Table 3 below.
|
Table 3
|
Members |
Conservative |
Labour |
Thanet Independent Group |
Independent Group |
|
Planning Committee |
16 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
|
Licensing Board |
15 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
|
Overview and Scrutiny Committee |
15 |
7 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|
Governance and Audit |
9 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
|
General Purposes |
8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
|
Boundary and Electoral Arrangements Working Party |
7 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
Constitutional Review Working Party |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3.4 The Joint Transportation Board consists of eight Councillors from Thanet District Council and the eight Councillors from Kent County Council that represent County wards within Thanet. In addition, although proportionality applies to the Joint Transportation Board, the Council has also agreed that there be one Parish representative serving on the Board. Under section 15 of the Local Government Housing Act 1989 proportionality applies to the eight seats appointed by Thanet District Council on the Joint Transportation Board but these seats do not count towards the total number of seats by which overall proportionality is calculated. The allocation of Thanet District Council seats on the Joint Transportation Board for the 2012/13 Municipal Year is shown in Table 4 below.
|
Table 4
|
TDC Members |
Conservative |
Labour |
Thanet Independent Group |
Independent Group |
Parish/Town Council |
|
Joint Transportation Board |
8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3.5 It is also necessary to confirm appointments to the East-Kent Joint Arrangements Committee and the East-Kent Joint Scrutiny Committee (EKJSC), neither of which is formally covered by the Regulations relating to political proportionality. However, the relevant Councils agreed in May 2008 to apply political proportionality to each Council’s three nominations to the East Kent Joint Scrutiny Committee. As The Conservative Group currently has 26 Councillors and the Labour Group has 25, this means in order to reflect the proportionality of the Council the Conservative Group must have two seats to the Labour Groups one, out of the three seats available for EKJSC. Council also agreed in May 2008 to the proposal that it should nominate the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council to serve on the East-Kent Joint Arrangements Committee. This results in the allocation of membership shown in Table 5:
|
Table 5 |
Total (from Thanet) |
Conservative |
Labour |
Thanet Independent Group |
Independent Group |
|
East Kent Joint Arrangements Committee |
2 |
0 |
2 (the Leader and Deputy- Leader of the Council) |
0 |
0 |
|
East Kent Joint Scrutiny Committee |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3.6 The rules of political proportionality do not apply to the Standards Committee or its sub-committees. The composition of Standards Committees is partly prescribed by statute and is also addressed by guidance issued by the Standards Board for England [1].
3.7 The proposed structure for the Standards Committee contained within Table 6 may change as a result of the Standards Committee of the 9 May 2012 and the report on the “Localism Act 2011 – Interim Arrangements for Standards Regime” at item 7 of the agenda.
3.8 The proposed structure of standards bodies recommended until 30 June 2012 (or such other date as the transitional arrangements relating to Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011 come into force) is shown below in table 6.
|
Table 6
|
Total |
Conservative |
Labour |
Independent Group |
Independent |
Parish/ Town Council |
|
Standards Committee |
14 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
Standards Hearings & Referrals Sub-Committee |
3 |
* |
* |
* |
At least 1 |
* |
|
Standards Appeals Sub-Committee |
3 |
* |
* |
* |
At least 1 |
* |
NOTE*; the remaining two members would be either Thanet District Council Members, Town/Parish Council members or further independent members, on a case by case basis, in accordance with guidance issued by the Standards Board for England.
3.9 The Standards Appointment Working Party does not fall within the list of bodies prescribed in the 1989 Act to which political proportionality applies. The same membership is proposed as for 2011/12, as set out below. As The Conservative Group currently has 26 Councillors and the Labour Group has 25, this means in order to reflect the proportionality of the Council the Conservative Group must have three seats to the Labour Groups’ one, out of the five seats available for the Standards Appointments Working Party.
.
Table 7
|
|
Total |
Conservative |
Labour |
Thanet Independent Group |
Independent Group |
|
Standards Appointments Working Party |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
3.10 Recommendation
That Council approves the size and composition of Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year as illustrated in Tables 3 to 7 above.
4.0 Nomination of Members to serve on Committees
4.1 Members are reminded that Section 16 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 states that where the Council has determined the allocation to different Groups of the seats to which the Act applies, it shall be the duty of the authority to give effect to a Group’s wishes about who is to be appointed to the seats that they have been allocated.
4.2 The Group nominations to Committees, Panels and Boards and will be agreed at the meeting.
4.3 The independent membership of committees is as follows:
4.4 Standards Committee: On 1 May 2009 the Standards Appointments Working Party appointed Ms. M Sarrafan until Annual Council in May 2013. Mr Hills was re-appointed at the 2010 Annual Council meeting until Annual Council in May 2012. Mrs Frampton had previously been appointed with a term expiring in October 2011. Council therefore needs to reaffirm the appointments of Mr Hills and Mrs Frampton. Mr Hinchley has resigned his position as an Independent Member and due to the imminent changes to the standards arrangements it is not considered necessary to replace him.
4.5 The above reappointments of Mr. R Hills and Mrs. Frampton are covered in the report on “Localism Act 2011 – Interim Arrangements for Standards Regime” in item 7 of this agenda.
4.6 Standards Hearings & Referrals Sub-Committee: independent member(s) will be drawn from the independent members of the Standards Committee.
4.7 Standards Appeals Sub-Committee: independent member(s) will be drawn from the independent members of the Standards Committee.
4.8 The Constitutional Review Working Party; the independent member(s) will be two independent members of the Standards Committee.
4.9 Town/Parish Councils are entitled to have three representatives on the Standards Committee and one representative on the Joint Transportation Board. The Town/Parish nominations to Committees are made by the Thanet Association of Parish Councils. These nominations will be circulated at the meeting.
4.10 Recommendation
To note the Group nominations to Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year (as circulated subsequently at the meeting).
5.0 Appointment of Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees, Panels and Boards 2012/13
5.1 The constitution of the Council states that:
a) The Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees shall be appointed by Council at its Annual Meeting with the exceptions of General Purposes Committee and the Boundary and Electoral Arrangements Working Party, which elect their own Chairman;
b) All Sub-Committees, Advisory Groups and Working Parties shall elect their Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen at their first meeting after the Annual Council Meeting.
5.2 By convention, in Thanet the majority Group is entitled to be the first to nominate the Chairmanships and Vice-Chairmanships of Committees, Panels and Boards. In the absence of a majority Group (or coalition achieving a majority) nominations could be offered by all Groups.
5.3 It is a legal requirement that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Standards Committee are Independent Members and to date the Council has made and confirmed appointment to these offices at the Annual Meeting from the Independent Members of the Standards Committee.
5.4 Under the Council’s Joint Transportation Board agreement with Kent County Council, for 2012/13 a Member of Kent County Council will chair the JTB and a Thanet District Councillor will act as Vice-Chairman. These roles are alternated annually. Thanet District Council has received notification from Kent County Council that KCC Councillor Robert Burgess will be the Chairman of JTB for 2012/13.
5.5 The Council’s constitution states that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of any Overview and Scrutiny Panel shall not both be from the same political Group. In addition if there is more than one Scrutiny Panel then they can not all be chaired by the same political Group.
5.6 The Council decided during 2008 that one of the two Independent Members of the Standards Committee would act as Chairman of the Constitutional Review Working Party and another Independent Member would act as Vice-Chairman.
5.7 The Leader has indicated that there will only be one Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for the 2012/13 Municipal year.
5.8 It is the turn of Thanet District Council to chair the East Kent Joint Scrutiny Panel (EKJSC) for 2012/13 Municipal Year. The Chairman of EKJSC is appointed by the Committee itself and is drawn from any political group not forming part of the administration of the appointing Council. This means that the Chairman will be one of the two Conservative nominations to EKJSC.
5.9 Recommendation
That appointments for Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year are agreed.
6.1 Financial
6.1.1 There are no direct financial implications.
6.2 Legal
6.2.1 The composition and allocation of membership of the above bodies has been based on the relevant legislative requirements.
6.3 Corporate
6.3.1 None.
6.4 Equity and Equalities
6.4.1 There are no specific equity and equality considerations that need to be addressed in this report.
7.0 Summary of Recommendations
|
2.5 To confirm the number of committees for the 2012/13 Municipal Year and the number of members serving on each committee as shown in Tables 1 and 2.
3.10 That Council approves the size and composition of Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year as illustrated in Tables 3 to 7 above.
4.10 To note the Group nominations to Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year (as circulated subsequently at the meeting).
5.9 That appointments for Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees, Panels and Boards for the 2012/13 Municipal Year are agreed. |
8.0 Decision Making Process
8.1 Council is the decision making body in terms of the number and structure of Committees and agreeing the outcome of calculations of political proportionality.
8.2 Council approves Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of Committees (subject to the limitations set out in the report) and the appointment of Independent Members of standards bodies if necessary.
8.3 Group Leaders determine their nominations to Committees, Panels and Boards, as do the relevant Town/Parish Councils (via the Thanet Association of Parish Councils).
8.4 The allocations of seats to political Groups on Committees are based upon an indication from elected Members of the size of Committees to which political proportionality applies. Council may, of course, decide to vary the size of the committees, if it does so at the Annual Meeting, it may be necessary to review political proportionality and the allocation of Members to the committees.
|
Contact Officer: |
Glenn Back, Democratic Services Manager, Ext 7187 |
|
Reporting to: |
Harvey Patterson, Head of Legal & Democratic Services |
|
None |
|
Corporate Consultation Undertaken
|
Finance |
Sarah Martin, Financial Services Manager and Deputy S.151 Officer |
|
Legal |
Harvey Patterson, Corporate and Regulatory Services Manager |
[1] Despite the recent abolition of the Standards Board for England, the advice issued by that body remains the only formal advice currently available regarding the composition of Standards Committees prior to implementation of the new regime under the Localism Act 2011.