Agenda item

Purpose: To consider the appointment and allocation of seats on Committees for the next Municipal Year in accordance with the duty under section 15 of the Local Government Housing Act 1989, to ensure that this reflects the latest political make-up of the Council.

Council considered a report (Agenda Item 12) concerning the appointment and allocation of seat on the Council’s Committees for the 2025/26 Municipal Year.

MOTION: Proposed by Councillor Jeff Brooks and seconded by Councillor Denise Gaines:

• “That Council is informed that, under paragraph 8 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, notice has been received that the Members set out in paragraph 5.1 of the report are to be regarded as Members of the Liberal Democrat Group, Conservative Group, and Minority Group respectively.
• That Council agrees to the appointment of the various Committees and to the number of places on each as set out in Table A, at paragraph 5.5 of the report.
• That Council agrees to the allocation of seats to the Political Groups in accordance with section 15(5) of the Local Government Act 1989 as set out in Table B at paragraph 5.16 of the report.
• That the number of substitutes on each of the Committees be as set out at paragraph 5.19 of the report.
• In respect of the District and Area Planning Committees, the substitute Members are all drawn from Members representing wards within the Committee’s area who are not appointed to the Committee. Where substitutes attend the District Planning meeting, they need to be drawn from the same Area Planning meeting as the Member they are substituting for.
• That Council approves the appointment of Members to the Committees as set out in Appendix A, and the appointments to Task Groups and Panels set out in Appendix B, which are in accordance with the wishes of the Political Groups.
• That Council, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000 as amended, agrees that the Council’s Policy Framework for 2025/26 be as set out in paragraph 5.23 of this report, and that any necessary amendments be made to the Council’s Constitution.
• That Council notes that other plans, policies, and strategies requiring approval which are not included in the approved Policy Framework, and which are not otherwise reserved by law to Council, will be the responsibility of the Council’s Executive in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000.
• That Council notes that Part 2, Paragraph 6.2 of Article 6 of the Constitution will be amended to reflect any changes made to the Executive by the Leader of the Council at the Annual Council meeting.
• That the appointment of up to two non-voting co-opted Parish/Town Councillors be made to the Governance Committee as detailed within Appendix A of the report.
• To re-appoint three Independent Persons (standards) namely Lindsey Appleton, Mike Wall and Alan Penrith, and to appoint Simon Carey as an Independent Person (Audit) to focus on the risk and audit functions of the Governance Committee.
• To note the membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board as set out in Appendix C of the report.
• That authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make any changes required to the Constitution as a result of the changes to the number of Members of the Council and following the appointments to Committees.
• That Council is also informed about the Council Bodies Rules as detailed at Part 6 of the Constitution detailed at Appendix E to the report.”

Councillor Brooks introduced the report and highlighted that this included the previously agreed changes to the Scrutiny Committees and put forward how the seats on all the Council’s Committees would be allocated to different groups. Council noted that membership of the Personnel Committee had also been recommended to be increased up to seven Members, from five, in order to avoid quoracy issues.

Overall, as Council were satisfied with the report and the proposed appointments to Committees, they agreed to approve the recommendations.

The Motion was put to the meeting and duly RESOLVED.