Agenda and minutes

To note the appointment at the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council on 31 May 2006 (subject to confirmation of that decision) of a Chair of this Committee for the Municipal Year 2006-07 (or now to make an appointment).

RESOLVED:  To note the appointment under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 1.1 (xii) at the Extraordinary Council Meeting, held on 31 May 2006 of Councillor Jean Lammiman as Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2006/07.

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

(Note: The Members and Reserve Members of the Committee for 2006/07 are as appointed by the Extraordinary Council Meeting of 31 May 2006).

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

To receive declarations of personal or prejudicial interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee, Sub Committee, Panel or Forum;

(b)               all other Members present in any part of the room or chamber.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members in relation to the business to be transacted at this meeting.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded on the grounds that it is thought likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that there would be disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence or of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOLVED:  That all items on the agenda be considered with the press and public present.

To appoint (subject to confirmation of the Committee’s membership) a Vice-Chair of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2006/07.

RESOLVED:  To appoint Councillor Mitzi Green as Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2006/07.

To defer the signing of the Minutes of the Committee’s meeting held on 25 April 2006, until the next ordinary meeting.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2006 be deferred until the next ordinary meeting of this Committee.

To agree the terms of reference of the Sub-Committees of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Committee received a report of the Director of People, Performance and Policy on the proposals to reconfigure the Overview and Scrutiny Sub-Committees to reflect the changing role of Scrutiny following government proposals.

A Member queried the Portfolio Holder relationship between the Sub-Committees under their guise and their attendance at meetings. In addition concerns were raised over the omission of libraries from the review programme and the fact that there was no strategic overview for health included.

Responding, the Chair advised that such anomalies would be addressed and a schedule of dates had been proposed to address these issues, and would be circulated to all Members of the Committee.

RESOLVED:  That (1) the reconfiguration and renaming of the Overview and Scrutiny Sub?Committees be agreed;

(2)  the changed remit and terms of reference of the Scrutiny Sub-Committees be approved;

(3)  further reports from officers regarding the effectiveness of the changes be submitted to future meetings;

(4)  the unchanged terms of reference of the Call-In Sub-Committee be noted.

To consider the establishment of and appointment of members to Sub-Committees of this Committee for the Municipal Year 2006/07, including the appointment of Chairs under Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rule 11.2.

[Note:  The proposed memberships of the Sub Committees relevant to this Committee and the nominees proposed will follow on a Supplemental Agenda].

[NOTE:  Members are asked to note that subsidiary body memberships must be determined in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and regulations made thereunder.

Therefore, whilst the Committee has to confirm the membership of its Panels to comply with the Local Government Act 1972, the actual nominations of named Councillors are decided by each group, from within the membership of that group.

It is not open to the Committee to seek to change or to delay the nominations duly made by a group.  It is only if there is a failure to make a nomination or to act in due time that the Committee may seek to consider the matter further].

Further to the nominations now submitted in relation to this Committee’s Sub?Committees memberships and the proposed appointments of Chairmen of the Sub?Committees, upon being put to the vote, it was,

RESOLVED:  That the Scrutiny Sub-Committees be established for the Municipal Year 2006/07 with the Chairman and memberships as detailed in the appendix to these minutes.