Meeting documents

General Purposes Committee
Thursday, 28 February 2013

general purposes committee

MINUTES of the Meeting held in the Council Chamber, Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne on Thursday 28 February 2013 from 7:00 pm to 10:12 pm.

Present: Councillor Bowles (Chairman), Councillors Derek Conway, Mike Cosgrove, Harrison (substitute for Councillor Ghlin Whelan), David Simmons, Roger Truelove, Mike Whiting and Steve Worrall.

Officers Present: Katherine Bescoby, Mark Radford and Donna Price.

Apologies: Councillors Gerry Lewin and Ghlin Whelan.

598  

minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 1 May 2012 (Minute Nos. 677 - 679) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 
599  

declarations of interest

All Members present declared Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of the Independent Remuneration Panel report as it related to Member Allowances. The Monitoring Officer gave a verbal dispensation at the Meeting.

 
 

part a minutes for confirmation by council

 
600  

constitution review

The Committee discussed the proposals that were set out within the report to the Committee.

General Licensing Committee
In respect of the Terms of Reference of the General Licensing Committee, there was some debate regarding this. Members considered that it was for the Council to agree the policy, and for the Committee to work within that policy.

Questions at Council
The Committee considered the current wording of questions, together with the procedure for questions that applied to Kent County Council. Various options were considered, including a time limit of 30 or 40 minutes; the deadline for submission of questions; the time allowed for supplementary questions and answers; and the running order for questions.

Police and Crime Panel
There was some discussion regarding the proposal and whether it was needed, given the strategic nature of the Police and Crime Panel and the variety of ways in which Members and the public could raise items direct with the Police or the Police and Crime Commissioner. It was also suggested that the Chairmen of the Scrutiny Committee should consider inviting the Police and Crime Commissioner to a future meeting.

Scheme of Officer Delegations
The Committee considered the delegations page by page, and asked questions and suggested a number of amendments and clarifications to the wording of the delegations. These amendments will be included in the Scheme of Officer Delegations for submission to the Council meeting, subject to some of the wording to be agreed by the Corporate Services Director, in consultation with the Leader and the Labour Group Leader's nominated representative.

Public Participation Procedure Rules
The Corporate Services Director referred to the amendment to the public participation procedure rules and clarified that this should refer to pecuniary interests.

Terms of Reference of the Appointments Sub-Committee and Delegations to the Chief Executive
There was some discussion regarding this proposal to amend the Appointments Sub-Committee terms of reference, to make it consistent with the wording of the delegations to the Chief Executive. This was deferred for further discussion with the Chief Executive.

RECOMMENDED:
(1) That the revised terms of reference of the Audit Committee be agreed.
(2) That the terms of reference of the General Licensing Committee remain as at present.
(3) That the Council Procedure Rules be amended to remove the option for a Themed Debate at Council meetings.
(4) That the Council Procedure Rule 14 be amended to reflect that there is a limit of two questions per Member; the deadline for submitting questions is changed to the Wednesday prior to the meeting; a three minute time limit for supplementary questions and answers; no time limit for questions; and provision for emergency questions is maintained.
(5) That the process for notifying the Leader of crime and disorder concerns be as set out in the report; that the Scrutiny and Policy Overview Committee Chairmen consider inviting the Police and Crime Commissioner to a future meeting; and that the terms of reference for the Police and Crime Panel for Kent and Medway be added to Part 3.3.4 of the Constitution which details joint arrangements with other authorities. 
(6) That the revised Scheme of Officer Delegations, as amended at the meeting, be agreed subject to revised wording being drafted by the Corporate Services Director in consultation with the Leader and Labour Group Leader's nominated representative.
(7) That the consequential amendments to Part 4.6 of the Constitution (Standards Committee Procedure Rules) and to Part 4.10 (Public Participation Procedure Rules), as amended, be included in the Constitution.
(8) That the Proper Officer Schedule be included in the Constitution.
(9) That the Council notes the revised arrangements for Access to Information and that it will be updated to reflect the guidance given.
(10) That the inconsistency between the Appointments Sub-Committee and the Chief Executive delegations be given further consideration.
(11) That commentary be added to Part 3.6.2 to reflect the Outside Body appointments to which the Leader is appointed by virtue of being Leader.
(12) That the policy framework has been agreed by the authority, the Monitoring Officer be authorised, after consultation with the Leader and relevant Cabinet Member, to make any consequential amendments to the Council's Financial Regulations and Contract Standing Orders to reflect the policy framework introduced as a result of the Public Services (Social Value Act) 2012.
 
601  

report of the independent remuneration panel

The Committee considered the report of the Independent Remuneration Panel.

The Chairman referred to the review, and the fact that the level of allowances was low when compared to neighbouring authorities in Kent, and how to overcome this given that the proposal was to index link the allowances for future years. There was discussion regarding the impact that this could have, particularly in attracting candidates to stand at future elections; difficulties for working people to take unpaid leave or time off; and the importance of attracting a variety of people to the role of Councillor and not just those who were retired and/or wealthy. There was also discussion regarding budget implications.

The Committee discussed each of the Panel's recommendations in turn.

There was some discussion regarding the IT allowance, in particular the requirement for a swale.gov.uk email address and the amount of allowance.

During discussion on this item, Members agreed to an extension of time to allow the meeting to conclude its business.

The Chairman proposed, which was seconded by Cllr Cosgrove, that the level of allowances for the Leader be increased to £18,000 (an average of the nine Kent authorities excluding the highest and lowest and Swale BC) and that other Special Responsibility Allowances (SRA) and the Basic Allowance also be increased in line with the current ratio to the Leader's allowance. Upon being put to the vote the motion was agreed.

A Member also asked for it to be recorded that he considered the level of allowance for the Deputy Leader should be higher than at present, and that this be considered in the future by the Independent Remuneration Panel.

RECOMMENDED:
(1) That the Council considers increasing the level of basic allowance to £4,737.
(2) That the Council considers increasing the level of Leader's SRA to £18,000, with other SRA's being increased in line with the current ratio.
(3) That the Council considers making the following changes to the SRAs:
(a) The Deputy Cabinet Member SRA be discontinued.
(b) The Group Spokespeople on Planning Committee SRA be discontinued.
(c) The Labour Group Chief Whip SRA be discontinued.
(d) The Main Opposition Group Leader SRA be restored to 50 per cent of the Leader's Allowance.
(e) The Chairman of the two Scrutiny Committees be restored to 30 per cent of the Leader's Allowance.
(f) the Minority Opposition Group Leader SRA be set at 10 per cent of the Leader's SRA.
(4) That the Co-optees Allowance of £10 per meeting is unchanged.
(5) That the Council does not adopt a Dependant Carer's Allowance.
(6) That the Council considers the issue regarding the Local Government Pension Scheme after further guidance is issued regarding this, given that the Government has since announced that Councillors will not be eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme from April 2014.
(7) That the current Conference Allowance be discontinued but that any direct expenses incurred for attendance at conference be claimed via the subsistence allowance.
(8) That the current list of Approved Duties be retained.
(9) That the Subsistence Allowance be based on and indexed to the guidance published by South East Employers as set out within the report.
(10) That the current travel allowance mileage rate be retained.
(11) That the current IT allowance be discontinued and replaced by an Information Technology and Communications Allowance payable at £15 per month. This should only be payable on the condition that a Member can be contactable via email on a swale.gov.uk account.
(12) That the indices as recommended by the Panel be agreed with the exception of those proposed for mileage and Dependant Carer's Allowance.
 
All Minutes are draft until agreed at the next meeting of the Committee/Panel

View the Agenda for this meeting

 

Related pages