Issue - meetings

Recommendation OS 23/53 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 16 November 2023

Consideration was given to recommendation OS 23/53 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 16 November 2023 in respect of the recent review of appointments to outside bodies.

Cabinet gave due regard to the views of the Committee, the financial and value for money considerations and the legal implications and supported the distribution of outside bodies appointments being divided between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the 3 Scrutiny Select Committees to enable effective engagement to be undertaken as it was recognised that the organisations all operated very differently, with varied requirements from their nominated representative. As a result of the review, there was consensus that the perceived benefits were being achieved although it was apparent that there was a lack of consistent reporting back to the Borough Council.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)             the approach of distributing the annual appointments to outside bodies list between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the 3 Scrutiny Select Committees, as set out in 1.2.3 of the report, be endorsed by Cabinet; and

(2)             each Scrutiny Committee be invited to consider how to receive feedback from the outside bodies assigned to them.

(Decision Notice: D240006CAB)

Consideration was given to recommendation OS 23/53 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of 16 November 2023 in respect of the recent review of appointments to outside bodies.

Cabinet gave due regard to the views of the Committee, the financial and value for money considerations and the legal implications and supported the distribution of outside bodies appointments being divided between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the 3 Scrutiny Select Committees to enable effective engagement to be undertaken as it was recognised that the organisations all operated very differently, with varied requirements from their nominated representative. As a result of the review, there was consensus that the perceived benefits were being achieved although it was apparent that there was a lack of consistent reporting back to the Borough Council.

RESOLVED:  That

(1)             the approach of distributing the annual appointments to outside bodies list between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the 3 Scrutiny Select Committees, as set out in 1.2.3 of the report, be endorsed by Cabinet; and

(2)             each Scrutiny Committee be invited to consider how to receive feedback from the outside bodies assigned to them.

The report provides an update on the review of Appointments to Outside Bodies following consultation with organisations.

The report of the Chief Executive provided an update on the recent review of appointments to outside bodies. A short survey had been distributed to external organisations and whilst there was a relatively low response rate, those that did respond felt that the Borough Council appointments were beneficial.

A summary of the perceived benefits of local authority representation was provided at 1.1.3 of the report.   As the external organisations all operated very differently, with varied requirements from their nominated representative, it was difficult to draw any fixed conclusions from the responses received.  However, there was consensus that the perceived benefits were being achieved although it was apparent that there was a lack of consistent reporting back to the Borough Council.

Members recognised the impracticability of inviting all outside bodies to address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to explain the role of their organisations.  It was, therefore, recommended that the list of annual appointments to outside bodies be distributed between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the  3 Scrutiny Select Committees. Each Committee could then decide on the best way to gain feedback from the organisations.   The Scrutiny Officer was asked to reconsider the distribution of the outside bodies organisations between the Committees with particular reference made to the Leisure Trust which might fit better with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  

There was detailed discussion on the role of outside bodies and the Chair invited Mr M Davis and Mr O Baldock to share their views as Borough Council appointees, who felt these appointments provided an opportunity to see how the funding offered by the Borough Council was being used; provided an opportunity for useful and valuable feedback and the use of former Councillors meant that experience wasn’t lost.   Reference was also made to the issues around conflicts of interest in respect of some appointments which meant that serving Members had to leave a debate in which they could have made a valuable contribution.  The Committee asked that options around best practice on this issue be explored.

On the grounds of allowing Group Leaders sufficient time to identify and nominate suitable candidates, especially in an election year, Councillor Hood proposed, seconded by Councillor Cope that nominations for appointments to outside bodies should be considered at the second meeting of Full Council in a municipal year rather than Annual Council.     Whilst this proposal was supported in principle, it was explained that Council Procedure Rule 1.2 (i) would need to be revised and this would be considered further by Cabinet and the Monitoring Officer.

RECOMMENDED*:  That

(1)             the approach of distributing the annual appointments to outside bodies list between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the 3 Scrutiny Select Committees, as set out in 1.2.3 of the report, be endorsed by Cabinet;

(2)             each Scrutiny Committee be invited to consider how to receive feedback from the outside bodies assigned to them; and

(3)             subject to revising CPR 1.2 (i) in Part 4 of the Constitution and the views of Cabinet and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53

A scoping report inviting Members to review the revised list of Appointments to Outside Bodies, attached at Annex 1, and the role of the Borough Councillors on these groups.

The report of the Chief Executive set out potential areas to review in respect of the Borough Council appointments to ‘outside bodies’ and the role of these appointees on these groups.    The list of current appointments was set out in Annex 1. 

It was reported that the majority of the organisations on the list were based in the borough. However, some were located outside of the borough but provided either support or services to residents in Tonbridge and Malling.

Consideration was given to the suggested focus for the review (as outlined in 1.2 of the report) which included gaining a better understanding of the aims and priorities of the organisations, exploring the role of the appointed Borough Councillors and whether non-Councillors should continue to serve on outside bodies.

Members welcomed the opportunity to review these appointments and gain a better understanding of what might be expected from Councillors in terms of time commitment and responsibility.  The value of experienced appointees was recognised although it was felt that there should be some succession planning and development of new appointees and councillors.  It was also recognised that there should be some mechanism for appointees to report back to the Borough Council, especially in respect of those organisations receiving grant funding or receiving levies. 

Finally, the Committee felt there was some merit in allocating specific outside bodies to individual Scrutiny Select Committees to streamline any annual reporting to the Borough Council.

RESOLVED:  That the approach outlined in 1.2 of the report be endorsed to undertake further evaluation of the issues raised.