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APOLOGIES To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillors Thomas G Ellis and Dylan Fernley. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members
present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items that are a matter of urgency in the view of the Chairman for consideration. Minutes: None. |
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The Chair shall propose that the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee held on November 29th 2016, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous committee
meeting held on 29 November 2016, as a true record. |
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HEAD OF DEMOCRATIC SERVICES' ANNUAL REPORT PDF 553 KB To present a draft report to be submitted to the Full Council in June 2017 outlining the support that has been developed and is being developed on behalf of members. Minutes: Submitted - a draft of a report to be submitted to the
Council in June 2017 outlining the support for members delivered to date over
this Council term, along with the elements still being developed for elected
members. The Head of Democratic Services took the opportunity
to thank the Democratic Services Manager and the rest of the Team for their
support for members over this Council term.
He also thanked Arwel Ellis Jones, who had now commenced a period of
flexible retirement from his post as Senior Corporate Support Manager, and who
was staying on for a period in order to introduce councillors to the work of
the new Council following the May elections.
He thanked both Chairs of the committee over this Council term, Councillors
Lesley Day and Thomas G. Ellis, and he extended best wishes to those members
who would be standing down from the Council in May. He noted that the date of the Full Council in the
second bullet point of the Governance Arrangements under the heading 'What
changes have taken place since 2012?' would be amended to read 2 March, 2017. Observations arising from the discussion:- ·
Although the website
included a list of the dates of scrutiny investigation meetings, it was noted that
the documents were not available for those meetings. The Democratic Service
Manager replied that the agendas and notes from the scrutiny investigation
meetings were not public documents and that members were the only ones who
could view them. She also noted that work was afoot to further develop
Modern.gov. ·
It was noted that
there was very little reference in the annual report to the IT provision for
members, despite the fact that the Focus Group had spent a considerable amount
of time addressing this; however, the intention to move from the Ipad to more useful devices in the new Council was
welcomed. It was noted that there would be an opportunity to discuss IT
requirements in full during the next item. RESOLVED to accept
the report. |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS 2017 PDF 528 KB To update the
committee on the latest arrangements for member induction following the
elections on 4th May, 2017 Minutes: Submitted - a report updating the committee on the
member induction arrangements following the elections on 4 May, 2017. The Democratic Services Manager gave a short
presentation on the election arrangements, and referred to:- ·
The Current Situation ·
Timescale ·
Induction In response to questions from members, the Democratic
Services Manager noted:- ·
That members would
sign-up to accept the post when visiting the Code of Conduct stall on the
Welcome Days on the 9 and 10 of May and that this would be legally acceptable. ·
There would be a need
to consider the situations of those members who served on outside bodies, but
who would not be re-elected to the Council after May, on a case-by-case basis. The latest version of the Members Portal was displayed
and members were asked to contact the Democratic Services Manager, or a member
of the Team, if they wished to present ideas on how the portal could be
developed further. The Head of Democratic Services provided an update on
the situation of the IT provision to members from May onwards. He noted:- ·
As a result of
differing opinions amongst the members of the Focus Group (three were of the
opinion that we should standardise on the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, one
preferred the Surface Pro 4 personally, but was happy for others to choose and
one favoured the Ipad Air 2 for everyone), that he
had been asked, as the Head of Democratic Service, to make a decision on the
matter. ·
That he had
thoroughly considered the matter, taking into account the views of the majority
and consulting with officers and the Deputy Leader, who was a member of the
Focus Group, but that he had ultimately decided on the Microsoft Surface Pro 4,
on the grounds that it offered much more than what was possible with other
types of devices. ·
The intention over
time would be to move completely to the Surface Pro 4, and although everyone
would be encouraged to use the Surface Pro 4 from the start, the returning
members would be allowed to continue using the Ipad
until the time would come for them to renew their device. ·
Members would also be
entitled to use their own personal devices and the IT Unit was confident that
they could support those devices also. The Chair expressed her disappointment that this
committee had not been given the opportunity to make a decision on the matter
and she asked those members who had served on the Focus Group to submit their
views. Every member of the group noted that they supported
the Head of Service's decision. The Democratic Services Manager added that the
timetable for purchasing the equipment meant that it had not possible for the
Focus Group to report back to the committee.
The importance of arranging training for members on the new equipment early-on was emphasised. The Head of Democratic Services replied that training had been arranged for June/July and that IT officers would be available on the day of the Annual Council ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |
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To update the committee on the application for the charter. Additional documents: Minutes: Submitted - a report updating the committee on the
request for a Members Charter, referring specifically to the work of developing
descriptions of members' roles. It was noted that one of the main advantages of
creating and adopting a 'description of roles' would be so that new members
could use them as a guide to better understand the various roles on different
committees. The committee was invited to submit the 'description of roles' in
their current draft form as a recommendation for the new full Council to adopt
them formally at its meeting in June.
The committee was also requested to publish the draft 'description of
roles' on the members Portal as a tool to assist new members in May, before the new Council formally adopted them. It was suggested that the 'description of roles'
should include a clause that members had to attend meetings, but it was noted
that this would be in breach of the 6 month rule, namely Section 85 of the
Local Government Act 1972, which provided that a member's period on the Council
would end 6 months after his/her last attendance at a Council meeting, unless
the authority approved the absence. The Democratic Services Manager noted that it was a
matter of encouragement and that 'attending all relevant meetings and
committees...' had been listed as one of the specific functions in the
description of the role and responsibilities of a Council Member. An enquiry
was made as to whether or not this function could be highlighted in bold print,
but it was noted that this could undermine the other functions on the list,
which were as important. The Democratic Services Manager suggested that Welsh
Government's recent White Paper on local government reform could be considered
in order to see whether or not the expectations in relation to attendance could
be strengthened. RESOLVED 1. To submit the 'description
of roles' in their current draft form as a recommendation to the Full Council
to be adopted formally at its meeting on 15 June, 2017. 2. To submit the 'description
of roles' in their current draft on the Members Portal until they are formally
adopted by the Full Council. |
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MEMBERS' REMUNERATION PDF 249 KB To update committee members on member remuneration matters
and seek recommendations for the new Council. Minutes: Submitted - a report updating the committee on
financial remuneration matters and seeking their views on the recommendations
to the new Council regarding what should be paid in the first year of the new
Council. Reference was made to the main points in the Annual
Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales published in February,
and the committee's views were sought on two specific points, namely:- ·
Each individual
council to decide on setting Cabinet Members on one of two levels, Level 1 (£29,100)
or Level 2 (£26,200). ·
Each individual
council to decide on setting Committee Chairs on one of two levels, Level 1
(£22,100) or Level 2 (£20,100). Members were reminded that the Council had decided to
make payments on Level 1 the previous year. It was noted, when making the
decision for this year, that the Council should consider, not only on which
level to place the various posts, but also whether or not there was a
difference in the responsibilities shouldered by Committee Chairs (including
those who received special recognition at present and those who did not). RESOLVED to recommend to the Council:- 1. That salary levels for Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs
remain at Level 1 in the first year of the new Council. 2. To carry out a survey of the workload of all chairs within a
year to see whether or not there is room to vary the decision or reconsider the
salary levels. |