Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Argyll and Bute Council · 19 May 2022
Back to Argyll and Bute Council — 19 May 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 19th May 2022 MEMBERSHIP OF COSLA (CONVENTION OF SCOTTISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES) 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 Argyll and Bute Council is currently a member of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and, as such, is entitled to appoint three Members to the Convention. 1.2 The report includes details of the first COSLA Leaders’ meeting due to take place after the Scottish Local Government Elections in May 2022, and the Convention meeting which will include the election of COSLA’s President and Vice President, along with the appointment of COSLA Spokespersons. 1.3 COSLA’s Constitution sets out that each council’s delegations to the Convention must reflect its balance of party-political representation. 1.4 Accordingly, Argyll and Bute Council is invited to appoint three representatives to the Convention for the period up to the next Scottish Local Government Elections, taking into account the guidance from COSLA in relation to reflecting party political balance. 1.5 The Council is also invited to consider its position in relation to nominations for the appointment of COSLA’s President and Vice President. 1.6 Finally, the Council is asked to consider whether it wishes to identify, at this time, nominations for each of COSLA’s Policy Boards.
Page 2
ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL COUNCIL LEGAL AND REGULATORY SUPPORT 19 May 2022 MEMBERSHIP OF COSLA (CONVENTION OF SCOTTISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES) 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 Argyll and Bute Council is currently a member of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and, as such, is entitled to appoint three Members to the Convention. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS The Council is invited: 3.1 To appoint three representatives to the Convention for the period up to the next Scottish Local Government Elections, having regard to the guidance from COSLA that the delegation should reflect the balance of party political representation within the council; 3.2 To note that the Leader of the Council will be a Member of the COSLA Leaders’ Group; 3.3 To consider its position in relation to nominations for the roles of President and Vice President of COSLA; 3.4 To consider whether to identify, at this time, nominations for representation on each of COSLA’s Policy Boards. 4. DETAIL 4.1 The Council will require to appoint three representatives to COSLA for the period up to the next Scottish Local Government Elections. COSLA’s Constitution requires that each council’s delegation should reflect its balance of party political representation when making these appointments. COSLA recognises that its member Councils have a range of
Page 3
arrangements, including formal and informal coalitions and partnerships, and would wish to allow each Council to reach its own view on what is a balanced delegation. It has been usual practice to include the Leader of the Council in the Convention nominations. COSLA has asked that member Councils provide their Convention nominations ideally by 27th May but certainly as far as possible in advance of the first meeting. 4.2 The Leader of the Council will be a Member of the COSLA Leaders’ Group. The first COSLA Leaders’ meeting after the elections is due to take place on Friday 27th May 2022. 4.3 The first COSLA Convention meeting after the election is scheduled for Friday 17th June 2022. The President and Vice President will be appointed at this meeting, following nominations made by Convention members. Nominations for COSLA Spokespersons and various outside bodies will also be approved then, once the political balance of the Convention is established. 4.4 Once COSLA has determined its political appointments of president, Vice President and Spokespersons, it will write to its member councils seeking a representative to sit on each of its Policy Boards (Environment and Economy; Children and Young People; Community Wellbeing; and Health and Social Care). Policy Board meetings are unlikely to take place before August. However, COSLA has indicated that if member Councils wish, they can notify their Policy Board representations at the same time as their Convention delegations. 4.5 The full detail of COSLA’s process for establishing its political administration, making its appointments and its requirements of member Councils in this regard is provided in the letter from COSLA’s Chief Executive to Argyll and Bute Council as of 4th May and attached as Appendix 1. 5. CONCLUSION 5.1 This report sets out the requests made to the Council by COSLA as part of the process for establishing the COSLA Administration and ensuring that Argyll and Bute Council is represented on the Convention and other COSLA groups as set out in COSLA’s Constitution. It invites the Council to consider nominations for the various appointments listed within the report. 6. IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy – Representation at COSLA provides an opportunity for Argyll and Bute Council to play a part in discussions at a national level on matters of significance to Scottish local government.
Page 4
6.2 Financial – The cost of COSLA Membership is accounted for in the current year’s budget. Travel and subsidence costs incurred by Members appointed to the Convention and any other bodies, in respect of attendance at in-person meetings, are met by the Council. 6.3 Legal – None 6.4 HR – None 6.5 Fairer Scotland Duty – None 6.5.1 Equalities - None 6.5.2 Socio-Economic Duty - None 6.5.3 Islands - None 6.6 Climate Change – None 6.7 Risk – None 6.8 Customer Service - None Douglas Hendry Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support 10th May 2022 For further information please contact Patricia O’Neill, Governance Manager, on patricia.oneill@argyll-bute.gov.uk or 01546 604384 Appendix 1 - Letter from the Chief Executive of COSLA