Item 7 - Appointments to Council Committees and Other Bodies
West Dunbartonshire Council · 18 May 2022
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 18 May 2022 and its agenda
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WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration Statutory Meeting of West Dunbartonshire Council: 18 May 2022 Subject: Appointments to Council committees and other bodies 1. Purpose 1.1 To provide information to allow the Council to consider appointments to a number of Council committees and other bodies. 2. Recommendation 2.1 Council is asked to consider appointing members to:- (a) Council committees and other constituted bodies and to grant authority to the Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration to agree to any proxy attending the West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership Board instead of a nominated member; (b) Council working groups and trusts; (c) Joint boards / committees and strategic partnerships; and (d) Outside bodies. 2.2 Details of the nominations sought are detailed in the four appendices attached to this report. 3. Background 3.1 Full memberships of the current committee structure, working groups and other constituted bodies are required to allow meetings to continue to take place and business to be dealt with. 3.2 Appointments to outside bodies are also invited and should reflect any requirements provided by the individual organisations, as detailed in Appendix 4. 4. Main Issues Council committees and other constituted bodies 4.1 To allow the continuation of the current committee structure and to allow meetings to take place Council is required to appoint members to the committees and other Page 1 of 4
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constituted bodies detailed in Appendix 1 to this report. It is important that the appointments reflect the political balance of the Council. 4.2 While there is no legal requirement in Scotland to achieve an exact political balance on committees it is important that appointments take into account the political balance of the Council. In particular, it is good practice to avoid committees whose membership is taken from a single party. 4.3 Council is also required to appoint a Convener (Chair) and Depute Convener to the committees. Appeals Committee 4.4 It should be noted that only Elected Members who have been trained in hearing appeals can sit on the Appeals Committee and make decisions. Training will be provided to those members who require it. Planning Committee 4.5 When appointing members to the Planning Committee, Council should aim to achieve a membership that is balanced geographically over the six Council wards. Council Working Groups and Trusts 4.6 A list of active Council working groups and trusts that require nominations is attached as Appendix 2. Joint boards/committees and strategic partnerships 4.7 A list of joint boards, joint committees and strategic partnerships that require nominations is attached as Appendix 3. Outside Bodies 4.8 A list of the organisations that are currently inviting nominations from West Dunbartonshire Council is attached as Appendix 4. This includes the Council’s delegation to the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). COSLA 4.9 Notification has been received that a meeting of Council Leaders will be held on Friday, 27 May 2022 and requesting that, if possible, the name and contact details of the Leader of the Council be provided to COSLA by 20 May. 4.10 COSLA has requested that notification of the Council’s three delegates to the Convention be given as soon as possible, but ideally no later than 27 May 2022. Page 2 of 4
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The COSLA Constitution states that the delegation must reflect the balance of party political representation within the Council. 4.11 The first Convention is on Friday, 17 June 2022 and it will be the Convention delegates who nominate for the posts of President and Vice President of COSLA. The deadline for these nominations is 27 May, and must result in gender-balanced appointments. This deadline (3 weeks in advance of the meeting) is set out in the Constitution so cannot be varied. It will be Convention delegates who nominate for the posts of President and Vice President, not Councils. 4.12 Meetings of COSLA Boards are likely to commence in August, however the Council’s representatives can be notified at the same time as the Convention delegates. Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG) 4.13 The Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007 provides for members of certain Council committees and joint boards to be eligible for PVG Scheme membership due to the position they hold. The committees and joint boards concerned are:- Educational Services Committee Housing and Communities Committee West Dunbartonshire Health & Social Care Partnership Board 4.14 If Elected Members who have any restriction on them are appointed to the aforementioned committees and/or board an offence is committed by the Members and in certain circumstances by the Council. Accordingly, Members who are appointed to these will require to have PVG checks carried out. 5. People Implications 5.1 There are no personnel issues. 6. Financial and Procurement Implications 6.1 There are no financial or procurement implications. 7. Risk Analysis 7.1 There may be a reputational risk to the Council if it chooses not to make nominations to the outside bodies, boards and/or strategic partnerships. Page 3 of 4
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8. Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) 8.1 The Council’s representation on these organisations will have no adverse equality impacts. 9. Consultation 9.1 Officers in the legal and finance sections of the Council have been consulted on the content of this report. 10. Strategic Assessment 10.1 The continuation of Council business and its representation on other organisations will contribute towards achieving the Council’s strategic priorities. Peter Hessett Chief Officer – Regulatory and Regeneration April 2022 Person to Contact: Christine McCaffary, Senior Democratic Services Officer, Email: christine.mccaffary@west-dunbarton.gov.uk Appendices: Appendix 1 – List of Council committees and other constituted bodies Appendix 2 - List of Council working groups and trusts Appendix 3 – List of joint boards/committees and strategic partnerships Appendix 4 - List of outside bodies Background Papers: None Wards Affected: All Wards Page 4 of 4