Governance Committee
MINUTES of a meeting of the Governance Committee held at Council Chamber, County Hall, Lewes on 28 September 2023.
PRESENT Councillors Keith Glazier (Chair), Nick Bennett, Bob Bowdler, Chris Collier and David Tutt
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ALSO PRESENT |
Councillors Godfrey Daniel, Johnny Denis, Claire Dowling, Julia Hilton, Wendy Maples, Stephen Shing, Bob Standley, Trevor Webb
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19. Minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2023
19.1 RESOLVED – that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on 18 July 2023 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
20. Reports
20.1 Copies of the reports referred to below are included in the minute book.
21. Allocation of places for Committees
21.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding the allocation of places on committees, sub-committees and panels as a result of the by-elections in July and August 2023.
21.2 The Committee RESOLVED:
i) to recommend the County Council to:
1) Increase the Membership of the Governance Committee to 6 members; and
2) Agree the allocations to political and independent groups the places on, and membership of, the main committees in Appendix 1 of the report and other committees and panels listed in Appendix 2 of the report; and
3) Agree to appoint:
4) a) Councillor Johnny Denis to the Governance Committee;
b) Councillor Anne Cross to the Regulatory Committee;
c) Councillor Charles Clark to the People Scrutiny Committee;
d) Councillor Colin Swansborough to the People Scrutiny Committee;
e) Councillor Brett Wright
to the Place Scrutiny Committee.
ii) That a report on the allocation of Places to Chairs and Vice Chairs be brought to a future meeting of the Committee for consideration.
22. Allocation of places for outside bodies
22.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding the appointments of members to outside bodies on which the County Council is represented following the by-elections in July and August 2023.
22.2The Committee RESOLVED to:
1. to recommend the County Council to:
a) Agree the allocation to political and independent groups of places on the East Sussex Fire Authority and to appoint Councillor Stephen Shing.
b) Allocate to political and independent groups places on the Conservators of Ashdown Forest.
2. The Committed RESOLVED to agree (i) the appointment of Councillor Julia Hilton as a second representative on the Police and Crime Panel for a one year period subject to an invitation being received from the Police and Crime Panel for the Council to appoint a Green second Councillor; and (ii) that Councillor John Ungar be shown to have replaced Councillor David Tutt on the East Sussex Fire Authority.
23. Motions to Full Council
23.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding the review of the County Council’s procedure for considering Notices of Motion.
23.2The Committee RESOLVED:
i) to recommend the County Council to agree:
1)
The revised process for considering
motions at Full Council (as set out in paragraph 3 of the
report).
2) That the deadline for submitted notices of motion for before a Full Council meeting be amended to 20 working days before that meeting date; and
3) That the Constitution be amended accordingly.
ii) that an update report on the procedure changes be brought back to the Committee in six months’ time.
24. Guidance for the public speaking at Council
24.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding an amendment to the constitution concerning questions from members of the public at Full Council meetings.
24.2 The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the County Council to agree to the proposed amendment to the Constitution set out in paragraph 1.4 of the report.
25. IRP Report on remuneration
25.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding the remuneration of the Independent Remuneration Panel.
25.2 The Committee RESOLVED to note the outcome of the review of the rate of remuneration of the Independent Remuneration Panel members and to agree the continuation of the rate of remuneration (IRP) as set out in paragraph 2.3 of the report.
26. Pension Board Membership
26.1 The Committee considered a report by the Assistant Chief Executive regarding appointments to the East Sussex Pension Board.
26.2 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) Appoint Trevor Redmond to the Pension Board for the period of 28 September 2023 to 27 September 2025; and
2) Appoint Neil Simpson and Councillor Andrew Wilson as Pension Board Vice Chairs.
27. Relocation Scheme
27.1 The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer regarding the expansion of the employee relocation scheme.
27.2 The Committee RESOLVED to agree that the relocation scheme be expanded to allow reimbursement of all reasonable expenses associated with relocation up to a maximum amount of £8,000.
28. Customer Experience Report 2022/23
28.1 The Committee considered a report by the Director of Communities, Economy and Transport regarding the Customer Service Annual Report.
28.2 The Committee RESOLVED to:
1) Note the progress of the Customer Service Experience Board in the implementation of a series of measures to improve customer experience.
2) Support the Customer Experience Board’s project which will develop and implement a system that will provide a single, comprehensive dataset of customer contacts across all channels in order to improve service delivery and potential channel shift.
3) Note the number and nature of complaints made to the Council in 2022/23; and
4) Note the contents of the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman’s annual letter to the Chief Executive.