1.    INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1     The Council has a statutory requirement under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 to ensure political proportionality in the membership of Committees.  Following the Headcorn by-election on 13 September 2018 and the return of Councillor Webb to the Liberal Democrat Group, the composition of the Council is as follows:

1.2   The Constitution (Part 2.1) prescribes the following exceptions to the overall rule about proportionality:

(a)     Urgency Committee - the Leaders of the five largest groups represented on the Council must be appointed to this Committee.  

(b)     Employment Committee – membership of 12 Councillors, to include the Group Leaders of the five largest groups).

        This is in accordance with Section 17 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, which provides for exceptions to the political balance       requirements. 

1.3   Subject to this exception, steps must be taken to ensure that in allocating seats to the various Committees, the total number of seats across all of the Committees reflect the overall number of seats allocated to each Group as required by the legislation.

1.4   When there is no overall control with one party achieving a higher number of Members than the total of the other Members from other Political Groups and any Independent Members, proportionality is achieved through negotiation by the Political Groups and Independent Members for relevant Committees in accordance with the 1989 Act.  This enables those Political Groups/Members that have a potential claim on the seats that remain unallocated to agree how the seats should be allocated between them.  This accords with Section 15(2) which enables the Authority to take such steps “so far as reasonably practicable” to achieve political balance for these Committees.

1.5   Seats are allocated to ensure that each Political Group has the same proportion of seats as it holds on the Council as a whole.  Once the allocation of seats has been decided upon, there is a duty to give effect to the allocation by making appointments to the Committees in accordance with the wishes of the Political Groups.

1.6   Following the election on 3 May 2018, the seats on the various Committees were allocated by full Council at the Annual Meeting on 19 May 2018 in accordance with the above process.

2.    AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3     PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1   It is proposed that the Employment Committee and the Urgency Committee are not politically balanced, as, in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, the membership of these Committees must include the Leaders of the five largest Political Groups represented on the Council.  Any adjustments to the allocation of seats on individual Committees to achieve overall political balance will be determined at the meeting following consultation with the Group Leaders.

4.    RISK

4.1  The review of the allocation of seats on Committees will ensure an appropriate political balance in membership of Committees.

5.    CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

5.1   Group Leaders are being consulted on the allocation of seats on Committees and the adjustments required, and the outcome will be reported at the meeting.

6.    NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

6.1   Once the allocation of seats has been decided upon, there is a duty to give effect to the allocation by making appointments to them in accordance with the wishes of the Group Leaders on behalf of their respective Political Groups.

7.    CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

8.    REPORT APPENDICES

None.

9.    BACKGROUND PAPERS

None.