1.        PURPOSE OF REPORT AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1     To appoint to the Committee’s various Sub-Committees as detailed in the body of the report.

2.        INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.1     Following the By-Election held in September 2016 it was necessary to recalculate the distribution of seating on Committees and Sub-Committees.

2.2     As a result of this, the allocation for the Sub-Committees for Employment Committee changed as follows:-

Old Appointment Sub-Committee – 2 x Con, 2 x Lib Dem, 1 x Ind
New Appointment Sub-Committee – 2 x Con, 2 x Lib Dem, 1 x Ind/UKIP

The Performance Sub-Committee will stay the same as it consists of the Group Leaders of the 5 largest parties (not politically balanced).  It is a decision for the committee as to whether or not to include substitutes and if so in what form they will take, i.e. it could include deputies of the Group Leaders.
 
Old Investigatory Sub-Committee – 2 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem

New Investigatory Sub-Committee – 1 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem, 1 x Ind/UKIP

Old Hearings Sub-Committee – 2 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem
New Hearings Sub-Committee – 1 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem, 1 x Ind/UKIP

Old Appeals Sub-Committee – 2 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem

New Appeals Sub-Committee – 1 x Con, 1 x Lib Dem, 1 x Ind/UKIP

2.3     Set out in Appendix ‘A’ are the various Sub-Committees that the Committee need to appoint to.  It is possible to appoint a Sub-Committee which is not politically balanced so that Sub-Committees are made up from the members of the Employment Committee. The arrangements for such appointments are set out in paragraph 2.4 below.

2.4     Section 17 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides for exceptions to the political balance requirements.  In essence, the Committee can amend the political balance of a Sub-Committee provided that notice of the intention to give such consideration has been given to all Members of the Committee and when the alternative arrangements are put to the vote at the Committee, no members of the Committee votes against them.  If the political balance of the Council were to change these arrangements would have to be reviewed.

3.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1     An alternative would be to not appoint to any or all of the Sub-Committees but this is not recommended as it would be going against the decision of Council as set out in the Constitution.

3.2     The Committee may choose not to have politically balanced Sub-Committees and agree that they will be made up from members of the Employment Committee.

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1    To appoint to the Sub-Committees as set out in paragraph 2.2.  This would satisfy the correct allocation of seats.

4.2    The Director of Finance and Business Improvement held discussions with the Group Leaders of both the Independent and UKIP political parties and it was agreed that the Group Leader for the Independents would be appointed to the Sub-Committees where indicated for the remainder of the municipal year and next year the Group Leader for UKIP would be appointed.

5.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

5.1     Once the appointments are made, these will be held for the remainder of the municipal year.

6.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

7.        REPORT APPENDICES

8.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

None