Agenda item

To consider the report of the Corporate Director.

44.1    The Corporate Director introduced the report and advised that the matter had arisen from the Work Programme in January 2019. It was requested that a review be conducted to examine the Council’s operation and effectiveness of appointments to Outside Bodies and whether improvements could be made.

44.2    As part of a working group, Councillors Wilson, D. Norman and Hampson had met with a number of representatives of Outside Bodies to gather information. A number of Outside Bodies had also been invited to attend the Audit and Governance Committee as part of the review process. All organisations had been surveyed as had the Members appointed to those bodies.

44.3    The Corporate Director outlined the three areas for recommendation. The first finding showed that the City Council did not provide enough guidance and advice to manage the expectations of Outside Bodies and help Members be effective in their role.  A draft guidance note had now been produced to help representatives on Outside Bodies. This would be included in the Constitution following the Council’s endorsement of the guidance.

44.4    The second issue looked into the mechanisms in place to allow Members to report back on their work as appointees to Outside Bodies. The findings showed there had been some disengagement in this area. There had been a lack of feedback presented in relation to any work as part of the organisation. 

44.5    The proposed three new mechanisms were:

1.             Produce an annual report – a template would be supplied to each representative on Outside Bodies to provide an update on the work they are undertaken. This would seek to ascertain whether the Council’s appointment to the Outside Body was worthwhile for the Member, the Council and the organisation they were appointed to.

2.             Provide a 15 minute slot at Council meetings to allow representatives on Outside Bodies to give an update on their work

3.             Open invitation to all Outside Bodies to share their work which can be included in the Members’ Bulletin

44.6    The Corporate Director advised that the report had been considered by the General Purposes Committee which had recommended that Llanthony Secunda Trust and Gloucester United Schools Charity to be moved from Group C to Group B. He also advised that there had been discussion as to whether it would be more appropriate for reporting to take place at the Overview and Scrutiny Committee rather than full Council.

44.7    Councillor Lugg noted that, previously the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had considered urgent matters relevant to outside bodies. She suggested that a slot at the Overview and Scrutiny be introduced to consider such matters. Councillor Lugg also noted that the Gloucester United Schools Charity was a significant asset holder and that it would be appropriate to maintain a presence on this board and, as such, move it from category C into category C as recommended by the General Purposes Committee.

44.8    Reflecting on his role as part of the working group, Councillor Hampson advised that it had been a useful exercise and concluded that there were many things which were not known about the organisations or Member involvement with them. He stated that proposed reporting mechanisms and guidance would be useful for Members, particularly those who had been recently elected to understand the work that was required and their responsibilities.

44.9    The Chair shared his view that if Members’ involvement in Outside Bodies was to be considered by Overview and Scrutiny, the discussion would likely be significantly more detailed and could be debated thoroughly. He also queried what would be done if a Member, when reporting on their involvement on the body, responded that it would not be worthwhile continuing the appointment. The Corporate Director advised that it would prompt the Council to initiate discussions on what the issues were and to make appropriate recommendations.

44.10  Councillor D. Norman stated that following interviews with the Outside Bodies some expressed views on the role and involvement of Members and how they assisted the organisations.  He added that Group Leaders need to ensure they nominate the right Members who should be able to engage with the Outside Bodies which may, for example, be aligned with particular skills or interests.

44.11  Councillor Hampson noted that the appointment of holders of Civic Office to Outside Bodies had not been considered. The Corporate Director advised that such appointments were personal to the office held and were not Council appointments as such.

44.12  RESOLVED that:- The Audit and Governance Committee RECOMMEND to Council the adoption of the draft Guidance and reporting mechanisms and endorse the rationalisation of the range of existing appointments and recommend to Council that the changes are approved and incorporated into the Constitution, subject to the following amendment:

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee receiving the reports referred to in paragraph 3.12.2 of the report instead of full Council.