To receive apologies for absence (to include reasons, where appropriate) from

Members/Officers.

Apologies for absence were received from the following Member for the reason so stated:-

Councillor C A Green - Holiday

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by the Council from 1 September 2008.

None

To receive for approval, the minutes of the previous meeting held on 28 May 2015

RESOLVED:                That the minutes of a meeting of the Democratic  Services Committee dated the 28 May 2015 were approved as a true and accurate record, subject to it being noted that Councillor D K Edwards had given his apologies for absence at this meeting which had not been reflected in the Minutes. 

The Head of Democratic Services presented a report, the purpose of which, was to update the Democratic Services Committee with performance information relating to elements of support provided to Elected Members.

The report covered the following areas, upon each of which the Head of Democratic Services gave a resume:-

·         Member Referrals

·         Pre-Council briefings

·         Member Development

·         Annual Reports

·         Personal Development Reviews

·         Modern.gov Update

·         Welsh Language Standards

·         Webcasting

·         Members ICT Forum

·         Democratic Diversity

·         Member Support Officer Network

In terms of Member Referrals, Members queried if these could be left open indefinitely, ie until such time that the referral has been followed-up and acted upon and completed fully by the appropriate Officer of the Council it had been referred to.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that it was normal custom and practice to leave referrals open for a period of 3 months, though there was scope if the referral was not completed, to re-initiate the file after a further 3 months.

A Member pointed out that she normally took up any constituents queries or complaints directly with the appropriate Department as opposed to going through the Members referral system, though she was aware that this method would not be recorded as a ‘hit’ for her on the Members referral system where data was collated and available for inspection.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that if the Officer the referral was directed to identified that the appropriate Member had contacted them direct regarding this, as opposed to processing this through the referral system, then this would be logged accordingly as a referral in data collated for this purpose.

A Member recognised that a lot of work was committed to the Member referral system by Officers in the Democratic Services Section, however, he felt the system was important, as it gave an audit trail in terms of matters raised by constituents having been followed-up, so that the Member can then go back to the constituent with feedback on the referral.

A Member suggested that it may be advisable to approach other neighbouring local authorities to compare our procedures, practices and protocols with their own, to see if there may be a more effective method by which to deal with referrals.

A Member felt that there was no point in keeping a referral open, if this related to something that required a financial resource that the Directorate was unable to support due to budget restrictions under the MTFS.

The Chairperson advised that the number of referrals processed over the last few years was as follows:-

2012 – 2,972

2013 – 3,287

2014 – 2,513

2015 - 1,842 (to date)

Members concluded debate on this area of the report by requesting the Head of Democratic Services to look into the current process being undertaken in respect of the Member referral system, in order to establish if it could be improved or refined in any way, with assistance from other Departments if/where necessary, to include ICT, including options to keep referrals open for longer perhaps through  ...  view the full minutes text for item 91.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report, which advised that the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales (IRWP) had issued its Draft Annual Report for consultation. The purpose of the report was for the Committee to provide its views in respect of the draft report. A response would be submitted to the IRWP and the WLGA by the deadline of 30 November 2015. The draft report was attached to the main covering report at Appendix A.

The Head of Democratic Services gave a resume of the report, and reiterated the following for the benefit of Committee Members:-

1.    The basic salary to all elected Members would remain unchanged

2.    The Leader’s salary would remain unchanged

3.    The Deputy Leader’s salary would be slightly reduced as per the report

4.    Four Cabinet Members salaries would remain at £29k, with any further Cabinet Members salary being reduced to £29,600

5.    No changes to Mayor’s or Deputy Mayor’s salary allowance

6.    Two proposed levels of remuneration for Chairpersons of Committees ie Level 1 £22k and Level 2 £20k

7.    An allowance of £20k (reduced from £22k) for the Leader of the largest opposition group to the majority group

8.    No changes to remuneration for Committee Co-opted Members

The remainder of the report related to information Supporting the work of local authority Elected Members; reimbursement of travel, subsistence and care costs when on official business, payments to members of Town/Community Councils and salaries of Heads of Paid Service.

The Head of Democratic Services advised Members that compliance in respect of the IRPW requirements remained extant, and that it should be noted that earlier this year the IRPW identified Bridgend’s Schedule of Remuneration as an exemplar of good practice, and this was circulated to all Local Authorities in Wales.

A Member felt that whilst the IRWP had been established primarily to look at Councillors allowances, he considered that the Panel seemed obliged each year to alter in some way or another these allowances. He also added that whilst they were looking to reduce allowances in some way or another for local government Members, allowances for Welsh Assembly Government Members were increasing. He asked how much the proposals would save the Authority.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that if the proposals in the report were to materialise, the adjustments to allowances would save the Authority around £25 - £30k a year.

A Member stated that some of the proposals under valued the Chairpersons of statutory and/or regulatory Committees, as opposed to Overview and Scrutiny Committees. The former Committees however, met more frequently, and made decisions that were challengeable through various types of appeal processes, ie the Licensing Sub-Committee, Appeals and Development Control Committee.

Members having considered the report, together with the Draft Annual Report of the IRPW (Appendix A to covering report), and having debated the matter

RESOLVED:              The Committee:          

1.                  Provided views on the Draft Annual Report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for  Wales, along the lines as expressed above.

2.             Supported the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

The Head of Democratic Services submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to request the establishment of a cross party working group consisting of 6 Members of the Committee, to undertake a collaborative risk assessment and to assist in the development of an Elected Member Lone Working Policy.

The report gave some background information, following which it was confirmed that elected Members routinely work alone and as a result of this, may be open to placing themselves in vulnerable positions, for example, through visiting constituents at their home.

Paragraph 4.3 of the report stipulated that undertaking appropriate risk assessments should identify the typical hazards which elected Members may face when working alone, as were exampled in this section of the report.

The Head of Democratic Services confirmed that the cross working party would undertake a collaborative elected Member Lone Working Risk Assessment, and assist in the development of an elected Members Lone Working Policy.

He added that it would be of benefit also, if one of the Members of the group so established had attended the Dealing with Conflict Member Development session in 2013. He further added that a provisional date had been arranged for the first meeting of this Working Group ie 16 November next at 10.00am in these offices.

Following discussion on this item, Members

RESOLVED:                         That the Committee agreed to establish a cross party Working Group comprising of the following Members to undertake a collaborative Risk Assessment and assist in the development of an elected Members Lone Working Policy:-

                                              Councillor J H Tildesley

                                              Councillor M Reeves

                                              Councillor J R McCarthy

                                              Councillor C A Green or Councillor E Venables

                                              Councillor R C Jones

                                              Councillor R M James

To consider any item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in

accordance with Part 4 (paragraph 4) of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

None