Venue: Committee Room 2, Civic Centre, Swansea.
Contact: Democratic Services - 667291
No. | Item |
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Apologies for Absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor A S Lewis. |
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Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests. PDF 30 KB Minutes: In accordance with the Code of Conduct adopted by the City and County of
Swansea, no interests were declared. |
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To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the Democratic Services Committee held on 11 September 2014. Minutes: Councillor P M Meara raised the issue that the minutes did not outline
the questions asked and responses given.
A discussion ensued in relation to the Authority’s “house style” of
minute recording, which was noted as being a decision log only. The Head of Democratic Services stated the
minutes were not meant to be a verbatim record; however was prepared to
investigate listing the topics raised during such discussions. RESOLVED
that the minutes of the
Democratic Services Committee held on 11 September 2014 be approved and signed
as a correct record. |
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Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 - Scrutiny Management. PDF 88 KB Minutes: The Director of Corporate Services submitted
a report which sought
to address the issues relating to Scrutiny Management which
were raised at the Democratic Services
Committee held on 11 September 2014 namely: a) That
the City and County of Swansea were not complying with the Local Government
(Wales) Measure 2011 in that the Head of Democratic Services did not line
manage the Scrutiny function within the Authority; b) There
was lack of clarity as to who was accountable for scrutiny arrangements. The Deputy Head of Legal, Democratic Services and Procurement stated
that Frank Cuthbert, Head of Democracy, Diversity and Remuneration Team, at the
Welsh Government, had been invited to the Committee but had declined due to the
fact that he had held two meetings with Officers prior to the meeting and the
issues had been fully discussed and that it was more appropriate to allow
internal discussions to continue within the authority. At the meetings between Frank Cuthbert and Officers of the Authority it
had been agreed that the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 did not specify
that the line management of scrutiny should fall to the Head of Democratic
Services. Additionally, the Welsh
Government Guidance does stress the need to avoid diluting the effectiveness of
existing arrangements. As a result of the issues raised at the previous Committee a number of
additional measures were proposed in order to strengthen the links between the
Head of Democratic Services and the Scrutiny Manager. The Welsh Government have
seen the proposals and were content with them. RESOLVED that the following additional measures be
implemented in order to strengthen the current arrangements: 1)
Democratic
Services Committee Annual Report. This
will include a section on Democratic Services and Scrutiny, Team Structures,
Meetings, Training and associated issues.
This will be presented to the Committee and Council annually. 2)
Quarterly Meetings between Chair of
Democratic Services, Chair of Scrutiny Programme Committee, Councillor Support
and Development Member Champion, Head of Democratic Services and the Scrutiny
Manager. 3)
2 x 6 Monthly Presentations to the Scrutiny Programme
Committee by the Chair and Vice Chair of Democratic Services and Head of Democratic
Services. 4)
2 x 6 Monthly Presentations to the Democratic Services
Committee by the Chair and Vice Chair of Scrutiny Programme Committee and
Scrutiny Manager. |
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Democratic Services Annual Report - 24 May 2012 - 30 April 2014. PDF 54 KB Minutes: The Head of Democratic Services submitted the first Democratic Services
Committee Annual Report covering the period 24 May 2012 to 30 April 2014. He stated that the intention was to produce
the report annually. He asked for comments on the report itself along with style, content and
format. The Committee were content with
the Annual Report however some general comments were raised: i) Councillor
Training. Officers need to ensure that
the training provided if of a high standards by way of content and
delivery. Officers should seek guidance
from the in-house Training Team as required. ii) Councillor
Microsite. It was suggested that a
shortcut link be placed on each Councillors computers and those computers in
the Political Group Rooms; RESOLVED that: 1) The Annual Report be noted and referred
to Council; 2) The Annual Report be presented
annually to the Democratic Services Committee around September / October each
year and then referred to Council. |
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Workplan. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Democratic Services Committee workplan be as follows: 1) The Chair and Vice Chair of
the Scrutiny Programme Committee and Scrutiny Manager be invited to the next
available Democratic Services Committee in February / March 2015; 2) The
Senior Organisation Development Officer / Corporate
Training Lead be invited to a future meeting of
the Democratic Services Committee to outline different methods of providing
Councillor Training. |
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Date and Time of Next Meeting - Wednesday, 14 January, 2015 at 5.00 pm. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Democratic Services Committee
scheduled for 14 January 2015 be cancelled and a new date be arranged for
February / March 2015 in order to accommodate a meeting with the Chair and Vice
Chair of the Scrutiny Programme Committee and Scrutiny Manager. The meeting ended
at 6.10 pm. |