APPENDIX 1
SELECT COMMITTEE PROCEDURE RULES
1. What will be the number and arrangements for Select Committees?
(a) The Council will have the Select Committees set out in Article 6 and will appoint to them as it considers appropriate from time to time. Such committees may appoint sub-committees or task groups (collectively referred to as Select Committees). Select Committees may also be appointed for a fixed period, on the expiry of which they shall cease to exist.
(b) Each Select Committee shall be made up of 12 members.
(c) The Chairman of the Select Committees shall collectively comprise the Liaison Committee whose terms of reference shall be :
(i) To oversee the work of all the Select Committees and that the potential for duplication of effort is minimised.
(ii) Where matters fall within the remit of more than one Select Committee, to determine which of them will assume responsibility for any particular issue, and to resolve any issues of dispute between Select Committees.
(iii) To receive requests from the Executive and/or the full Council for reports from Select Committees and to allocate them if appropriate to one or more Select Committees.
(iv) To put in place and maintain a system to ensure that referrals from Select Committees to the Executive, either by way of report or for reconsideration are managed efficiently.
2. Who may sit on Select Committees?
Any Councillor who is not a member of the Executive may sit on a Select Committee. However, no member may be involved in scrutinising a decision which he/she has been directly involved, including one that relates to the setting of policies. The Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council shall be a non voting member of every Select Committee and shall have the right to speak and shall be entitled to move or second any proposal at any meeting he or she attends in that capacity.
3. Co-optees
Each Select Committee shall be entitled to co-opt non voting Councillors as it thinks fit.
4. Education Representatives
The relevant Select Committee dealing with education matters shall include in its membership the following voting representatives :
(a) 2 diocesan representatives; and
(b) 2 parent governor representatives.
When the Select Committee deals with matters apart from education, these representatives shall not vote on those other matters, though they may stay in the meeting and speak.
5. Meetings of the Select Committees
Each Select Committee shall meet on a monthly cycle. In addition, extraordinary meetings may be called from time to time as and when appropriate. A Committee meeting may be called by the Chairman of the relevant Committee, by any 4 members of the Committee or by the Proper Officer if he/she considers it necessary or appropriate.
6. Quorum
The quorum for a Select Committee shall be 6 (excluding any co-opted members). The quorum for any task group, working party or sub committee established by a Select Committee shall be 3 (excluding any co-opted members).
7. Who Chairs Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings?
(a) The Chairman of each Select Committee shall be appointed by the Council;
(b) The Chairman shall preside at any meeting of the Committee. If the Chairman is not present, the remaining members of the Committee shall elect a Chairman for that meeting.
8. Work programme
Each Select Committee shall establish its own work programme
9. Agenda items
Any member of a Select Committee shall be entitled to give notice to the Proper Officer that he/she wishes an item relevant to the functions of the Committee to be included on the agenda for the next available meeting of the Committee. On receipt of such a request the Proper Officer will ensure that it is included on the next available agenda.
10. Policy review and development
(a) The role of the Select Committees in relation to the development of the Council’s budget and policy framework is set out in detail in the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
(b) In relation to the development of the Council’s approach to other matters not forming part of its policy and budget framework, Select Committees may make proposals to the Executive for developments in so far as they relate to matters within their terms of reference.
(c) Select Committees may hold enquiries and investigate the available options for future direction in policy development and may appoint advisers and assessors to assist them in this process. They may go on site visits, conduct public surveys, hold public meetings, commission research and do all other things that they reasonably consider necessary to inform their deliberations. They may ask witnesses to attend to address them on any matter under consideration and may pay to any advisers, assessors and witnesses a reasonable fee and expenses for doing so, such expenditure to be contained within a budget approved by the Council for this purpose.
11. Reports from Select Committee
(a) Once it has formed recommendations on proposals for development, the Select Committee will prepare a formal report and submit it to the Proper Officer for consideration by the Executive.
(b) The Executive shall consider the report of the Select Committee within one month of it being submitted to the Proper Officer.
12. Rights of Select Committee members to documents
In addition to their rights as Councillors, members of Select Committees have the additional right to documents, and to notice of meetings as set out in the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution.
13. Members and officers giving account
(a) Select Committees may scrutinise and review decisions made or actions taken in connection with the discharge of any Council functions falling within the Committee’s remit. As well as reviewing documentation, in fulfilling the scrutiny role, it may require any member of the Executive and/or any Director to attend before it to explain in relation to matters within their remit :
(i) any particular decision or series of decisions;
(ii) the extent to which the actions taken implement Council policy; and/or
(iii) their performance.
and it is the duty of those persons to attend if so required.
(b) Where any member or officer is required to attend a Select Committee under this provision, the chairman of that committee will inform the Proper Officer. The Proper Officer shall inform the member or officer in writing giving at least 10 working days notice of the meeting at which he/she is required to attend. The notice will state the nature of the item on which he/she is required to attend to give account and whether any papers are required to be produced for the committee. Where the account to be given to the committee will require the production of a report, then the member or officer concerned will be given 10 working days to allow for preparation of that documentation.
(c) Where, in exceptional circumstances, the member or officer is unable to attend on the required date, then the Select Committee shall in consultation with the member or officer arrange an alternative date for attendance.
14. Attendance by others
A Select Committee may invite people other than those people referred to in paragraph 13 above to address it, discuss issues of local concern and/or answer questions. It may for example wish to hear from residents, stakeholders and members and officers in other parts of the public sector and shall invite such people to attend.
15. Call-in
(a) When a decision is made by the Executive or by an individual member of the Executive, the decision shall be published, including where possible by electronic means, and shall be available at the main offices of the Council normally within 2 working days of being made. Copies of decisions made will be sent to all members also normally within 2 working days of the decision being made.
(b) That notice will bear the date on which it is published and will specify that the decision will come into force, and may then be implemented, on the expiry of 5 working days after the publication of the decision, unless a Select Committee objects to it and calls it in.
(c) During that period, the Proper Officer shall call-in a decision for scrutiny by the committee if so requested by any four members of the committee. He/she shall call a meeting of the Committee on such date as he/she may determine, where possible after consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, and in any case within 5 days of the decision to call-in.
(d) If, having considered the decision, the Select Committee is still concerned about it, then it may either refer it back to the decision making person or body for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns or refer the matter to full Council. If referred to the decision maker, the decision maker shall then reconsider the decision within a further 5 working days, amending the decision or not, before adopting a final decision.
(e) If following an objection to the decision, the Select Committee does not meet in the period set out above, or does meet but does not refer the matter back to the decision making person or body, the decision shall take effect on the date of the Select Committee meeting, or the expiry of that further 5 working day period, whichever is the earlier.
(f) If, having met, the Select Committee resolves to refer the matter to full Council and the Council does not object to a decision which has been made, then no further action is necessary and the decision will be effective in accordance with the provision below. However, if the Council does object, it has no right to make decisions in respect of an Executive decision unless it is contrary to the policy framework, or contrary to or not wholly consistent with the budget. Unless that is the case, the Council may refer any decision to which it objects back to the decision making person or body, together with the Council’s views on the decision. That decision making body or person shall choose whether to amend the decision or not before reaching a final decision and implementing it. Where the decision was taken by the Executive as a whole, a meeting will be convened to reconsider the matter within 5 working days of the Council request. Where the decision was made by an individual, the individual will reconsider it within 5 working days of the Council request.
(g) If the Council does not meet, or if it does but does not refer the decision back to the decision making body or person, the decision will become effective on the date of the Council meeting or expiry of the period in which the Council meeting should have been held, whichever is the earlier.
CALL-IN AND URGENCY
(i) The call-in procedure set out above shall not apply where the decision being taken by the Executive is urgent. A decision will be urgent if any delay likely to be caused by the call in process would seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interests. The record of the decision, and notice by which it is made public shall state whether in the opinion of the decision making person or body, the decision is an urgent one, and therefore not subject to call-in. The Chairman of the Council must agree, having taken advice from Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer or Chief Finance Officer, both that the decision proposed is reasonable in all the circumstances and to it being treated as a matter of urgency. In the absence of the Chairman, the Vice Chairman’s consent shall be required. In the absence of both, the head of paid service or his/her nominee’s consent shall be required. Decisions taken as a matter of urgency must be reported to the next available meeting of the Council, together with the reasons for urgency.
(ii) The operation of the provisions relating to call-in and urgency shall be monitored annually, and a report submitted to Council with proposals for review if necessary by the Proper Officer.
16. Procedure at Select Committee meetings
(a) Select Committees shall consider the following business :
(i) minutes of the last meeting;
(ii) declarations of interest;
(iii) an opportunity for the public to ask questions of the Chairman in accordance with the Council Procedure;
(iv) any urgent item of business which is not included on an agenda but the Chairman, after consultation with the Director of Corporate Services, agrees should be raised;
(v) consideration of any matter referred to the committee for a decision in relation to call in of a decision;
(vi) responses of the Executive to reports of the Select Committee;
(vii) the business otherwise set out on the agenda for the meeting;
(viii) an opportunity for members of the Council to ask questions of the Chairman in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules.
(b) Where the Select Committee conducts investigations (eg with a view to policy development), the committee may also ask people to attend to give evidence at committee meetings which are to be conducted in accordance with the following principles:
(i) that the investigation be conducted fairly and all members of the committee be given the opportunity to ask questions of attendees, and to contribute and speak;
(ii) that those assisting the committee by giving evidence be treated with respect and courtesy; and
(iii) that the investigation be conducted so as to maximise the efficiency of the investigation or analysis.
(c) Following any investigation or review, the Committee shall prepare a report, for submission to the Executive and/or Council as appropriate and shall make its report and findings public.
(d) Select Committees shall also comply with any procedural guidance which is contained in the Protocol on Decision-Making in Part 5 of this Constitution.
17. Matters within the remit of more than one Select Committee
Where a matter for consideration by a Select Committee also falls within the remit of one or more other Select Committees, the decision as to which committee will consider it will be resolved by the Liaison Committee.