PAPER A

 

Purpose: For Decision

 

Committee:

STANDARDS COMMITTEE – MEMBERS ATTENDANCE SUB COMMITTEE

 

 

Date:

15 NOVEMBER  2002

 

 

Title:

MEMBER ATTENDANCE RECORDS

 

 

 

REPORT OF THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES

 

 


SUMMARY/PURPOSE

 

To consider the attached (appendix 1) recommendation from the Council.

 

BACKGROUND

 

There are a number of points within the recommendation that the Sub Committee needs to consider and these – along with some comments from me – are detailed below:

 

Recommendation

Comment

That the Council continue to publish attendance records of Members

The previous practice has been that the record of attendance at the Council and its main Committee meetings be issued to Members on a yearly basis.  The production of the latest figures has been deferred pending the outcome of this Sub Committees consideration of the matter.

It is very easy for these figures to be published and the Sub Committee may consider making an explicit recommendation that they are published.

That the publication of the figures is carried out more frequently than is currently the case – possibly every quarter.

This can be achieved with little effect on current resources.

Publication to be as wide as possible.

It is suggested that this should include the Council’s Internet site and the local press – copies can be sent to the Libraries as well. The Sub Committee might like to consider if these figures should also be sent to the Parish and Town Councils and the Newport and Ryde Forums.

Members have the opportunity to fill in a pro forma on a periodic basis to allow them to give an account of their activities outside County Hall

If this is implemented then any completed form should be published and form part of the publication of the figures as set out above.  There is likely to be some significant logistical problems in ensuring that all 48 completed forms are returned for publication within what will be tight timescales.

The Standards Committee could have a role collecting and publishing these activity statements

I am not sure what role the Standards Committee would have in this as it would be a straightforward administrative function.

The Standards Committee should also define what constitutes an excused absence from a meeting by a Member

The concept of a definition sounds sensible however other issues arise – can such a definition be suitably worded to cover all the variations on absence?

What would happen if a member was absent for what the Standards Committee considers to be an “unauthorised” absence?

There is a sharpened definition of the roles Members are expected to perform and these roles should be also publicised in an appropriate fashion.

The inclusion of job profiles for elected members is a requirement under the Local Government Act 2000(Constitutions)(England Direction) 2000 – the need for this has also been identified in the Councils own Corporate Plan.   Such a definition needs to be developed with existing members and I will arrange for this work to be undertaken during the next 6 months with a report back to the Standards Committee.

 

The figures collected for the recording of Members attendance at meetings currently only applies to the formal meetings of the Council (that is Full Council, Executive, Select Committees and the Regulatory Committees).  Attendance at Task Group meetings, meetings of School Governors and Outside Bodies (to which a member has been appointed by the Council to represent the Council) and meetings on other Council business are not recorded. There is currently no system in place to enable these attendances to be recorded and to do so would require the submission of detailed data from either each of the 48 members or all the School Governing Bodies/Outside bodies.

 

As a general point the Sub Committee needs to be aware that under the new Modernising agenda the government has made it clear that Members roles is not just about attending meetings – this is one of the reasons why it has removed the requirement for an “attendance allowance”.  Much of the work undertaken by members revolves around constituency work and meetings with officers and other stakeholders outside the formal meetings of the Council.  Care therefore needs to be taken in ensuring that the publication of any member activity accurately reflects the work that a member carries out.  A specific example might be the Chairman of the Council who has to carry out many dozens of civic functions and may only have the time to attend a few meetings outside of the full Council meetings.  Therefore the publication of meeting attendance figures for the Chairman will imply a low level of activity when in reality the opposite might well be the case.

 

Equally a member who is not a member of any of the political groups might only be allocated one Committee to sit on and this might meet infrequently.  Despite this the member might carry out many constituency meetings/work all of which will go unrecorded in the official lists of meeting attendances.

 

Technically we will be able to have available on the internet the basic statistics for any one to see at anytime.  This data can be updated live and so will reflect the current position.  The web page that displays the data will need to explain that this information is a simple record of attendances and members of the public should seek to address any issues they have direct with the member concerned.

 

Legal Implications

 

There is no statutory requirement to publish the data referred to in this report. The principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 will apply and the publication must be with the informed consent of each member, who should be given the opportunity to confirm the accuracy of the data prior to publication. Care needs to be taken to ensure that such a statement does not contravene the restriction on the Council publishing political material therefore any such statement shall have to be restricted to the facts.  Logistically we will probably need to restrict the number of words used.

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

1.      That as soon as practicable the Council’s web site contain a page displaying members attendance record.

 

2.      That as from 1 April 2003 the members attendance statistics be published on a quarterly basis but that prior to the publication each member is invited to comment on the data and if they wish to add a section (of no more than 100 words) referring to what other work they have undertaken for the Council during the period covered by the statistics, and any other relevant comment they wish to add.

 

3.      That for this year the attendance figures be published with an explanation that they do not include a whole range of other meetings/work undertaken by members.

 

4.      That the establishment of a Members job profiles be undertaken during the next 6 months with reports to the Standards Committee.

 

 

 

BACKGROUND PAPER

 

Statistics from the training sessions

 

Contact Point: Chris Mathews, F 823280

 

 

 

 

MIKE FISHER

Strategic Director

Corporate and Environment Services

 

Appendix 1

 

“That the Council considers adopting mechanisms of accountability that Members have to abide by for the receipt of their allowances. In particular, the Panel recommends that at the very least that the Council continue to publish attendance records of Members. Furthermore, the Panel recommends that this be done more frequently than is currently the case, which is annually as is the annual publication of allowances each Member receives. The Panel recommends that these attendance figures be published every quarter so that constituents have a more meaningful and ongoing means by which they can judge the formal performance of their elected Members. This is a common practice elsewhere and is fairly straightforward to implement. Nor does it preclude the Council from advertising more widely Members’ attendance records, such as in local libraries. The Council could go much further if it wishes. In addition, the Panel also suggests that Members have the opportunity to fill in a pro forma on a periodic basis to allow them to give an account of their activities outside County Hall. This should enable them to give an account of their own activities beyond their attendance at formal meetings of the Council and its outside bodies. These activity statements could be posted on the Council’s web pages for electors and other interested parties to evaluate. Alternatively, the Standards Committee could have a role collecting and publishing these activity statements. The Standards Committee should also define what constitutes an excused absence from a meeting by a Member. The Panel also recommends that in the interests of clarity and transparency that there is a sharpened definition of the roles Members are expected to perform and these roles should be also publicised in an appropriate fashion. It gives the electorate a means by which they could potentially measure Members’ performances and informs potential and current Members what they are expected to do in return for their increased allowances. “