PAPER C

 

                                                                                                                Purpose : for Decision

Committee :   REPORT TO THE FULL COUNCIL

 

Date :              19 JANUARY 2005

 

Title :               MEMBERSHIP OF THE EXECUTIVE – PORTFOLIOS AND PORTFOLIO HOLDERS

                       

REPORT OF THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL THE MONITORING OFFICER

 

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 19 January 2005

SUMMARY/PURPOSE

 

1.                  To make immediate changes to the allocation of Portfolio responsibilities and to make recommendations to Full Council in relation to the form and composition of the Executive under Article 7 of the Constitution. 

 

BACKGROUND/STRATEGIC CONTEXT

 

2.                  Article 7 of the Constitution sets out the rules under which the Executive is established.:

 

            (7)(2)       Form and Composition. 

 

                            The Executive will consist of the Leader of the Council (who will be the Chairman of the Executive) together with nine other Councillors appointed to the Executive by the Council.

 

            (7)(6)(a) The Executive may agree that individual Members of the Executive shall take a specific remit for different aspects of the Council’s work.  The details of the allocated remit shall be known as the Portfolio and the individual Member of the Executive as the Portfolio Holder.

 

CONSULTATION/RULE 16 ACCESS TO INFORMATION PROCEDURE RULES

 

3.                  The need to take decisions in relation to the allocation of Portfolios and to make recommendations in relation to the form and composition of the Executive has arisen due to Councillor Fox, the current Portfolio Holder for Transport, having served notice that he no longer wishes to be treated as a Member of the Island First Group. 

 

4.                  The significance of the Portfolio is such that it is impractical to defer a decision about who is to carry responsibility for the Portfolio until a future meeting of the Executive.  The Chairman of the relevant Select Committee and the Chairman of the Council have both agreed that the decision cannot reasonably be deferred.

 

5.                  This report is therefore being taken under Rule 16 Access to Information Procedure Rules, and a subsequent report, under Rule 17 will be made to the next meeting of the Full Council.

 

FINANCIAL/LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

 

6.                  Article 7 of the Constitution provides that the Executive may agree which Portfolio and individual Member of the Executive shall hold.  Whilst membership of the Executive carries a special responsibility allowance that is not tied to the holding of a Portfolio, but rather to membership of the Executive.

 

7.                  Any decision taken by the Executive will not therefore carry financial implications. Any recommendation to reduce the number of Portfolio Holders, if approved by Full Council will result in a budget saving equivalent to the special responsibility allowance of one Executive Member.  That is currently £8,868.00

 

OPTIONS

 

8.                  The Executive may agree to:

 

(a)               Retain the existing Portfolios and Portfolio Holders.

 

(b)               Rearrange responsibility for individual functions within existing Portfolios.

 

(c)               To create new Portfolios and allocate responsibility for them.

 

(d)               Retain the existing Portfolios and reallocate responsibility for those Portfolios.

 

(e)               Make recommendations about the Form and Composition of the Executive

 

EVALUATION/RISK MANAGEMENT

 

9.                  The decision falls to be taken within five months of the end of the current Council.  Any change will result in some disruption. As a general principle the greater the amount of change, the greater the disruption and therefore, the potential for risk to arise.

 

10.             Each of the options set out above will have advantages and disadvantages and each is within the discretion of the Executive.  The Executive is under a statutory duty to deliver continually improving services and therefore, to identify and allocate blocks of responsibility within Portfolios best able to achieve that outcome over the remaining five months of the current Council.  In the light of any decision taken on the options set out above, the Executive may also wish to make recommendations to Full Council on 19 January.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

 

11.             In the event that the Executive wishes to reallocate Executive responsibility, it is recommended:

 

i.               That existing Portfolios remain and that any changes are limited to the allocation of Portfolio responsibility.

 

ii.             That any change in Portfolios and/or the allocation of Portfolios is reflected in recommendations to the Full Council

 

BACKGROUND PAPERS

 

None

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

None

 

Contact Point :           John Lawson – Monitoring Officer ' 3203 [email protected]

 

 

Head of Service

Head of Legal and Democratic Services

Shirley Smart

Leader of The Council