PAPER B

Purpose : for Decision

REPORT TO THE COUNCIL

Date : 8 DECEMBER 2004

Title : CHANGES TO POLITICAL PROPORTIONALITY

REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXECUITVE OFFICER

IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 8 December 2004

SUMMARY

1. To agree a new scheme on the political proportionality for Committees following the Cowes Central By Election. This is the same report as submitted to the Council on 24 November when the matter was deferred for further consideration by the Group concerned. These considerations had not been completed by the time this report needed to be circulated so I shall report at the meeting on the latest position.

OPTIONS

2. The legislation requires that the Council review the representation of different political groups on Committees/Panels following a number of events, one of which is when there has been a change to a political group.

BACKGROUND

3. The political make up of the Council is now:

Island First:	24
Conservatives:	14
Labour:	3
Mrs Foster (True Isle of Wight Independent):	1
Mr Mazillius:	1
Mr Bowker:	1
Mrs Lawson:	1
Mr Bartlett:	1
Mr Yates:	1
Miss Humby	1

4. I have received the relevant notice that Mrs Peacey-Wilcox is a member of the Conservative Group on the Council. I attach at appendix A the necessary calculation for the different size of Committees.

5. The legislation also requires that the total of all the seats on the Committees of the Council must also be in proportion to the proportions on the Council as a whole. The effect of the changes are as follows:

Island First:	No Change
Conservatives:	Two additional seats one on Licensing one on Regulatory
Labour:	No Change
Mr Buckle:	No longer a member the seats on Licensing and Regulatory previously allocated to him to be re-allocated.

6. I attach at Appendix B how these seats could be allocated across the whole Council (the only change from the version of Appendix B agreed at Council in September is to allocate an additional seat to the Conservatives on Licensing and Regulatory).

7. The various changes required have been discussed with the affected Group who have requested that they have their two additional seats on the Economic Development etc and Resources Select Committees. This can only be achieved by Council agreeing a different distribution of seats to that set out in Appendix B. The legislation makes it clear that the majority of seats on a Committee must be allocated to a Group if that Group has a majority of seats on the authority generally. Therefore to accommodate the wishes of the Conservative Group one of the independents on these Committees would have to allocated a seat on either the Licensing or Regulatory Committees thus enabling the Council to allocate an additional seat on the Select Committees to the Conservative Group.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. THAT Council approve the political distribution for Committees as set out in Appendix A.

2. EITHER:

1. THAT the distribution of seats across the Committees be as set out in Appendix B and that the various seats be filled in accordance with the wishes of the various Groups.

OR

2. THAT Council determines a different allocation to meet the wishes of the Conservative Group.

BACKGROUND PAPERS

Letter and email from Conservative Group dated 25 October and 4 November 2004.

Contact Point : Chris Mathews, ( 823280, e-mail: [email protected]

M J A FISHER

Chief Executive Officer

Appendix A

Revised Nov 2004

IWC

COMMITTEES/PANEL

READY RECKONER

No of Seats	Island 1st	Cons.	Lab.	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
4	2	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
5	3	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
6	3	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
7	4	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
8	4	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
9	5	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
10	5	3	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
11	6	3	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
12	6	4	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
13	7	4	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
14	7	5	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
15	8	5	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
16	9	5	1	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
17	9	5	2	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
18	9	6	2	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
19	10	6	2	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*	1*
20	10	6	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+
21	11	6	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+
22	11	7	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+
23	12	7	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+
24	13	7	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+
25	13	8	2	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+	1+

Island 1^st Group : 24 members

Conservative Group : 14 members

Labour Group : 3 members

Mrs Foster (A) : 1 member

Mr Mazillius (B) : 1 member

Mr Bowker (C) : 1 Member

Mrs Lawson (D) : 1 Member

Mr Bartlett (E) : 1 Member

Mr Yates (F) : 1 Member

Miss Humby (G) : 1 Member

* these seats have to be shared between these seven groups

+ two from these seven groups

Appendix B

Nov 2004

PROPORTIONALITY ACROSS COMMITTEES (ASSUMES SEATS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED TO MR BUCKLE RE –ALLOCATED TO CONSERVATIVES)

	Total No. of Seats	Island First	Con.	Labour	Mrs Foster	Mr Mazillius	Mr Bowker	Mrs Lawson	Mr Bartlett	Mr Yates	Miss Humby
Executive (NOT Proportionate)	10	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Licensing	10(+4)	6	5	1+					1		1
Development Control	14(+6)	10	6	1	1			1		1
Regulatory Appeals Committee	15	8	5	1		1*
Childrens Services	9	5$	3	1
Adult and Community Services	9	5	2	1		1
Environment, Transport etc	9	5	3	0			1#
Economic Development etc	9	4	2	1			1		1
Resources	9	4	2	1				1		1
Fire and Public Safety	9	4	3	0	1						1
Standards	2(+3)	3	1	1
HR Committee	7	4	2	1

+ filled by Mr Mazillius on behalf of the Labour Group.

$ a seat filled by Mr Mazillius on behalf of the Island First Group.

#allocated to Mr Bowker but not filled at his request.

* allocated to Mr Mazillius but he has now resigned from this Committee.