Contact: Jeff Pattison, ext 7321

1 SUMMARY

At the request of the Chairman of Standards Committee the Committee is asked to consider the inter relationship within the Constitution of Individual Members of the Cabinet and their respective Policy Review Committees.

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 As Members will be fully aware the current Constitution by which the County Council operates was brought into effect from the 1^st September 2001. Within the Constitution specific roles have been clearly identified for the full range of Members and Officers at a strategic and in places a detailed level. Roles clearly identified include those of Individual Cabinet Members and the roles of the Policy Review Committees and of course the Standards Committee itself.

2.2 Whilst perhaps the primary responsibility of the Standards Committee is to promote and maintain high standards of conduct on the part of Members there is also a key role with the Monitoring Officer of overseeing the Constitution.

2.3 The Constitution itself is not however explicit in the relationships that necessarily must exist between, for example, Individual Executive Members and their respective Policy Review Committee.

2.4 The Chairman of the Standards Committee, Councillor Pierce, is therefore keen for the Committee to explore this relationship between Individual Executive Members and their respective Policy Review Committees, how these relationships might best operate for the future and what, if any lessons we can learn from how they have operated in the past.

2.5 As the Standards Committee already has representatives on Policy Review Committees and one Member of the Executive in Councillor Mrs Glasspool, the Chairman considered that it would help to enhance the debate on this issue if another Executive Member was also present at the meeting to take part in the discussion.

2.6 Those Members of the Standards Committee who are represented on the County Council's Policy Review Committee are therefore asked to give some consideration to the inter relationship between the roles of Executive Members and Policy Review Committees prior to the meeting and bring forward to stimulate the discussion any examples either good or one from which lessons can be learned and be ready to discuss them at the meeting.

3 RECOMMENDATION

To consider and if appropriate make any recommendations as to how the Constitution might be amended to better reflect the relationship that exists between Individual Executive Members and Policy Review Committees

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes :

Published works.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

None