Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority Item

24 June 2009

Appointment of Committees, Chairmen and Vice-Chairmenships, Deputies and Other Appointments

Report of the Clerk

Contact: Mr. K. Ridout. (01962) 847356.

1 Summary

1.1 This report seeks approval to the proportional allocation of members to the Authority's Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review Committees, the allocation of members to the Standards Committee, to the appointment of members and deputies to serve on each, the appointment of their respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen and to various other appointments. The report also recommends that the Governance Committee be asked to review the effectiveness of the current committee structure and decision making arrangements, and make recommendations for the Authority to consider.

2 Recommendations

2.1 That, for the purposes of Part 1 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, the allocation of seats on the Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review Committees of the Authority, and the allocation of seats to the Standards Committee, be as set out in Paragraph 3.3 of the report.

2.2 That the Authority re-appoint members of the Finance and General Purposes, Governance, Human Resources, Performance Review and Standards Committees and their respective Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen, as necessary.

2.3 That the Authority appoint one member to each of the 13 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships currently operated by the 11 districts and 2 unitary authorities in the Authority's area on the same basis as previously.

2.4 That the Corporate Management Team of leading Members continue as previously; the Team to comprise the Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen of the Authority, Chairman of Human Resources Committee and also a Member of Performance Review Committee, Chairman of the Asset Management Working Group of Finance and General Purposes Committee, two Liberal Democrat Members and the Labour Member spokesman.

2.5 That the Authority appoint a member to serve on the Local Authority Controlled Company in relation to the governance and management of the Regional Control Centre.

2.6 That the Governance Committee be asked to review, and make recommendations to the Authority upon, the Authority's current committee structure and decision making arrangements, to ensure that these remain efficient and fit for purpose in addressing future challenges facing the Authority.

3 Size and Political Composition of Committees

3.1 As a result of the County Council elections on 4 June 2009 Hampshire County Council have appointed 12 Conservative, 6 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour Member to the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority. Prior to the elections, the County Council's representation was 11 Conservatives, 7 Liberal Democrats and 1 Labour Member. Neither Portsmouth or Southampton City Council were involved in local elections on this occasion and their political representation remains unchanged with Portsmouth City Council having 1 Conservative and 2 Liberal Democrats and Southampton City Council having 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour Member. The names of the Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth and Southampton City Council Members serving on the HFRA appears as Appendix 1. Portsmouth City Council has one new Member Councillor D. Fuller in place of Councillor L. Hunt. The County Council is now represented by Councillors I. Beagley; A. Carew; C. Carter; K. Chapman; A. Evans; L. Fairhurst; J. Frankum; D. Harrison; R. Kimber; D.A. Kirk; R. McIntosh; S. Payne; F. Pearce; R.H. Price; D. Simpson; M. Tucker; A. Weeks; J. West and P. West. The following are no longer Members: R. Baulk; M.F. Cartwright; M.G. Cooper; L. Dunsdon; E.F. Gale, MBE; K. House and P.R.C. Hutcheson.

3.2 The political proportionality provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 apply to the Authority. These require, inter alia, that where one political group has an overall majority, that group must have a majority on any Committee. The Act requires allocations to be made according to the following principles:

(a) Not all the seats are allocated to the same political group;


(b) The majority of the seats go to the political group having a majority on the Authority;


(c) Subject to the above two principles, that the number of seats on the total of all the ordinary Committees of the Authority allocated to each political group bears the same proportion to the proportion on the Authority.


(d) Subject to the above three principles, that the number of seats on each ordinary Committee of the Authority allocated to each political group bears the same proportion to that group's membership of the Authority. However, in respect of the Standards Committee the proportionality principle has been relaxed and unlike the other Committees its membership includes 3 independent Members, one of whom is required to be the Chairman.

3.3 In accordance with the above principles and the new political proportionality, it is proposed to allocate seats to committees in the way indicated. The proposal includes the minimum changes required to the existing committee structure to achieve compliance with the proportionality rules. The existing number of seats on the Authority's Committees is set out in brackets below.

Committees Conservative Liberal Democrat Labour Group
Group (14) Group (9) (2)

Finance and General 6 (6) 4 (4) 0 (1)
Purposes

Human Resources 6 (6) 4 (4) 1 (1)

Performance Review 5 (5) 3 (3) 1 (1)

Governance 5 (5) 3 (3) 1 (1)
Subtotal 22 14 3


Standards (plus 3 3 (3) 2 (2) 1 (1)

Independent Members)

____ ____ ____

Total 25 16 4

____ ____ ____

4 Appointment of Deputies

4.1 The Authority's Standing Orders normally require each Committee to include one member from each of the constituent authorities. In respect of the two Cities, where they have had only one representative on a Committee, it has been the practice to appoint a deputy. Notwithstanding this, currently there is no Southampton member on the Standards Committee and no Portsmouth member on either the Finance and General Purposes, the Governance Committee or the Performance Review and Scrutiny Committees. The Authority may wish to take this into consideration in making their appointments. The former membership of the five Committees, as previously appointed, appears as Appendix 2.

5 Other Authority Appointments

5.1 Corporate Management Team - The Authority has previously agreed that leading members (the Chairman, two Vice-Chairmen, Chairman of Human Resources Committee and also a Member of Performance Review Committee, Chairman of the Asset Management Working Group of Finance and General Purposes Committee and spokesmen for the two minority political groups) would meet as a preliminary sounding board with senior officers to develop polices, plans and recommendations for subsequent presentation to the Authority. This informal working group - called the Corporate Management Team (CMT) - was originally established to make progress with the Authority's Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP). It has also been used as a useful cross-party group to discuss and deal with matters of urgency. Also, there is a standing invitation from CMT for any Member of the Authority to attend any of their meetings. It is recommended that the Corporate Management Team continues as before.

5.2 The Authority is asked to nominate 2 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour Member spokesmen for the minority political groups on CMT. Also, to appoint the Chairman of the Asset Management Working Group of Finance and General Purposes Committee.

5.3 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships - The Authority has appointed one, and in some cases two, of its members to serve on each of the 13 partnerships currently operated by the 11 district and 2 unitary authorities in the Authority's area. They are seen as an important way to achieve and improve the delivery of "joined-up" services to the local community and enable resources to be targeted using the most appropriate skills.

5.4 The Authority is asked to re-appoint members to the 13 Crime and Disorder Reduction/Community Safety Partnerships.

5.5 Regional Control Centre - Governance and Management - The governance and management arrangements for the future Regional Control Centre is provided by a Local Authority Controlled Company (LACC). The Company is composed of Member representatives from each of the nine Fire and Rescue Authorities in the South East as well as a Regional Control Centre Manager. Councillor R.A. Price is currently the HFRA representative on the LACC and the Authority may wish to re-appoint this Member to this position for a further twelve month period.

5.6 The Authority re-appoint a Member representative to serve on LACC.

5.7 Minority Party Spokesmen - The Liberal Democrat and Labour Groups are asked to fill the vacancies for these positions and to inform the Clerk accordingly.

6 Review - While it is appropriate to reappoint members to the existing committee structure, to ensure continuity of the Authority's business, it is also considered that it would be timely for the current decision making arrangements to be reviewed, to ensure that these remain efficient and fit for purpose in addressing future challenges facing the Authority. It is some years since arrangements overall were last reviewed, the current scheme of delegation of powers last being reviewed in 2004. Best practice in good governance would suggest that these arrangements are reviewed periodically. It is recommended therefore that the Governance Committee be asked to undertake this review and report back, with recommendations for the full Authority to consider.

7 Equality Impact Assessment

7.1 An impact assessment has been made on the proposals in the paper and shown that they are not discriminatory. They are considered compatible with the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.

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Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose the 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.

N.B. The list excludes:

Published works.
Documents that disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

None

Appendix 1

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority

Membership

Appendix 2

PREVIOUS COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

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