Issue - meetings
Members Timesheets
Meeting: 25/01/2018 - Standards Advisory Committee (Item 3)
3 Members Timesheets
Additional documents:
- Appendix 1-Members Timesheet Submitted
Minutes:
The Head of Members’ Support presented the report on issues relating to the completion, submission and monitoring of Members’ timesheets.
The Committee was informed of the following matters:
- Following the Localism Act 2011, the stuatutory requirement to establish a standards committees had been removed in England although the Council had opted that one be retained in the Authority on a voluntary basis. The Advisory Committee was established in 2012 and has received all reports previously considered by the former Standards Committee including those related to monitoring timesheets.
- The Terms of Reference of the Standards Advisory Committee did not include the function of member timesheet monitoring and therefore this function was not within its remit.
- There was no statutory requirement for Members to report their democratic activities, nor did the submission of timesheets affect allowances paid to Members.
- The matter had been considered by the Governance Review Working Group which had recommended that the requirement to submit timesheets cease.
It was therefore proposed that Member timesheets should not continue to be monitored by the Committee.
In discussing the report, Members highlighted the following:
- The Governance Review Working Group was an advisory body only.
- There had been no referral to Council to cease the practice around completing and monitoring timesheets.
- Submission and monitoring of timesheets was a way of demonstrating accountability and transparency.
Officers then provided the following responses:
- It was acknowledged that the Governance Review Working Group was advisory and that no decision had been made by Council.
- The function of monitoring timesheets had not been included in the terms of reference of the new Standards (Advisory) Committee.
- There is no legislative requirement or enforceable arrangement requiring Members to submit timesheets of their activities and this practice was not generally operated in other councils.
The Committee, reflecting on the discussion, concluded that the underlying issue was one of transparency and accountability and asked Officers investigate what sort of alternative methods would enable this to be achieved.
RESOLVED
1. That the recommendation of the Governance Review Working Group to cease the requirement to submit timesheets and the rational informing this be noted.
2. That Officers investigate and explore what alternative arrangements might achieve the desired transparency and accountability which Members wish to pursue.
3. That the update position for the submission of timesheets by Councillors and automatic publication of Members’ attendance at meetings be noted.