Issue - meetings
Review of the guidance for nominees to outside bodies
Meeting: 22/04/2021 - Standards Advisory Committee (Item 3)
3 Review of the guidance for nominees to outside bodies PDF 227 KB
Additional documents:
- Appendix. 1 - Guidance protocol for nominees to outside bodies, item 3
PDF 427 KB
- Webcast for Review of the guidance for nominees to outside bodies
Minutes:
Matthew Mannion, Head of Democratic Services, introduced the report. He explained that the purpose of the report was to present the guidance provided to Members who were appointed to Outside Bodies by the Council.
The guidance was last reviewed a few years ago and it was felt it was now an appropriate time to consider a further review. It was confirmed that the guidance would be reviewed from a legal perspective anyway to make sure it still complied with the relevant rules and regulations.
It was noted that the General Purposes Committee had reviewed the number of outside bodies that the Council nominated Members to a couple of years ago.
The Committee discussed the report and made a number of comments, including:
· Appendix B – most points listed were very negatively phrased and whether there should be more on looking to determine whether Members had relevant experience/knowledge and that suitable induction should be provided to those who are appointed.
· The division between acting in accordance with the needs of the outside body and the expectations of the council needed to be clearer. It would also help to set out the types of bodies likely to be appointed to, who’s views the Members should be representing on the body and back to the Council.
· General training for Members on sitting on outside bodies could be useful.
· How should Members seek guidance if they have concerns.
· Was the expectation on the amount of work required set out to Members and what their duty was to that organisation?
· Should the charitable bodies provide a job description for the Members to make it clear what was expected and to protect Members from misunderstanding what was required.
· Did Members feedback to the Council and if not then was there a value to the Council of the appointment if they didn’t?
· The section on charities on pages 54-55 needed more detail. It was noted that a new Code for small charities had been produced which it could be useful to reference.
The Chair welcomed the review of the guidance and confirmed he would continue discussion with officers on the next steps.
RESOLVED
1. To note the report and to agree that the guidance for Members on Outside Body Membership should continue to be reviewed and be reported back to the Committee at a later date.