Agenda item

Report No: COU/SE/18/005

Council considered Report No: COU/SE/18/005, which presented a review of the political balance and proposed appointments to the politically balanced bodies.

Following the recent resignation of Councillor Bob Cockle, a by-election for the vacancy on St Edmundsbury Borough Council (SEBC) (St Olaves Ward (Bury St Edmunds)) was due to take place in due course.

In addition, the Borough Council’s UKIP political group had recently dissolved, which as a consequence, had resulted in five non-grouped Members now sitting on the Council, details of which were contained in Section 1.1.2 of the report.

Accordingly, this had altered the political composition of the Borough Council and Council was, therefore, requested to review the allocation of seats and substitutes to political groups in accordance with the political balance rules, as ‘far as reasonably practicable’.

In the absence of the Leader of the Council, Councillor Carol Bull, Portfolio Holder for Future Governance, drew relevant issues to the attention of Council, including that Appendix 1 provided details of the committees required to be politically balanced and their respective place entitlement and proposed seat allocations.  Proposals for the allocation of seats to non-grouped Members were also set out in this Appendix, as provisionally agreed by Group Leaders.

Appendix 2 showed the entitlement and proposed allocation of substitutes on the politically balanced committees.  It was suggested that the Council continued its precedence of ensuring that each Group had a substitute if they were represented on a committee, and, once this was achieved, if there were additional substitute places on a committee, they were distributed by political balance, as indicated.

Council agreed this was a sensible approach.

Largely as a result of the resignation of Councillor Bob Cockle, the Charter Group currently had one additional seat across the Council than its present entitlement.  Council considered that this may however, be for the short term pending the result of the by-election, and that it was prudent not to make any changes to this Group’s seat allocation at the present time.

On the motion of Councillor Carol Bull, seconded by Councillor John Burns, and duly carried, it was

RESOLVED:

That:

(1)     the formula for the allocation of seats to the political groups on those Committees which are required by law to be politically balanced, as set out in paragraph 1.2.1, be approved;

(2)     the allocation of seats (and seats for substitute Members) on the Committees which are required by law to be politically balanced, as indicated in Appendices 1 and 2 to Report No: COU/SE/18/005, be approved;

(3)     the allocation of full member and substitute seats on the West Suffolk Joint Standards Committee, as indicated in Section 1.3.5, be approved. This Committee is not required to be politically balanced;

(4)     whilst the Democratic Renewal Working Party is not required to be politically balanced, the allocation of seats is by custom and practice, undertaken on this basis.  Therefore, the allocation of full member and substitute seats to this Working Party, as indicated in Section 1.3.6, be approved; and

(5)     the Service Manager (Democratic Services) be requested to exercise their existing delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and substitute Members to those bodies set out in recommendations (2), (3) and (4) above on the basis of nominations from the relevant Group Leaders.