Agenda item

Report No: CAB/FH/17/023

Portfolio Holder: James Waters               

Lead Officers: Karen Points and Leah Mickleborough

RESOLVED:

Current Cabinet Working Group: Forest Heath District Council Membership only

1.       That:-

(a)     The Local Plan Working Group continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No CAB/FH/17/023.

(b)     The future direction of the Local Plan Working Group, as outlined in Section 1.2.2 of Report No CAB/FH/17/023, be noted.

Current Joint Panels and Steering Group: Joint Membership with St Edmundsbury Borough Council

2.       That the West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group continues to operate in accordance with its amended Terms of Reference contained in Appendix B to Report No: CAB/FH/17/023.

3.       That:-

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Panel be disbanded.

(b)     Relevant updates be provided to all councillors on emergency planning matters via the intranet and e-mail as required, and to use normal Cabinet or scrutiny mechanisms to input to, and adopt, any work by the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Policy Panel.

4.       That:-

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel continue to operate in accordance with their current Terms of Reference contained in Appendices D and E to Report No: CAB/FH/17/023 respectively.

(b)     Periodical meetings of the Joint Panels  continue to be scheduled as and when required, but with regard to the discussion outlined in Section 1.3.16.

Political Balance

5.       That:-

(a)     The Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer be requested to exercise their existing delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and Substitute Members to the Local Plan Working Group, West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group, West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel for 2017/2018, on the nominations of the Group Leaders.

(b)    Such re-appointments/appointments be made on the basis of political balance requirements, where applicable and identified in Report No CAB/FH/17/023.

Joint Committees: Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee

6.       That the Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer be requested to exercise their existing delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, one full Cabinet Member and two Substitute Cabinet Members to the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee for 2017/2018, on the nomination of the Leader of the Council.

Other Informal Working Groups

7.       That:-

(a)     The Cabinet’s existing informal Working Groups be retained as indicated in Section 1.6.2 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/023.

(b)     Provided that resources are available to support them, further informal task-and-finish working groups continue to be established to consider specific issues as required throughout 2017/2018.

Re-appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies

8.       The Members stated in Section 1.7.2 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/023 be re-appointed as ‘Observers’ to the respective outside bodies listed and that the Leader or ex-officio appointments to the project or partnership groups listed in Section 1.7.3, be noted.

(Report No: CAB/FH/17/023)

The Cabinet considered this report which presented the annual review and re-appointment of Cabinet’s Working Group, Joint Committees/Panels and Other Groups for 2017/2018.  It was explained that the Cabinet was required to review the membership and Terms of Reference of these relevant bodies, which were attached as Appendix A to E to Report No: CAB/FH/17/023.

No changes were being recommended to the majority of the existing arrangements, with the following exceptions:

-        To disband the West Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Panel as relevant updates would be provided to all Councillors on emergency planning matters via the intranet and e-mail as required and to use normal Cabinet or scrutiny mechanisms to input to, and adopt, any work by the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Policy Panel.

-        The Terms of Reference for the West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group had been revised to reflect the future significance of this Steering Group with the Council’s growth agenda and development of common West Suffolk planning policies.  The amended Terms of Reference also reflected the proposed disbanding of St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s Sustainable Development Working Party and Forest Heath District Council’s Local Plan Working Group (once the Council’s Local Plan had been adopted).

Together with the other recommendations contained in the report, the Cabinet supported these proposals and with the vote being unanimous, it was

RESOLVED:

Current Cabinet Working Group: Forest Heath District Council Membership only

1.       That:-

(a)     The Local Plan Working Group continues to operate at the present time in accordance with its current Terms of Reference, as detailed in Appendix A to Report No CAB/FH/17/023.

(b)     The future direction of the Local Plan Working Group, as outlined in Section 1.2.2 of Report No CAB/FH/17/023, be noted.

Current Joint Panels and Steering Group: Joint Membership with St Edmundsbury Borough Council

2.       That the West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group continues to operate in accordance with its amended Terms of Reference contained in Appendix B to Report No: CAB/FH/17/023.

3.       That:-

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Panel be disbanded.

(b)     Relevant updates be provided to all councillors on emergency planning matters via the intranet and e-mail as required, and to use normal Cabinet or scrutiny mechanisms to input to, and adopt, any work by the Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Policy Panel.

4.       That:-

(a)     The West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel continue to operate in accordance with their current Terms of Reference contained in Appendices D and E to Report No: CAB/FH/17/023 respectively.

(b)     Periodical meetings of the Joint Panels  continue to be scheduled as and when required, but with regard to the discussion outlined in Section 1.3.16.

Political Balance

5.       That:-

(a)     The Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer be requested to exercise their existing delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, Members and Substitute Members to the Local Plan Working Group, West Suffolk Joint Growth Steering Group, West Suffolk Joint Health and Safety Panel and the West Suffolk Joint Staff Consultative Panel for 2017/2018, on the nominations of the Group Leaders.

(b)     Such re-appointments/appointments be made on the basis of political balance requirements, where applicable and identified in Report No CAB/FH/17/023.

Joint Committees: Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee

6.       That the Service Manager (Democratic Services) and Monitoring Officer be requested to exercise their existing delegated authority to re-appoint or appoint as applicable, one full Cabinet Member and two Substitute Cabinet Members to the Anglia Revenues and Benefits Partnership Joint Committee for 2017/2018, on the nomination of the Leader of the Council.

Other Informal Working Groups

7.       That:-

(a)     The Cabinet’s existing informal Working Groups be retained as indicated in Section 1.6.2 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/023.

(b)     Provided that resources are available to support them, further informal task-and-finish working groups continue to be established to consider specific issues as required throughout 2017/2018.

Re-appointment of Representatives to Outside Bodies

8.       The Members stated in Section 1.7.2 of Report No: CAB/FH/17/023 be re-appointed as ‘Observers’ to the respective outside bodies listed and that the Leader or ex-officio appointments to the project or partnership groups listed in Section 1.7.3, be noted.