Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Committee held on 13 March 2013, and to authorise the Chairman to sign them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2013 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

The Committee is invited to consider the proposals for appointments to outside bodies for the forthcoming year.

The Committee considered the recommendations by each of the Groups for the appointment of Members to the various organisations as they were presented.  The majority of the proposed recommendations were accepted without a vote.  In the instance of the appointment to the Orchard Village Neighbourhood Management Board, Councillor Tucker proposed Councillor Michael Deon Burton, but this was not seconded.  Councillor Tucker requested that the Minutes show his disappointment that members of the Committee were not prepared to support a Member’s candidacy for appointment to the Board simply because there had been personal difficulties in the past.

The Leader proposed Councillor Andrew Curtin to the Local Government Association Urban Commission and Councillor Ray Morgan proposed Councillor Clarence Barrett.  As both proposals were seconded, the matter was put to the vote:

In favour of the motion that Councillor Andrew Curtin be appointed to the LGA Urban Commission: Councillors: Frederick Thompson, Becky Bennett, Michael White, Steven Kelly, Roger Ramsey, Robert Benham, Michael Armstrong and Andrew Curtin.

Against the motion: Councillors: Ray Morgon, Linda Hawthorne and Keith Darvill.

Abstained: Councillor Jeffrey Tucker.

The motion was CARRIED by eight votes to three.

In addition to agreeing the nominations as shown in the appendices to this Minute, the Committee RESOLVED

To confirm that the Council’s voting rights at the General Assembly of the Local Government Association be exercised by Councillor Michael White (4 votes) and Councillor Clarence Barrett (1 vote) (or their respective nominees in the event either is unable to vote in person).

That Councillor Andrew Curtin be nominated to continue to represent Havering on the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

The Committee is invited to consider whether to recommend to Council that Initial Assessment Panels be confirmed as part of the corporate complaints process be and the Constitution amended to reflect that.

Members were informed that on 19 January 2009, a report was presented to the Adjudication and Review Committee inviting it to adopt an assessment phase for screening requests for hearings in order to ensure that only cases which had merit – and to which Councillors could make positive contributions – were passed on for a full hearing.

The model suggested was based on the Assessment Sub-Committee then in use – to good effect - by the Standards Committee.  The need for such a mechanism had become apparent after Members had registered dissatisfaction at having to consider appeals about which they could do little or nothing and which had placed a time burden on both staff and Councillors as well as the cost of the rooms and materials supporting those hearings.

In order to ensure that Councillors remained integral to Stage Three, the Initial Assessment Panel (IAP) was set up and now consists of three Councillors (one of whom was either the Chairman of the Adjudication and Review Committee or one of its Vice Chairs).  The IAP was designed to be informal and could be held at short notice in order to determine whether a complainant’s case should progress to a full hearing or not. 

Changes to the Constitution

Because the introduction of Initial Assessment Panels was an experiment, to date it had not been appropriate for any changes to be made to the Constitution.  The Committee was invited to recommend to Council certain minor changes to the Constitution which would allow it to continue using IAPs in the future. 

The Committee RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to Council that:

1          The arrangements for the continued use of Initial Assessment Panels be approved

2          That the changes to the relevant Procedure Rules set out in the Appendix to this Minute be approved.

The Committee NOTED the amendments to the Constitution set out in the appendix to this Minute

The Committee NOTED the amendments to the Constitution set out in the appendix to this Minute

The Committee NOTED the amendments to the Constitution set out in the appendix to this Minute

The Committee NOTED the amendments to the Constitution set out in the appendix to this Minute