Agenda item

To consider a report by the Interim Monitoring Officer.

The Committee considered a report by the Interim Monitoring Officer on the operating arrangements for the Shadow Executive Committee, its meetings, task and finish groups, the duty upon existing councils to co-operate with the Shadow Council/Executive, and the working relationship between the Committee and the Programme Board. 

The Shadow Executive Committee arrangements were discussed to shape meetings for the future and it was recognised that exploration of options would take place over time to steer agendas and how meetings would work in the light of Task and Finish Groups and the Forward Plan.  A preference was expressed for meetings to be held on consistent days and times to be clearer for members and the public.  A further request was received which asked for meetings to be held more frequently than monthly and that all members of the Committee should be surveyed for their preferences and to have broad consensus on the arrangements.

With regard to decision making, it was explained that the relationship between the Shadow Executive Committee and each of the Dorset councils needed to allow for decisions to be made in the right place under a duty to cooperate.  The Committee would be responsible for decisions which took effect after 1 April 2019.  Where decisions would normally be made by individual councils but would have a significant impact beyond 1 April 2019 they would consult the Committee before a decision was reached by the respective council.  The arrangements were supported by members as crucial in enabling decisions to be made throughout the transition period to the new council, but there needed to be flexibility about final decisions on issues that had been underway for some time as it was not intended to stop any ongoing activity, and in some cases, it would not be appropriate for decision making to move away from the sovereign council so consultation would be key.  It was also noted that the spend thresholds for decisions from the different councils would be monitored and the Forward Plan would be populated for the entire shadow period.

Task and Finish Groups were discussed and it was noted that there would be a need to review them to ensure that the right groups were in place, including those that were currently paused within the programme.  The existing groups would continue subject to the review in an ‘executive advisory’ capacity.  In terms of appointments, it was also noted that the arrangements would be discussed outside of the meeting by the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council, Deputy Leader, Interim Head of Paid Service, and Interim Monitoring Officer.

In respect of the alignment of policies and procedures, it was agreed that delegation should be given to the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council to determine the arrangements, which linked with the review of the Task and Finish Groups.  It was noted that there could also be a key role for portfolio holders as well.

Decisions

1. Consider the arrangements made for the first meeting of the Shadow Executive Committee as a starting point in deciding their future meeting arrangements.

2. That the arrangements for decision making described in section 2.2 of the Monitoring Officer’s report be adopted, and that these be notified to the county and district councils.

3. That as a holding position the continuation of the Task and Finish Groups established by the Dorset Area Joint Committee as working groups of the Shadow Executive Committee be approved, subject to a review by the Interim Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council.

4. That the Shadow Executive Leader be invited to designate portfolio lead members from amongst the Shadow Executive Committee.

5. That arrangements for the appointment to any vacancies on Task and Finish Groups be delegated to the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council and Deputy Leader, after consultation with the Interim Head of Paid Service and Interim Monitoring Officer.

6. That delegated authority be granted to the Leader of the Shadow Dorset Council to determine arrangements for each of the interim statutory officers, (after consulting the chairman of the relevant task and finish group) to agree policies and procedures for the new council where this will involve making only minor changes to align existing council policies as single policies of the Dorset Council.

Reason for Decisions

To ensure that meetings of the Shadow Executive were focused upon delivering the requirements set out in the Structural Changes Order and that they provided an appropriate framework within which the Shadow Executive could made decisions about the implementation of the Dorset Council and could make decisions about existing county and district council matters which would impact upon the new Dorset Council.