North Yorkshire Council
Scarborough and Whitby Area Constituency Committee
22 September 2023
Appointments to Outside Bodies
1.0 PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1 To invite the Area Constituency Committee to make appointments, on behalf of the
Council, to various outside bodies.
2.0 BACKGROUND
2.1 Subsequent to the creation of the new North Yorkshire Council on 01.04.23, the number of Outside Bodies that the Council now appoints to has increased as the appointments previously made by the seven District and Borough Councils now need to be made by North Yorkshire Council.
2.2 Appointments to Outside Bodies were made by the Area Constituency Committees in May 2022 for the final year of North Yorkshire County Council and then for a period of 4 years from the start of the new Unitary Authority to May 2027.
3.0 APPOINTMENTS TO OUTSIDE BODIES
3.1 The Council’s Constitution identifies various outside bodies to which this Area Constituency Committee is responsible for making appointments to, on behalf of the Council. The Constitution identifies three categories of outside bodies. Those to which this Area Constituency Committee appoints are in Categories 2 and 3 (known as Local Bodies).
3.2 Category 2 outside bodies typically operate across the geographic area of more than one Electoral Division. The Constitution states, with regard to Category 2 outside bodies, that:-
· those appointed should be Councillors;
· some Officer briefing or other support may be provided;
· any report back will be to the Area Constituency Committee (which may report to the Executive on it, if appropriate); and
· expenses will be paid to Councillors unless they are payable by the body appointed to.
3.3 Category 3 outside bodies typically operate across a smaller geographic area, usually within a single Electoral Division. The Council’s Constitution states, with regard to Category 3 outside bodies, that:-
· the person appointed is expected to be a member of the local community, but may
be the local Member;
· the local Member will make a nomination to the relevant Area Constituency
Committee;
· there will be no Officer support;
· there will be no report back (unless the local Member deems it necessary) and any
report back will be to the Corporate Director of Resources; and
· expenses will not be paid by the Council.
3.4 Members appointed by the Area Constituency Committee to the outside bodies listed in Appendix A, when acting on behalf of those other organisations, are covered by the Council’s Indemnity Policy for Officers and Members.
3.5 Appendix A sets out the table of appointments to outside bodies which fall to be made by the ACC, together with details of any Councillors already appointed to that body from their previous District or Borough Councillor position, these are noted in red. Appointments made by the ACC in May 2022 are noted in black, no further action is required for these appointments.
3.6 Category 2 outside bodies to which this Area Constituency Committee appoints are listed at
Appendix A.
4.0 Term of Appointments
4.1 Past practice has been to appoint representatives to outside bodies to serve until the date of the subsequent Council elections.
4.2 In accordance with 4.1, it is recommended below that the appointments now made to Category 2 outside bodies should be “to serve until the Council elections in 2027”.
4.3 With regard to Category 3 outside bodies, the alternative is for the Area Constituency Committee to appoint for the term “until a replacement is appointed”.
5.0 Nomination and Appointment Process
5.1 At today’s meeting of the Area Constituency Committee:-
· In respect of Category 2 outside body appointments, the Chairman will invite Members to announce nominations at the meeting. Nominees should be Councillors. Each nomination must be seconded. If the number of nominations for appointment to any outside body exceeds the number of vacancies on that body, Members will be asked to vote by show of hands to identify which Councillors shall be appointed.
· In respect of each Category 3 outside body appointment, the Chairman will invite the relevant local Member, listed in the last column at Appendix B, to announce the name of his/her nominee for each vacancy on that outside body. Nominees are expected to be a member of the local community but may be the local Member. Once seconded, Area Constituency Committee Members will be asked to vote to approve those appointments.
5.2 Local Members are asked to provide, to Daniel Harry following today’s meeting, the contact details (i.e., postal address, email address and phone number) of the local members of the community who the Area Constituency Committee appoints to Category 3 outside bodies. Such information is required for forwarding to the Secretary of the outside body
6.0 ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED
6.1 There is an option not to appoint to all or some of the existing outside bodies, however this was discounted on the basis that it is beneficial at this time to keep all the existing appointments to provide local support by Members. For the future there will be a review of the number of all outside bodies as this currently stands at approximately 218. This will be within the next 12 months. At this stage the working assumption is that the number of outside bodies appointed to by North Yorkshire Council may be reduced to better align with the strategic and operational priorities of the Council. The approach to this review is being worked up and a further update will be provided in due course
7.0 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
7.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.
8.0 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
8.1 There are no legal implications arising from this report.
9.0 EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS
9.1 There are no equalities implications arising from this report.
10.0 CLIMATE CHANGE IMPLICATIONS
10.1 There are no climate change implications arising from this report.
11.0 REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
11.1 Appointments to outside bodies are made by the Area Constituency Committees as per the Council’s Constitution
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12.0 |
RECOMMENDATION(S)
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i) With regard to each Category 2 outside body vacancy listed at Appendix A, that the Councillor, to be nominated and selected at today’s meeting, be appointed to represent the Council on that outside body, to serve until the Council elections in 2027.
ii) That the appointments previously made at District and Borough level are ratified and continue as a North Yorkshire Councillor appointee, subject to the individual Member approval. These appointments are noted in red.
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APPENDICES:
Appendix A – Table of Appointments for Category 2 Outside Bodies
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS:
North Yorkshire Council Constitution. Constitution
Barry Khan
Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services
County Hall
Northallerton
14 09 2023
Report Author – Christine Phillipson Principal Democratic Services and Scrutiny Officer