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Decision details

*Re-published: call-in no longer applies* The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020

Decision Maker: Chief Executive Officer

Decision status: Recommendations Approved

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

After consideration of a report of the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) containing a briefing on the recently issued Government Regulations which enable local authority meetings to be held virtually and which remove the requirement for an Annual General Meeting to be held; and after consultation with Executive Members, the Chief Executive Officer agreed that:
i.The Annual General Meeting of the Council that was scheduled for 13 May 2020 be postponed. The situation to be kept under review, depending upon the progress of the pandemic and rescheduled for either 22 July 2020 or 18 November 2020, such decision to be made by the Chief Executive Officer under his emergency delegated powers in consultation with the Executive.
ii.All current appointments be rolled on until the Annual General Meeting is held.
iii.The appointment process for the Chairman and Vice Chairman to be reviewed and a decision to be made at a future consultation meeting.
iv.Subject to the successful adoption of a technological solution that enables the requirements laid out in the Regulations to be complied with, virtual meetings be introduced for the following committees (where the business either relates to the work being done by the Council in response to the Coronavirus pandemic or where a decision cannot be deferred for a compelling reason): Executive; Planning and Regulatory functions; Audit; and a sub-committee of the Pension Fund Committee. Only the Executive would meet as scheduled. The Planning and Regulatory Functions committee would meet as required to deal with urgent planning applications, Audit would similarly only meet if required to make an urgent decision and Pension Fund Committee would form a sub-group to make decisions relating to changes in investment performance. All other formal, public committee meetings would be postponed until September 2020.
v.That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director Strategic Resources to take all steps necessary to establish a sub-committee of the Pension Fund Committee, to make appointments to it and to determine the terms of reference of that sub-committee.

Reasons for the decision:

*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in committee management system that we use.*
Decision taken by Richard Flinton, Chief Executive Officer, under his emergency delegated powers and in consultation with Executive Members.
To remove the requirement for an Annual General Meeting to be held and to enable the implementation of necessary virtual meetings for the specified committees, where possible, during the Covid19 pandemic, to ensure democratic openness and accountability in decision making, but also taking account of the officer work involved in preparing for committee meetings and the other more important use of their time during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Publication date: 28/04/2021

Date of decision: 07/04/2020