Agenda item

            The Committee was advised that the Department of the Environment was seeking comments on its consultation on draft Guidance Papers on Filling Positions of Responsibility and Appointing Councillors to Committees.  The Department had prepared two pieces of guidance to support the operation of the new procedures.  The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 had made provisions in relation to the sharing of positions of responsibility across the political parties represented on the Council and for ensuring that the membership of committees reflected the political balance on the Council.  The draft guidance which had been prepared by the Department had been provided to assist Council officers and Councillors to comply with the requirements of the Act by outlining a practical step-by-step guide to the operation of the provisions, including worked examples.

            The Committee was advised that the consultation did not seek comments on the procedures for filling positions of responsibility or for appointing Councillors to committees as those provisions were already in statute by way of the Local Government Act 2014.  The purpose of the consultation was therefore to seek views of the Council as to the helpfulness of the guidance and to incorporate any suggestions for improvement.  Given the tight timescale for response which had been set by he Department of the Environment, an interim officer response had been submitted with a clear proviso that that response remained subject to formal ratification by the Council’s Shadow Strategic Policy and Resources Committee and by the Shadow Council on 9th September, 2014.

            Guidance on Filling Positions of Responsibility

            Schedule 1 to the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 provided that a council might use either the d’Hondt or the Sainte-Lague formula method for the filling of positions of responsibility by nomination or the single transferable vote to fill the positions by election.  Part 1 of the Schedule specified the procedure for the application of the formula methods to ensure a consistent approach across all the councils.  During the consultation on the Local Government Bill (now the 2014 Act), the Council had previously provided comments recommending that the legislation should not require that the positions of responsibility be grouped together into one pool, nor should it specify the period of time of the appointments, but rather it should be left to each individual council to decide how best the application of proportionality should be carried out.  Those comments were not, however, taken on board by the Minister and were now embedded within the legislation.  There was therefore no scope at this juncture to query those aspects of the provisions during the consultation.

            The Council did have access to the draft guidance on filling positions of responsibility in advance of the first Shadow Council meeting on 11th June and that the guidance had been applied at that meeting to fill the designated positions of responsibility for the shadow period (presiding Councillor, Deputy presiding Councillor and the Chairmen and Deputy Chairmen of each of the four committees).  The Council had no issue with the guidance as drafted and officers would therefore recommend that a nil response be submitted by the Council in relation to that part of the guidance.

            The Committee adopted the recommendation.

            Guidance on Appointing Councillors to Committees

            Schedule 2 of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 provided that a council might use either the Quota Greatest Remainder Method or the Droop Quota Method for the appointment of Councillors to committees and specify the procedure for the application of the revised formula.  Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Transitional, Supplementary, Incidental Provisions and Modifications) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 provided for the appointment of councillors to committees where a council appointed more than one committee at a time.  It was reported that the Council had again had access to the draft guidance on appointing councillors to committees in advance of the first Shadow Council meeting on 11th June and the guidance had been applied at the meeting to make the appointments of councillors to the four standing committees.  The Council had no issue with the guidance as drafted and officers would therefore recommend that a nil response be submitted by the Council in relation to that part of the guidance.

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.