To record any apologies for absence received.

Councillor John Salter advised the Committee that he was attending as deputy for Councillor Pat Glasman, who had been called to give evidence to the Committee as a named call-in witness.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the agenda no later than when the item is reached.

Members are reminded that they should also declare whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered at this meeting and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Members were reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest and/or any other relevant interest in any item of business on the agenda, no later than when the item was reached.

Members were reminded that they should also declare whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered at this meeting and, if so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

No such declarations were made.

A Member sought advice as to whether it was appropriate for those Members of the Committee who were signatories to the call-in, to be involved in its determination. The Head of Legal and Member Services commented that there was nothing to prevent call-in signatories being Members of the Committee, if they had not pre-determined the issue in advance of any evidence being presented. The Conservative Group spokesperson assured the Committee that Members of his group had not pre-determined the outcome of the call-in process.

In response to further comments in relation to the consideration of written submissions from witnesses who had been unable to attend, the Head of Legal and Member Services advised that it was a matter for the Committee as to how much weight they attached to a written submission, given that there was no opportunity for questioning or clarification of the evidence.

To note the Terms of Reference of the Co-ordinating Committee as agreed at the Extraordinary meeting of the Council on 30 April 2013.  (Attached as an Appendix.)

The Head of Legal and Member Services presented the Terms of Reference of the Co-ordinating Committee, which had agreed at the Extraordinary meeting of the Council held on 30 April 2013.

Resolved – That the Terms of Reference be noted.

The Committee is invited to agree a procedure to be adopted at its meetings during the consideration of a decision that has been Called-in.  (A draft procedure note will be circulated at the meeting.)

The Committee was asked to consider the proposed procedure for dealing with a decision that had been subject to the Council’s call-in process. A summary of the witnesses that had been requested to attend the call-in and an outline of the nature of the information they had been asked to provide was also detailed.

Resolved – That the procedure be agreed and adopted for managing the present call-in, in relation to the LGA Annual Conference and Exhibition.

On 3 June 2013, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Resources, Councillor Adrian Jones was asked for his approval forCouncillors Phil Davies, Ann McLachlan, George Davies, Jeff Green and Phil Gilchrist to attend the LGA Annual Conference and Exhibition, to be held in Manchester from 2 – 4 July 2013 at a cost of £495 per person plus travel.  The Cabinet Member gave his approval and a copy of the Decision Notice is attached as an Appendix.

Councillor Jones’ decision has been called in by Councillors Ian Lewis, Chris Blakeley, Lesley Rennie, Paul Hayes, Leah Fraser, Steve Williams, Simon Mountney, Andrew Hodson, Les Rowlands, John Hale and Kathy Hodson.  The Call-in Notice setting out the reasons for this call-in is attached as an Appendix.

The Committee is invited to consider the decision that has been made and decide what advice (if any) it wishes to refer to the Cabinet Member.

The Committee must determine one of the following:

• To offer no advice, in which case the original decision may be implemented without delay; or

• To refer it back to the Cabinet Member for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of its concerns; or
• Refer the matter to the Council.  Such a referral should only be made where the Co-ordinating Committee believes that the decision is outside the policy framework or contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the budget.  The procedures set out in those rules must be followed prior to any such referral.

Note

The Committee has no power to overturn a Cabinet Member’s decision, or to substitute its own decision in place of the original decision.

In accordance with the procedure agreed by the Committee (see minute 4 ante), the Chair referred to the decision of the Cabinet Member for Central and Support Services, which approved the attendance of Members at the LGA Annual Conference and Exhibition to be held in Manchester from 2 – 4 July 2013 at a cost of £495 per person plus travel.

The decision had been called-in by Councillors Ian Lewis, Chris Blakeley, Lesley Rennie, Paul Hayes, Leah Fraser, Steve Williams, Simon Mountney, Andrew Hodson, Les Rowlands, John Hale and Kathy Hodson, on the following grounds –

1.  That sending five Councillors, in addition to any officers who may also be attending, at a cost of £2475 plus travel costs is excessive at a time when the Council is struggling to control spending.

2.  That the LGA has, as we know, been providing peer group support to the political leaders, at significant cost, and that a conference is unlikely to provide further guidance or clarification that has not been given already.

3.  That, in the absence of any clear objective or specific benefit for the Council or the taxpayers of the Borough, the decision be reviewed and assessed for value for money.

The Committee was invited to consider the decision that had been made and determine, in the light of evidence to be presented, the most appropriate course of action. The Committee had no power to overturn a Cabinet Member’s decision, or to substitute its own decision in place of the original. The options open to the Committee were –

·  to take no further action, in which case the original decision shall take immediate effect and may be implemented;

·  to refer the decision back to the Cabinet Member for reconsideration, setting out in writing the nature of the Committee’s concerns;

·  to refer the matter to the Council, if the Committee believes that the decision was outside the policy framework or contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the budget

Explanation of the Call-In by the Lead Signatory

Councillor Ian Lewis provided a brief rationale for the call-in of the Cabinet Member’s decision which, he confirmed, related only to attendance at the LGA Conference and not the provision of accommodation, which had been subject to a separate decision. He commented that the signatories to the call-in believed the costs of attending the conference to be excessive, in a time of austerity and he welcomed an explanation as to how the attendance of seven Members and officers would be of value or benefit to the Council.

Members of the Committee questioned the legitimacy of the call-in, given that the decision to approve the attendance of Members from each political group had been taken in the light of all-party support from the Members’ Training Steering Group (MTSG). In addition, call-in signatories had themselves previously attended similar events. In response, Councillor Lewis stated that none of the call-in signatories were attending the LGA Conference and he believed that in the present economic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.