Venue: Town Hall, Sheffield, S1 2HH. View directions
Contact: Jay Bell, Committee Secretary
Email: jay.bell@sheffield.gov.uk
Media
Items
No. |
Item |
1. |
Apologies for Absence
Additional documents:
Minutes:
1.1
|
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Julie Grocutt, Mark Jones and Sioned Mair-Richards.
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|
2. |
Exclusion of Public and Press
To identify items where resolutions may be
moved to exclude the press and public.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
2.1
|
No items were identified where resolutions may
be moved to exclude the press and public.
|
|
3. |
Declarations of Interest PDF 129 KB
Members to declare any interests they have in
the business to be considered at the meeting.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
3.1
|
There were no declarations of interest made at
the meeting.
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4. |
Public Questions and Petitions
To receive any questions or petitions from
members of the public.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
4.1
|
There were no public question or petitions
received.
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5. |
Transition to a Committee System Inquiry Session 3 PDF 233 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
5.1
|
The Committee received verbal submissions from
a range of witnesses in order to review any information which would
help the Committee make decisions when developing the new Committee
System.
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It’s Our City
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5.2
|
Ruth Hubbard from It’s Our City attended
the meeting virtually and gave a verbal submission to the
Committee. A written submission was also circulated to the
Committee, prior to the meeting.
|
5.3
|
Key points to note from Ruth Hubbard’s
verbal submission were-
- Sheffield City
Council had not been clear enough about the purpose for the
governance transition therefore was advised to tell the story of
Sheffield’s governance journey.
- The relationship with
the Local Area Committees needed to be clearer.
- It’s Our City
believed Sheffield’s purpose and outcomes should;
-
Build the legitimacy of the Council.
-
Make better decisions.
-
Be more democratic.
-
Improve relationships with Stakeholders and Public.
- Encouraged the
Council to deliver strong external communication on the proposed
direction of Governance arrangements.
- Sheffield City
Council should consider implementing politically proportionate
Chairs of Committees.
- The Council should
also consider having Co-Chairs of Committees.
- It was mentioned that
use of the simplified Governance Principles, which were agreed at a
previous Committee, could lead to potential risks.
- The Council should
implement a cost-neutral Committee System.
- It was mentioned that
phrases such as; ‘Scrutiny’, ‘Call-In’
‘Overarching’ all referred to the old system. The
Council should consider changing the language of functions like
these to reflect a new modern Committee System.
- Sheffield City
Council needed to engage with Stakeholders more. It was advised
that Elected Members along with key stakeholders with
interest/investment in this process, could be invited to form part
of a Governance Watch Group.
|
5.4
|
A Members of Committee asked a question and
the following response were provided by Ruth Hubbard:-
|
5.5
|
She believed there was elements within
Overview and Scrutiny that formed part of good decision-making
although the Council were encouraged to move on from replicating
functions that existed in the old system. It was mentioned that
functions such as Policy Development and Holding to Account should
be retained effectively in the new system.
|
|
Dr Karen Ford
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5.6
|
Dr Karen Ford attended the meeting and gave a
verbal submission to the Committee. A written submission was also
circulated to the Committee, prior to the meeting.
|
5.7
|
Key points to note from Dr Karen Ford’s
verbal submission were-
- It was mentioned that
Committees being politically proportionate could be
problematic.
- Members being
different ages, ethnicities and from different geographical areas
should be considered when forming the Committee memberships.
- Asked the Council to
consider how Independent Members were elected to Committees.
- Asked the Council to
ensure an Overarching Committee doesn’t function like a
Cabinet.
- Sheffield City
Council could explore having a joint leadership role, which could
improve cross party relationships and ways of working.
- The Lord Mayor
position should remain, and that Member should act as an ambassador
for the city.
- The new Committee
System should be more transparent which would lead to better public
engagement.
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|
6. |
Co-Chair Pilot Report PDF 374 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
6.1
|
The Committee received a report of the
Director of Legal and Governance which outlined different
Councillors’ experiences of Co-Chairing Committees.
|
6.2
|
A Member of the Committee asked a question and
the following response were provided-
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6.3
|
The Assistant Director (Governance) explained
that the purpose of the report was for the Committee to consider
whether implementing Co-Chairs into the new system should occur
across all Committees, or if the option would be more flexible and
decided on a committee-by-committee basis. The Director of Legal
and Governance highlighted the difference between Co-Chairing and
job sharing. Each Elected Member would have a full job if they were
to Co-Chair a Committee. Alternatively, if there was an Elected
Member job share, the Director of Legal and Governance believed
both Members would be put forward together to Co-Chair a Committee
doing part of the role each.
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6.4
|
Concerns were raised around the continuity and
consistency of Co-Chairs. It was mentioned that Members may wish to
carry out tasks differently therefore there needed to be clear
division of workload to not complicate the role.
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6.5
|
Members of the Committee discussed the
potential for having more than two Co-Chairs. Also, whether a
Member could step into the Chair/Co-Chair role, if a current Chair
was away from work for some time.
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6.6
|
RESOLVED: That the Committee agreed to
(1) Build the opportunity for job shares into the Committee’s
plans when it recommends a governance structure to Council;
(2) Ensure that any job sharing arrangement is
supported by a job-share protocol in or with the constitution,
potentially modelled on Brighton and Hove’s; and
(3) Evaluate the effectiveness of any job
shared roles within the first 12 months, alongside the evaluation
of the effectiveness of the new governance model as a whole, and
adjust the council’s approach accordingly.
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7. |
Transitional Committees Lessons Learnt PDF 461 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
7.1
|
The Committee received a report of the
Director of Legal and Governance which set out the
initial learning to date from Transitional Committees, which began
meeting formally in October 2021.
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7.2
|
The Committee were asked to make comments on
the progress of Transitional Committees to date. The Committee
should also use the information to inform the development of the
Committee System model.
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7.3
|
A Member of the Committee asked a question and
the following response were provided-
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7.4
|
The Head of Policy and
Partnerships informed the Committee there needed to be a
focus on what each Committee is responsible for, and this should be
considered when deciding the total number of Policy Committees and
how often they meet within the new system.
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7.5
|
A Transitional Committee Chair informed the
Committee that they were pleased with how their Transitional
Committee had been operating so far. It was mentioned that 3
specific areas of work had been targeted which was appropriate to
the limited time the Transitional Committees had to operate.
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7.6
|
The Head of Policy and Partnerships thanked
Members, along with Officers who had been part of the Transitional
Committees functionality.
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7.7
|
RESOLVED: That the Committee notes the
learning from the Transitional Committees and uses it to inform the
development of the Committee system model.
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8. |
Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Committee will be held
on 22 December 2021.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
8.1
|
It was noted that the next meeting of the
Committee would be held on 22 December 2021.
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