Agenda item

Notice Of Motion Regarding "Marking the Success of the Committee System in Sheffield" - Given By Councillor Angela Argenzio And To Be Seconded By Councillor Bernard Little

That this Council notes:-

 

(a)      the successful campaign by the “It’s Our City” group to establish a Committee system and remove the “Strong Leader” model in Sheffield, with 65% of voters supporting the committee model in the referendum;

 

(b)      Sheffield is the first city in the country to adopt the Committee system;

 

(c)      the greater collaboration between Councillors across political groups in policy formulation and in the decision-making processes of the Council;

 

(d)      the Committee system’s role in helping overcome party political tribalism to achieve positive outcomes;

 

(e)      the involvement of a wider number of Councillors in the decision-making of the Council;

 

(f)       the greater accountability of Councillors to the electorate due to their involvement in decision-making;

 

(g)      that autocratic top-down decision-making is reduced by the Committee system;

 

(h)      that the possibility of the Council making decisions that are misjudged, due to the lack of involvement of a wider number of members and political groups, is diminished;

 

(i)       the successful work, across the committees, to address the Council’s current financial crisis, with Councillors having worked together to reach an understanding of the issues and consensus over the ways to address them;

 

(j)       that part of the reasoning behind moving to a committee system was greater involvement of communities in decision making, and more work should be done to achieve this by the committees;

 

That this Council believes:-

 

(k)      the Council being in “no overall control” has been good for the Council and the people of Sheffield, and that this, combined with the new modern committee system, has led to improved cross-party working and better outcomes for our city;

 

(l)       the change in culture needed across political groups to embed the benefits of the Committee system is still “work in progress” and all groups should embrace this positive new way of governing the Council to realise its benefits fully;

 

(m)     that the Committee Chair’s role is not the equivalent of the old style Cabinet Member’s role and work is still needed to ensure that this is understood by Councillors and Officers and the public to deliver more collaborative and consensual working across political groups;

 

(n)      that greater clarity is needed on which decisions are made by which committees as this is sometimes unclear;

 

That this Council resolves to:-

 

(o)      affirm its support for the Committee System in Sheffield;

 

(p)      work together across political groups to build on the successes we have already seen the committee system achieve;

 

(q)      promote a greater understanding of how the committee system works among the public, members and officers;

 

(r)       achieve greater involvement of the public in Council decision-making, such as by committees making more extensive use of the engagement toolkit;

 

(s)      develop protocols to be clear about the way committee decisions are made in a no overall control context; and

 

(t)       encourage a culture in the Council that matches the new cooperative way of working needed in a committee system.

 

 

Minutes:

9.1

It was formally moved by Councillor Angela Argenzio, and formally seconded by Councillor Christine Gilligan Kubo:-

 

 

 

That this Council notes:-

 

 

 

(a)      the successful campaign by the “It’s Our City” group to establish a Committee system and remove the “Strong Leader” model in Sheffield, with 65% of voters supporting the committee model in the referendum;

 

 

 

(b)      Sheffield is one of the first cities in the country to adopt the Committee system;

 

 

 

(c)      the greater collaboration between Councillors across political groups in policy formulation and in the decision-making processes of the Council;

 

 

 

(d)      the Committee system’s role in helping overcome party political tribalism to achieve positive outcomes;

 

 

 

(e)      the involvement of a wider number of Councillors in the decision-making of the Council;

 

 

 

(f)       the greater accountability of Councillors to the electorate due to their involvement in decision-making;

 

 

 

(g)      that autocratic top-down decision-making is reduced by the Committee system;

 

 

 

(h)      that the possibility of the Council making decisions that are misjudged, due to the lack of involvement of a wider number of members and political groups, is diminished;

 

 

 

(i)       the successful work, across the committees, to address the Council’s current financial crisis, with Councillors having worked together to reach an understanding of the issues and consensus over the ways to address them;

 

 

 

(j)       that part of the reasoning behind moving to a committee system was greater involvement of communities in decision making, and more work should be done to achieve this by the committees;

 

 

 

That this Council believes:-

 

 

 

(k)      the Council being in “no overall control” has been good for the Council and the people of Sheffield, and that this, combined with the new modern committee system, has led to improved cross-party working and better outcomes for our city;

 

 

 

(l)       the change in culture needed across political groups to embed the benefits of the Committee system is still “work in progress” and all groups should embrace this positive new way of governing the Council to realise its benefits fully;

 

 

 

(m)     that the Committee Chair’s role is not the equivalent of the old style Cabinet Member’s role and work is still needed to ensure that this is understood by Councillors and Officers and the public to deliver more collaborative and consensual working across political groups;

 

 

 

(n)      that greater clarity is needed on which decisions are made by which committees as this is sometimes unclear;

 

 

 

That this Council resolves to:-

 

 

 

(o)      affirm its support for the Committee System in Sheffield;

 

 

 

(p)      work together across political groups to build on the successes we have already seen the committee system achieve;

 

 

 

(q)      promote a greater understanding of how the committee system works among the public, members and officers;

 

 

 

(r)       achieve greater involvement of the public in Council decision-making, such as by committees making more extensive use of the engagement toolkit;

 

 

 

(s)      develop protocols to be clear about the way committee decisions are made in a no overall control context; and

 

 

 

(t)       encourage a culture in the Council that matches the new cooperative way of working needed in a committee system.

 

 

9.1.1

(NOTE: In response to a Point of Order raised by Councillor Dianne Hurst under Council Procedure Rule 17.15(b), regarding the accuracy of paragraph (b) of the Motion, the Lord Mayor accepted that the Motion as published on the agenda should be altered by the replacement, in paragraph (b) of the Motion, of the words “Sheffield is the first city in the country to adopt the Committee system” by the words “Sheffield is one of the first cities in the country to adopt the Committee system”.)

 

 

9.2

Whereupon, it was formally moved by Councillor Sue Alston, and formally seconded by Councillor Joe Otten, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

 

 

 

1.       the deletion of paragraphs (d), (g), (h) and (i) and the re-lettering of the original paragraphs (e) and (f) as new paragraphs (d) and (e).

 

 

 

2.       the addition of new paragraphs (f) and (g) as follows:-

 

 

 

(f)       that the Liberal Democrat group has advocated for this governance change for several years, and that a motion in support of moving to a Committee system was proposed by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed in June 2018;

 

 

 

(g)      that the committee system involves a greater number of councillors across the different political groups and enables higher quality debate on decisions, but believes that it is too early to judge whether this has resulted in improved decision making, particularly as the effect of the council being in Labour-led No Overall Control will also influence this process;

 

 

 

3.       the re-lettering of paragraph (j) as a new paragraph (h).

 

 

 

4.       the addition (within the section “That this Council believes”) of new paragraphs (i) and (j) as follows:-

 

 

 

(i)       that more work is needed to move away from the ‘strong leader’ culture, and believes that its continuing influence can be seen in several areas, for example the repeated delays to the publication of the Leisure Strategy;

 

 

 

(j)       that more work is also needed to ensure that work programmes are not officer led and that policy committees are involved in the early stages of policy development, as the engagement findings of the Governance Review reported;

 

 

 

5.       the deletion of paragraph (k) and the addition of a new paragraph (k) as follows:-

 

 

 

(k)      that effective scrutiny of decisions relies on active challenge and debate by the policy committees to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the city;

 

 

 

6.       the deletion of paragraph (s) and the addition of a new paragraph (s) as follows:-

 

 

 

(s)      improve the understanding and clarity of the role of all committees to make decisions as envisaged when the system was developed, including committees being involved in the early stages of policy development, in order to reduce the number of decisions taken back to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee; and

 

 

9.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried, but in part. Parts 1, 3, 5 and 6 and paragraph (j) in Part 4 of the amendment were carried, and Part 2 and paragraph (i) in Part 4 of the amendment were lost.

 

 

9.3.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 60 Members; AGAINST - 10 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 0 Members.  Although Labour Group Members voted for, they voted against Part 2 and paragraph (i) in Part 4 of the amendment.)

 

 

9.4

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

 

 

 

 

 

RESOLVED:

 

 

 

That this Council notes:-

 

 

 

(a)

the successful campaign by the “It’s Our City” group to establish a Committee system and remove the “Strong Leader” model in Sheffield, with 65% of voters supporting the committee model in the referendum;

 

 

 

 

(b)

Sheffield is one of the first cities in the country to adopt the Committee system;

 

 

 

 

(c)

the greater collaboration between Councillors across political groups in policy formulation and in the decision-making processes of the Council;

 

 

 

 

(d)

the involvement of a wider number of Councillors in the decision-making of the Council;

 

 

 

 

(e)

the greater accountability of Councillors to the electorate due to their involvement in decision-making;

 

 

 

 

(f)

that part of the reasoning behind moving to a committee system was greater involvement of communities in decision making, and more work should be done to achieve this by the committees;

 

 

 

That this Council believes:-

 

 

 

(g)

that more work is also needed to ensure that work programmes are not officer led and that policy committees are involved in the early stages of policy development, as the engagement findings of the Governance Review reported;

 

 

 

 

(h)

that effective scrutiny of decisions relies on active challenge and debate by the policy committees to ensure that decisions are made in the best interests of the city;

 

 

 

 

(i)

the change in culture needed across political groups to embed the benefits of the Committee system is still “work in progress” and all groups should embrace this positive new way of governing the Council to realise its benefits fully;

 

 

 

 

(j)

that the Committee Chair’s role is not the equivalent of the old style Cabinet Member’s role and work is still needed to ensure that this is understood by Councillors and Officers and the public to deliver more collaborative and consensual working across political groups;

 

 

 

 

(k)

that greater clarity is needed on which decisions are made by which committees as this is sometimes unclear;

 

 

 

That this Council resolves to:-

 

 

 

(l)

affirm its support for the Committee System in Sheffield;

 

 

 

 

(m)

work together across political groups to build on the successes we have already seen the committee system achieve;

 

 

 

 

(n)

promote a greater understanding of how the committee system works among the public, members and officers;

 

 

 

 

(o)

achieve greater involvement of the public in Council decision-making, such as by committees making more extensive use of the engagement toolkit;

 

 

 

 

(p)

improve the understanding and clarity of the role of all committees to make decisions as envisaged when the system was developed, including committees being involved in the early stages of policy development, in order to reduce the number of decisions taken back to the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee; and

 

 

 

 

(q)

encourage a culture in the Council that matches the new cooperative way of working needed in a committee system.

 

 

 

 

9.4.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 69 Members; AGAINST - 0 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 1 Member.  Although Green Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (h) and (p) of the Substantive Motion.)