Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive Apologies for Absence from Committee members. 

There were no Apologies for Absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Committee authorised the Chairman to sign, as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting held on 29 January 2015.

The Employment Committee considered the updated pay policy statement as required by the Localism Act 2011, and recommended that it be adopted by Full Council.

The Employment Committee considered a report on the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 in relation to a pay policy statement.

The Employment Committee recommended that the pay policy attached to the report from the Human Resources Manager be adopted by Full Council.

The Committee will be invited to recommend to Council the appointment of a Monitoring Officer.

The Employment Committee recommended that Full Council appoint Shirley Tracey as South Cambridgeshire District Council’s Monitoring Officer on an interin basis.

The Human Resources Manager circulated a report at the meeting, setting out the functions of a Monitoring Officer as defined in Section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and amended by Schedule 5 paragraph 24 of the Local Government Act 2000. The Committee noted that South Cambridgeshire District Council’s current Monitoring Officer would be leaving the Authority on 19 February 2016 to take up another position elsewhere, and that a replacement Monitoring Officer was required by law.

The report proposed the appointment of Shirley Tracey, on an interim basis, to undertake the responsibilities of Monitoring Officer for South Cambridgeshire District Council until such time as the structure and roles for the single Shared Legal Service between that Authority, Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) and Cambridge City Council had been determined. Members noted that Shirley Tracey was Legal Services Manager and Deputy Monitoring Officer with HDC and that, between September and November 2015, she had acted up as that Council’s Monitoring Officer. She was currently involved in a review of HDC’s Constitution to reflect the shared services projects.

Councillor Lynda Harford asked for how long the appointment would be, and wondered how the arrangement would work in practice. Councillor Harford said that, while she supported Shared Services in general terms, she had been very disappointed with the outcome of negotiations over the Shared Legal Service in particular. The Legal Services Manager said that it was hoped that detailed structures and processes for the Shared Legal Service would be in place by April 2016 but agreed that, until then, a period of instability was inevitable. Councillor Harford made it very clear that her reservations about how the transfer to a Shared Legal Service had been dealt with should in no way be interpreted as criticism either of the Legal Services Manager or of the Human Resources Manager.

By way of information, the Legal Services Manager said that, while there was no legal requirement that the Monitoring Officer attend Full Council, Cabinet or Corporate Governance Committee, it was considered to be good practice in order to ensure good governance and that the Council’s decisions were within the law. It was essential to attend Civic Affairs Committee, which dealt with the Code of Conduct complaints system.

Councillor Bridget Smith noted that the Council’s Democratic Services Team Leader was currently Deputy Monitoring Officer, and wondered whether he could perform the full role. The Legal Services Manager agreed that that officer had demonstrated a very good knowledge of the Council’s Constitution. Councillor Smith was concerned that the proposed arrangement might put the Council in a vulnerable position.

 Councillor Simon Edwards said there needed to be a legally-qualified officer present at meetings of Full Council.

Councillor Sebastian Kindersley’s concern was that there should continue to be a legal adviser at Planning Committee meetings. Councillor Kindersley said that such adviser must have actual experience of South Cambridgeshire planning issues. Councillor Edwards pointed out that South Cambridgeshire District Council was subject to the same legal and planning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.