Agenda and minutes

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

The Chair admitted the following late item to the agenda as follows:

Membership of the Admission Forum in the New Schools Admission Code (minute 50 refers)

To consider the Council’s representation to allow them to attend the next meeting of the Forum.

To declare any personal/prejudicial interests for the purpose of Section 81(3) of the Local Government Act 2000 and paragraphs 8 to 12 of the Members Code of Conduct

Councillor Gruen declared a personal interest in the item relating to the membership of the Admission Forum (minute 50 refers) as a member of the Forum.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on the 4^th March 2009.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th March 2009 be approved as a correct record.

(a)  Further to minute 35(b) (Councillor Housing Investment Review) the current membership details were reported for information.

(b)  Further to minute 40(c) (Member Development Update) the Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance) informed members of the current approval mechanisms for attendance at conferences in respect of Standards issues.

  It was agreed that a report be submitted to a future meeting of this Committee on

·  the training arrangements for non-elected members

·  proposals for keeping members informed of national conferences

(c)  Further to minute 41(c) (Political Awareness Training for Officers) officers confirmed that Members would be involved in the process of political awareness training for officers.

(d)  Further to minute 43 (Members Pensions) Members noted that it was intended that a report would be considered on this matter at the meeting in June.

Tot consider the joint report of the Director of Resources and Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance) advising Members of the Committee of the current position in relation to the insurance arrangements for legal representation and to set out possible alternatives .

Further to minute 38 of the meeting held on the 4^th March 2009 the Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance) and Director of Resources submitted a joint report advising Members of the current position in relation to the insurance arrangements for legal representation and setting out possible alternatives.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance) presented the report and responded to Members queries and comments particularly in relation to:

• the role of Member Management Committee in the process
• the hourly rate payable to solicitors representing Councillors
• the premium payable for Members’ legal expenses insurance
• the need to make all Members aware of the existing arrangements
• the use of one firm of solicitors
• the ability of Members to select their own representation

RESOLVED –

(a)  To note the provisions of the Association of Labour Councillors scheme.

(b)  To note that political groups may wish to speak to their respective associations to seek a similar provision to that provided by the Association of Labour Councillors.

(c)  That the Director of Resources be made aware of the following views:

·  existing arrangements continue with the level of cover increasing from a maximum of £50k for any one claim to £100k.

·  That officers continue to look for one firm of solicitors which could provide specialist representation if required.

(d)  That briefings be provided for Members (including a Frequently Asked Questions list) on Standards issues and the legal support Members can expect in certain circumstances.

To consider the joint report of the Chief Democratic Services Officer and the Chief ICT Officer consulting with members on how best to manage the change from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Outlook making sure that all possible benefits for elected members are maximized and all possible problems mitigated where possible.

The Chief Democratic Services Officer and the Chief ICT Services Officer submitted a joint report seeking to consult with Members on how best to manage the change from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Outlook making sure that all possible benefits for Members are maximised and possible problems mitigated.

Detailed discussion on the report ensued and officers responded to comments and queries particularly in relation to:

• a Casework Management System
• the ICE Project
• the operation of dual systems
• email storage capacity
• the consultation process for the ICE project
• the decision making process for the schemes
• Members being in a unique position and having a need for dedicated IT support
• training requirements for Members
• the resources available for the casework system

RESOLVED –

(a)  That Member Management Committee on behalf of Elected Members wants an email system where all existing emails can be migrated to the new system

(b)  That Member Management Committee on behalf of Elected Members require a casework system to be implemented by the end of 2009.

(c)  That officers arrange training on the new email system for Members. The training should commence from 1^st August 2009.

(d)  That Information Technology be a regular item on the Member Management Committee agenda.

(e)  That officers introduce some Key Performance Indicators in respect of Information Technology and these be reported to Member Management Committee on a regular basis.

(f)  That a further meeting of this Committee be held as a matter of urgency in order that the latest position in respect of IT matters can be reported.

The Assistant Chief Executive (Corporate Governance) submitted a report presenting a report considered by the Executive Board with regard to the core membership of the Admission Forum and to consider the two local authority representatives.

RESOLVED –

(a)  To receive the report and agree that the two local authority representatives should be Elected Members.

(b)  That these positions be determined as Strategic and Key and in accordance with the Appointments to Outside Bodies Procedure Rules this Committee be the appointing body.

(c)  That Councillors Gruen and Harker be the local authority representatives on the Admissions Forum

(a)  Council Diary

  Members requested information as to when the Council Diary would be available

(b)  Managed Print Service

  Labour Group Members expressed concern that it had not been possible to obtain a coloured copier within the Labour group office despite several requests.

  Officers confirmed that this would now be possible and an email would be sent to the Labour Group Whip confirming this.

(c)  PDAs

  Members expressed concern at the reliability of PDAs.  It was agreed that information would be provided to Members on the PDAs that have been problematic.