To agree the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 27 June 2017, as a correct record.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting of the Governance Committee held on 27 June 2017, be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Any interest not already registered

No additional declarations of interest were made..

There were none.

The Chairman advised that he had requested the report on the latest consultation received from the Boundary Commission on its revised proposals.  The timescales for responses to the revised proposals was between 17 October and 11 December 2017.  He had sought the Head of Legal & Democratic Services advice and been informed that there was not a need to take any consultation response back to Council as long as any comments did not differ from what had been previously agreed.

The Chairman proposed that he would write a short letter in response to the consultation: thanking them for returning Ash and New Ash Green into the Sevenoaks boundary; questioning Hartley and Hodsell Street being put in Gravesham when they identified more with Dartford or Sevenoaks; and querying the fact that Ightham, Wrotham and Stansted had been put together when there was no natural affinity between them and that Stansted would be better suited, like Vigo, to Gravesham and Wrotham and Ightham to Tonbridge & Malling.

Members were in agreement and agreed that the consultation should be circulated to Parish & Town Councils and encouraged to respond.

Action1:  Parish and Town Councils be forwarded the consultation and encouraged to respond. 

Resolved:  That

a)     the revised proposals contained in the Boundary Commission’s most recent report, including the timescales for any response from Sevenoaks District Council, be noted; and

b)     the Chairman write a letter in response to the consultation –

·       thanking them for returning Ash and New Ash Green into the Sevenoaks Constituency;

·       questioning Hartley and Hodsell Street being placed in the Gravesham Constituency and suggesting they identified better with the Dartford or Sevenoaks Constituencies; and

·       questioning Ightham, Wrotham and Stansted being placed together in Tonbridge & Malling and suggesting that Stansted was better connected to Vigo and therefore better placed within the Gravesham Constituency.

The JIRP Report had been presented to Committee on 27 June 2017 and recommended to Council on 18 July 2017, where before accepting the recommendations it had requested the Chairman of Governance to set up a working group to look at a number of issues which included the omission of an SRA for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Community Infrastructure Levy Board and at what level any SRA should be; the proposed level of SRA for the Chair and Vice Chair of the Development Control Committee; and the budgetary implications of the report and any other proposed changes.  It gave the Chairman delegated authority to set up a suitable working party.  

However, the Chairman of the Governance Committee was of the view that such a working group represented a limited range of views, because of its limited membership, and the outcome was likely to be unchanged.  Accordingly, after sounding out a wide range of members for their views, he concluded that the recommendations in Appendix A to the report be put forward to the Governance Committee for consideration.

The recommendation included some changes starting immediately and some coming in from 2019/20.  The financial effects of these changes were detailed in Appendix B to the report.  The effect of the changes starting immediately could be seen in the ‘Working Group Scheme 2018/19’ scenario and the effect of the changes coming in from 2019/20 could be seen in the ‘Working Group Scheme 2019/20’ scenario.

Members discussed the timings of the changes and the pros and cons of the implementation dates, other than those being proposed to be implemented immediately.  There was some concern that the electorate would see a newly formed Council receiving a pay increase when the decision had in fact been taken by the previous leadership.

Resolved:  That it be recommended to Council that

a) that the Chairman of the CIL board be remunerated at the same rate as the Chairs of other committees, namely £2,144 p.a. with immediate effect;

b) that the Vice Chair of the CIL board be remunerated at the same rate as other Vice Chairs of committees, namely £534 p.a. with immediate effect;

c) that the allowance for the Vice Chair of Development Control committee be increased to £1,000 p.a. with immediate effect; and

d) that otherwise the recommendations of the JIRP be instituted with effect from the commencement of the municipal year 2019/20, namely:

(a)  The basic allowance shall remain unchanged.

(b)  Special Responsibility Allowances (SRAs) should be:

a.    Council Leader                                         £20,000 p.a.

b.   Deputy Leader                                         £12,000 p.a.

c.    Opposition Group Leaders               £270 p.a. per group member

d.   Cabinet Members                                     £7,000 p.a.

e.   Deputy Cabinet Members                          £1,600 p.a.

f.    Committee Chairs                                    £1,500 - £5,000 p.a.

g.    Advisory Committee Chairs                       £2,500 p.a.

h.   Development Control Ctte Vice Chair         £1,000 p.a.

i.     Vice Chairs of other committees shall not receive a SRA.

j.    Development Control Ctte Members           £500 p.a.

k.    Licensing Ctte Members                            £135 p.a.

l.     Standards Co-optees                                £480 p.a.

(c)  Child Care Allowance be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Chairman encourage Members to put forward suggestions for the work plan.