Agenda item

The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Chris Caswill and Chris Hurst Accordingly, Councillor Chris Caswill moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Chris Hurst:

“Council notes that Section236 of the Local Government and Public InvolvementinHealth Act2007gave the power for Local Authority delegation to individualCouncillors.

Council furthernotes that a significantnumber of Local Authoritieshavearrangements in place which delegate budgets to individual Members, and that theseinclude:

-       The LondonBoroughsof Haringey, Hillingdon, Lewisham and Westminster

-       Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire,

Northamptonshire,Suffolkand Warwickshire County Councils

and that althoughthe majorityof these delegations relate onlyto community grants,at least two, Hertfordshire and Suffolk delegate funding for highways improvements.Council notes that Suffolk County Councillors have a £10,000 locality budget for ‘local projects in their Division that benefit the local community’ and each also has ahighways budget of £15000, which can be rolled forward.

Council recognises that the increasing pressures on theWiltshire budget haveresulted in rationing systemsanddelegations to town andparish councilsthat haveleft individual members with reduced roles. And also that those financial pressuresare expected to increase, and with that furtherreductions in the ability of individualmembers to contribute locally, and deliver their responsibilities as localrepresentatives, community leadersand ‘champions of their divisions’, as set out inPart 12 of the Constitution (‘Rolesand Responsibilitiesof Members’).

Council supports the creation of individual grant and highways budgets for electedWiltshire Council Members as an important stepto reversethat trend, and becauseof the benefits it will bring, including:

·         Expressedtrust in the qualities and judgements of individual members

·         Enhanced roles for Members in their local communities

·         Encouragementof smallscale and local community awards

·         Enhancedengagement of the public with individual members

·         An enhanced rolefor elected members of Wiltshire Council, andhence an increased incentive for candidates of quality from all walks oflife to putthemselves forward for election to the Council

·         More flexibleand speedy decision making

·          Increasedaccountability of individual Members to local communitiesCouncil recognises four particular challenges in making this change:

a.      Accountability: In addition to the record keepingrequired by the 2007 Act,there are opportunities for regular reporting tothe local communitiesvia meetingsof the Area Boards, and by easily accessible reports on theCouncil’s web site

b.      Adequatebudgets : this will require increases in the amounts delegated by Cabinet and from Officerdelegations, which is to be welcomed in its own right

c.       The relationship with Area Board community grants : Community Area funds canand should be retained for Area-wide applications. Councillor budgetswould be complementary,smaller, and used for purposes local to theirDivisions. It shouldalso be possible for two or more membersto pool their funding for local applications that crossDivisionboundaries

d.      Managingthe flows of funds; Council is confident that WiltshireCouncil’sofficersand systemsare at least as capableof copingwiththis requirementas those in the other Authoritieswhich already operate this kindof delegation

Councilaccordinglyresolves:

1.      ThattheLeaderbeaskedto initiatea systemofMember delegatedbudgets,andthat theseshouldbeinplacepriorto theMay 2017elections,soasto helpattracta diverserangeofgoodqualitycandidates

2.      Andthatthose delegatedbudgetsshouldincludefunds forcommunitygrantsandminorhighwaysworks,alongsidesomefund retainedfor Community-widegrantapplications

3.      Andthataccountabilityto thepublicwillbeachievedbyannualpresentationsofdecisionsandoutcomesatAreaBoardmeetings,andonthe Councilwebsite

4.      Andthatthe aimshouldbefor Memberannualbudgetsto beinitially £2000for local(Divisional) communityawardsand£10,000for minor”

The Chairman invited Councillor Caswill to speak to his motion. Councillor Caswill explained that he believed the measures outlined would strengthen the role of councillors and their standing in their community.

The Leader, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, OBE, stated that she could not support the proposals chiefly for the additional administrative costs. Councillor Glenis Ansell stated that the proposals would be difficult to administer.

Having been put to the vote, the meeting;

Resolved

That the motion be NOT adopted.