Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report in relation to the role and responsibilities of the Transition Committee:

“1.0     Relevant Background Information

1.1     Members will recall that the Committee had agreed, at its meeting on 20th February 2009, that with effect from March 2009, the Strategic Policy and Resources Committee (SP&R) would meet formally as the Council’s RPA Transition Committee to discuss transitional related matters.

1.2     The purpose of this report is to set out the evolving role and responsibilities of the Council’s Transition Committee and its legal status; governance and management arrangements; anticipated initial programme of work and associated timeline.

2.0     Key Issues

2.1     The primary role of the Transition Committee will be to provide overall political direction and to take the necessary decisions to ensure a coherent and co-ordinated approach is taken by the Council in moving forward in the RPA transition (implementation) process.

2.2     Guidance issued by the Environment Minister Sammy Wilson, MLA in regards to the establishment of Transition Committees and the associated Terms of Reference and governance arrangements has been circulated for the information of the Members.

2.3     It is clear that Belfast stands in a different position in relation to the RPA transition process from the other 25 councils, since all the other councils are to be abolished and replaced by 10 new councils.  In contrast, Belfast is assimilating relatively small geographical areas of Castlereagh and Lisburn within its boundary. Because the other 25 Councils are merging, they will form into clusters to create Transition Committees, made up of elected members from constituent councils, for the purposes of managing the transition and convergence process.  BelfastCity Council will manage its own transition process through the SP&R Committee and engage with the adjacent Transition Committee for Lisburn and Castlereagh on relevant transitional issues.

2.4     Whilst in many respects the circumstances for BelfastCity Council are somewhat different from those  of the other Councils, the broad principles set out within the attached Guidance will be applied by the Council as they complement existing good governance practices applied by it.

2.5     In terms of the overall programme of work to be taken forward by the Transition Committee this will evolve on an incremental basis and will grow in its intensity and scope as we move into the implementation phase of the RPA process.

2.6     Also circulated for the Members’ information is a briefing paper on the local government reform implementation plan prepared for the consideration of the RPA Regional Transition Coordination Group.  The paper provides a progress update and sets out the key activities and milestones in the process.

2.7     In order to ensure appropriate transparency in the Council’s decision making process in regards to RPA transition, it will be important that a distinction is made between the business to be discussed by the RPA Transition Committee and the normal business of the SP&R Committee.

2.8     Accordingly, with effect from April 2009, it is proposed that as necessary the first of the two SP&R monthly Committee meetings will, in effect, be divided into two separate parts.  The first part of the meeting will be the SP&R Committee meeting as the Transition Committee and any items of business of a transitional nature will be captured and minuted under a transition committee heading. For the purposes of transparency and audit these minutes would be forwarded to the Strategic Leadership Board for information only.

2.9     Once transition related business has been concluded, the SP&R Committee will continue its ordinary business on a separate agenda.  In this way the Transition Committee business can be readily identified and kept separate from the ordinary business of the Committee.  As the membership of the SP&R Committee and the Transition Committee is coterminous, this could be achieved with no disruption to business.

2.10   As time goes on, it might be that the amount of business which the Transition Committee will be required to conduct will be such that it will be necessary for the whole of the first of the two meetings to be dedicated to that Committee with all of the rest of the business being dealt with at the SP&R meeting on the 3rd Friday of the month. Clearly there will be a need for some flexibility to be built into this process to ensure that important issues can be addressed in a timely matter as they emerge.

2.11   If the Committee were minded to accept this proposal it would provide the greatest flexibility in ordering the business of the SP&R and Transition Committee over the next 12 months.

    Legal Status of Transition Committees

2.12   Whilst the Transition Committee will operate on a voluntary basis initially, its role will evolve over the coming months as it starts to lay the foundations in preparation for the new Council post May 2011. The Department of the Environment intends to make enabling provisions for statutory Transition Committees in the Local Government (Finance) Bill, with a planned operative date of no later than April 2010.

2.13   In the interim period the Transition Committees for the grouping councils (excluding Belfast) are to be formed on the basis of a Joint Committee using existing provisions of the Local Government Act (NI) 1972.  These Transition Committees will have a statutory basis for accountable decisions within the context of guidance issued by the DoE.

2.14   Given the fact that the Environment Minister has already confirmed that the SP&R would be the Council’s Transition Committee and in anticipation of the guidance to be issued by the Department, it is recommended for Members’ consideration that delegated authority be sought for the Council’s Transition Committee (i.e. SP&R) to take decisions on transitional related matters within the context of the guidance to be provided by the DoE.

    Appointment of the Chair and Deputy Chair

    of Transition Committee

2.15   It is recommended that, for the purposes of continuity, the Chair and Deputy Chair of the SP&R, who are appointed on the basis of proportionality using D’Hondt, are the respective Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council’s Transition Committee.

    Members’ Remuneration

2.16   Members will be aware that an additional allowance of £2,700 per annum (pro rata for 2008/2009) is to be allocated to Members of the Council’s Transition Committee. This will be grant funded by the Department of the Environment (DoE) and payments will be allocated within the Council on the same basis as the payment of Special Responsibility allowances.

2.17   Given the fact that the SP&R Committee has met over the last number of months to discuss RPA matters under the auspices of its role as the Council’s Transition Committee, a request has been submitted to the DoE seeking agreement that the commencement date of the Council’s Transition Committee be January 2009 and that the payment of Members’ allowances would be effective from that date. If approved, this would mean that each Member would be entitled to £675 outstanding allowance for the period 1st January – 31st March 2009.

3.0     Resource Implications

3.1     Whilst Members of the Council’s Transition Committee will be paid £2,700 annual allowance (pro–rata), this will be grant funded from the Department of Environment and will have no financial implications for the Council.

4.0     Recommendations

    Members are asked to:

a)     agree that those items of Committee business of a transitional nature be minuted accordingly and forwarded to the Strategic Leadership Board for information;

b)     agree that, as required, SP&R would meet under the auspices of its role as Transition Committee at the first of the two SP&R monthly Committee meetings and that transitional business would be separated from normal SP&R business (refer to sections 2.8 to 2.10 above);

c)     agree that the Chair and Deputy Chair of SP&R be appointed as the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Council’s Transition Committee; and

d)     agree that delegated authority be sought for the Council’s Transition Committee (i.e. SP&R) to take decisions on transitional related matters within the context of the guidance to be issued by the DoE.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.