Minutes:
The Council considered a report on the outcome of a recent review of the schemes of delegation to officers and proper officer schemes at both Guildford and Waverley, which had sought to align those schemes where appropriate.
The review had been undertaken by the Joint Constitutions Review Group (JCRG) at their meetings held on 25 April, 29 May and 20 June 2024.
Each Council’s Executive had also considered this matter in the context of the Officer Scheme of Delegation which related specifically to Executive functions. Both Executives had given formal approval to the delegation of Executive functions set out in the revised Joint Officer Scheme of Delegation and Proper Officer Scheme. The Executive had also authorised the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the respective Leader, Deputy Leader & Portfolio Holder, to include any changes to the Scheme of Delegation in respect of Executive functions recommended by the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee, as appropriate.
At its meeting on 20 June 2024, the JCRG had agreed to recommend approval of the new Officer Scheme of Delegation and Proper Officer Scheme to the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee at its meeting held simultaneously with Waverley’s Standards & General Purposes Committee on 1 July 2024, with a further recommendation that the Committee recommends the adoption of the new Officer Scheme of Delegation and Proper Officer Scheme to full Council at this meeting.
In considering this matter, councillors noted that the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee had made a number of comments and observations. In response to a question as to whether the proposed revised scheme of delegation addressed the various lessons learned from the governance related investigations undertaken to date in respect of Guildford, it was confirmed that a key recommendation arising from the SOLACE reports was that the scheme of delegation should be reviewed. In working up the revised scheme of delegation, officers had looked at both councils and it was noted that one of the critical points that had been addressed was to reduce the financial limits that officers were able to spend to under delegated powers without coming back to the Executive, which was a critical safeguard and the scope of certain delegations had been dramatically reduced.
Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Regulatory and Democratic Services, Councillor Merel Rehorst-Smith, seconded by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Julia McShane, the Council
RESOLVED: That the revised Joint Officer Scheme of Delegation and Proper Officer Scheme, as set out in Appendices 1 and 2 to the report submitted to the Council, be adopted into the Constitution replacing the existing Scheme of Delegation and Proper Officer responsibilities.
Reasons:
· An officer scheme of delegation and proper officer scheme which is materially the same for both Councils, whilst being owned by each Council in respect of their services, will help to promote more efficient joint working and will support the transformation programme by aligning officer decision making across both Councils.
· The recommended changes will improve the governance procedures for each Council and will ensure that there is greater transparency over decision making.
· The reductions in financial limits will ensure that key decisions are made by the Executive, thereby promoting accountability and transparency.
Supporting documents: