Committee:

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Executive RESOLVES to:

1. appoint Cllrs Bonham, Dennis, Long and McKay to serve on the Salcombe Harbour Board for the four year period from 2023/24 to 2026/27;

2. appoint Cllr Long to the role of Salcombe Harbour Board Chairman for the four year period from 2023/24 to 2026/27;

3. appoint Kate Allen as a Salcombe Harbour Board Co-Opted Member for the three year period from 2023/24 to 2025/26;

4. automatically appoint, in the event of a further ad-hoc vacancy arising, Mark Alexander as a Salcombe Harbour Board Co-Opted Member, with delegated authority being given to the Director of Place and Enterprise and the Head of Democratic Services to fix the term of office in that eventuality;

5. re-establish the Waste Working Group in accordance with the draft Terms of Reference at Appendix A; and

6. establish three Executive Advisory Groups (Climate Change & Biodiversity; Community Development; and Housing) in accordance with the draft Terms of Reference at Appendix B.

1. Executive summary

Salcombe Harbour Board

1.1 The Executive is asked to consider the recommendations of the Appointments Panel to approve:

- Four South Hams District Council representatives to serve on the Salcombe Harbour Board for the four year period from 2023/24 to 2026/27;

- The appointment of the Chairman of the Harbour Board for the four year period from 2023/24 to 2026/27; and

- The appointment of a Co-Opted Member to serve on the Harbour Board for the three year period from 2023/24 to 2025/26.

1.2 At its meeting held on 19 May 2022, the Council approved the Annual Review of its Constitution (Minute 8/22 refers). As part of this process, the Council approved the following recommendation from the Salcombe Harbour Board:

RECOMMENDED

That the Harbour Board RECOMMEND to full Council that responsibility for the Council’s functions as harbour authority and the role of duty holder should be that of the Executive with the Harbour Board acting as an advisory board to the Executive.

As a consequence of this revision, this is the first time that the matter of Harbour Board appointments has been determined by the Executive instead of Full Council.

Waste Working Group

1.3 At its meeting held on 2 December 2021, the Executive resolved to establish a cross party Waste Working Group (Minute E.73/21 refers). At that time, the Working Group was tasked with:

- Reviewing the management of the Council’s waste contract; and

- Evaluating the options to improve the service.

1.4 This report recommends that the Working Group be re-established to oversee changes to the waste and recycling services to implement the Devon Aligned Service district wide.

Executive Advisory Groups

1.5 Members are also asked to approve the establishment of a series of Executive Advisory Groups to be titled:

- Climate Change & Biodiversity Executive Advisory Group;

- Community Development Executive Advisory Group; and

- Housing Executive Advisory Group.

2. Background

Salcombe Harbour Board

2.1 The Council operates a ‘fit for purpose’ Harbour Board consisting of up to 10 Members, of which up to 6 can be co-opted and up to 4 made up of nominated District Councillors.

2.2 To ensure that appointments are fit for purpose, a recruitment and selection process is undertaken with appointments being based upon a range of technical skills being demonstrated by applicants.

2.3 To provide sufficient continuity, the appointment of co-opted Members is staggered and there is currently one vacancy to be filled on the Board

2.4 During the initial stages of the Member Induction Programme, all Members were invited to submit expressions of interest to serve on the Salcombe Harbour Board for the four-year term of this Council administration;

2.5 Subsequently, those Members who had expressed an interest were invited to attend an interview on Monday, 12 June. The Interview Panel consisted of: Chris Brook (Director – Place & Enterprise; Nigel Blazeby; and Ian Gibson;

2.6 Alongside the Member Induction Programme, the vacant co-opted Member position was also advertised through the Council’s normal communication channels. Following a shortlisting exercise, five potential candidates were also interviewed by the Panel on 12 June.

2.7 Following these interviews and, when judged against the fit for purpose criteria, the Panel concluded that Cllrs Bonham, Dennis, Long and McKay and Kate Allen were the most suitable applicants for appointment.

2.8 The Panel also made a further recommendation whereby Cllr Long should be appointed to the role of Harbour Board Chairman;

2.9 To ensure sufficient resilience on the Board (and to prevent the need to undertake a further recruitment and selection exercise), the Panel was also of the view that a second co-opted candidate (Mark Alexander) was of an excellent calibre. As a consequence, the Panel felt that Mr Alexander should be held on a retained list and automatically appointed to serve on the Board in the event of an ad-hoc co-opted Member vacancy arising during the course of the year;

2.10 Each of these conclusions are reflected in the report recommendations.

Waste Working Group

2.11 The Waste Working Group, which was established on a cross-party basis, helped to ensure that Members were involved at a formative stage in shaping the key strategic choices concerning this core service and provided an effective means of overseeing:

- Consideration of the strategic options for the delivery of the Council’s waste service;

- The decision to bring the waste service back in-house; and

- The planning for the successful transfer and delivery of the in-house waste service from October 2022.

2.12 In view of the decision of the Council to roll-out the Devon Aligned (kerbside sort and recycling) Service to all parts of the South Hams District from the autumn of 2023, it is envisaged that the Working Group would be tasked with overseeing this significant piece of work.

2.13 An updated set of draft Terms of Reference are attached at Appendix A for approval.

Executive Advisory Groups

2.14 To support the Council in progressing three priority areas of work: Climate Change & Biodiversity; Community Development; and Housing, officers are recommending the establishment of three Executive Advisory Groups;

2.15 Whilst a generic set of draft Terms of Reference are attached at Appendix B, the primary purpose of the Advisory Groups will be to support lead Executive Members in their work by providing a forum for Members to discuss proposals and generate ideas that relate to these three areas which have been identified as a particular focus for the Council.

3. Options available and consideration of risk

Salcombe Harbour Board

3.1 The Constitution sets out the number of elected and co-opted Members who should sit on the Salcombe Harbour Board and the terms under which they are appointed. It is therefore a requirement that a recruitment process is undertaken.

3.2 There are potential risks in failing to appoint a ‘fit for purpose’ Board Member. The robust recruitment process which judges applications against set criteria has mitigated this risk.

3.3 As the ‘Duty Holders’, the need to provide appropriate training to Executive Members is recognised and this will be arranged in the upcoming weeks.

Waste Working Group

3.4 It is recognised that there will be additional time demands placed upon Waste Working Group Members and this has been taken into account when considering the senior (cross-party) roles that are recommended to be appointed to serve on the Group.

Executive Advisory Groups

3.5 The establishment of these Executive Advisory Groups will demonstrate the political emphasis that the new Council administration wishes to give to these three high priority areas. In addition, their establishment will enable for a greater number of Members to gain an increased understanding and involvement in these areas.

4. Proposed Way Forward

Salcombe Harbour Board

4.1 Following the recruitment and selection process, the proposed way forward is to appoint those identified elected and co-opted Members in line with the recommendations of the Interview Panel.

Waste Working Group

4.2 The Executive is asked to re-establish the Waste Working Group in accordance with the draft Terms of Reference at Appendix A.

Executive Advisory Groups

4.3 The Executive is asked to establish three Advisory Groups in accordance with the draft Terms of Reference at Appendix B.

5. Implications

Implications	Relevant to proposals Y/N	Details and proposed measures to address
Legal/Governance	Y	Statutory Powers – Local Government Act 2000; Local Government Act 1972 and the Pier and Harbour Order (Salcombe) Confirmation Act 1954
Financial implications to include reference to value for money	N	There are no direct financial implications
Risk	N	These are addressed in the report
Supporting Corporate Strategy		Efficient and Effective Council
Climate Change - Carbon / Biodiversity Impact		Not applicable
Comprehensive Impact Assessment Implications
Equality and Diversity		Not applicable
Safeguarding		Not applicable
Community Safety, Crime and Disorder		Not applicable
Health, Safety and Wellbeing		Not applicable
Other implications		Not applicable

Supporting Information

Appendices:

Appendix A – Waste Working Group: Draft Terms of Reference; and

Appendix B – Executive Advisory Groups: Draft Terms of Reference.

Background Papers:

Council Constitution; and

Report and minutes arising from the Salcombe Harbour Board meeting held on 25 April 2022 titled: ‘Governance and Duty Holder Arrangements’; and

Report and minutes arising from the Executive meeting held on 2 December 2021.

Report to:			Executive
Date:			28 June 2023
Title:			Appointments to the Salcombe Harbour Board; Re-Establishment of the Waste Working Group; and Establishment of Executive Advisory Groups
Portfolio Area:			Leader
Wards Affected:			All
Urgent Decision:		N		Approval and clearance obtained:			Y
Date next steps can be taken: Immediately following this meeting
Author:	Darryl White				Role:	Head of Democratic Services
Contact:	Email: darryl.white@swdevon.gov.uk