Updated Committee Report Template & Officer Guidance

Before you complete this report template, read the Writing Committee Reports Guide [insert as link].

Subject:                    [Report title]

Date of meeting:    [Include all meetings where the report will be considered]

Report of:                 [Relevant Executive Director]

Contact Officer:      Name: [Report author]

                                    Tel: 01273 29

                                    Email: [Report author email]

Ward(s) affected:   All [If not All, insert affected wards]

Notes to assist in completing this template are in blue. Delete these notes once you are ready to submit your report. Do not amend the black template headings.

For general release or Not for publication delete one

Include the following paragraph if the report is not for publication (i.e. if it is confidential). Legal or Democratic Services can assist with this.

Note:   Exempt information

The public are likely to be excluded from the meeting during consideration of this report as it contains exempt information as defined in paragraph (X) of schedule 12A, Part 1, to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended). Delete if not applicable.

All reports and appendices must be released as final versions on the report management system [insert as link to guide] by 10am seven working days before the meeting. Reports submitted after this time will require agreement from the Chair to be included as a late item. A late report must have both of the following two paragraphs completed.

Note:   Urgency

By reason of the special circumstances below, and in accordance with section 100B(4)(b) of the 1972 Act, the Chair of the meeting has been consulted and is of the opinion that this item should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency. Delete if not applicable.

Note: Reasons for urgency

The special circumstances for non-compliance with Council Procedure Rule 3, Access to Information Procedure Rule 5 and Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), (items not considered unless the agenda is open to inspection at least five days in advance of the meeting) were that [insert here the reason why it is urgent to take the item at this meeting]. Delete if not applicable.

1. Purpose of the report and policy context

Add a very brief one or two paragraph summary of what you are asking the decision maker to do and why.

1.1

2. Recommendations

Recommendations should state exactly what you’re asking the decision makers to do and should make sense as a stand-alone sentence. The wording should result in a clear decision that is self-contained. If reference is made to the report, specify the relevant paragraph or Appendix. Each recommendation must have a separate paragraph number.

2.1 That Committee [agrees/notes/delegates authority to …]

2.2 That Committee [agrees/notes/delegates authority to …]

3. Context and background information

This is the main body of the report:

· include relevant background information;

· include the context of relevant council policies, priorities and previous Committee decisions;

· the length of report should not be more than 4 sides of A4;

· avoid jargon and acronyms;

· use a new paragraph for each point and sub-headings if necessary.

3.1

4. Analysis and consideration of alternative options

Include arguments for and against the recommendations and details of any alternative options considered and why they are not recommended.

4.1

5. Community engagement and consultation

It is essential to build in sufficient time to consult relevant councillors, officers and other interested parties (e.g. lead members, ward councillors, partners, businesses, local residents, communities of interest, community and voluntary sector groups and organisations, staff/union representatives) as appropriate.

The relevant Committee Chair should be consulted at an early stage. Their views on what consultation is necessary will be relevant.  If the report affects a particular ward, it will be necessary to consult the ward councillors. 

State whether you’ve used the Community Engagement Framework and Standards [insert link], what forms of engagement have been done or planned, and how you’ve incorporated any feedback and results into the content of the report. If you have not done any community engagement or consultation, please say why not.

If you have any questions on community engagement, please email communitiesteam@brighton-hove.gov.uk.

5.1

6. Conclusion

Summarise the key reasons for the decision you seek, justifying why the recommendations should be approved and the recommended course of action.

6.1

7. Financial implications

Use the report management system to send the report to your finance officer to ensure that this section is completed by them before you release the report as final on the system.

Include all capital and revenue financial and property implications arising out of the report proposals

7.1

Name of finance officer consulted:                 Date consulted (dd/mm/yy):

8. Legal implications

Use the report management system to send the report to your legal officer to ensure that this section is completed by them before you release the report as final on the system.

8.1

Name of lawyer consulted:                              Date consulted (dd/mm/yy):

9. Equalities implications

As a public authority we must have due regard to the need to:-

· eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation

· advance equality of opportunity

· foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Our assessments of impact on equality must:

· contain enough information to show the Council’s due regard to the aims of the equality duty in our decision-making

· consider ways of mitigating or avoiding any adverse impacts.

To assist you in completing this section, please refer to the Equalities Impact Assessment template and guidance notes. The checklist at page 3 will assist you to consider how your proposals may impact on different groups. You can attach the completed EIA or summarise the information in it.

Please contact equalities@brighton-hove.gov.ukfor further advice, including support on completing Equality Impact Assessments.

9.1

10. Sustainability implications

Complete the Sustainability Checklist for report writers [insert as link] to identify the positive and negative impacts on sustainability and any mitigation measures. Consult the Sustainable Procurement Policy [insert as link] where relevant. Summarise here the impacts and mitigations you have identified from the checklist.

Please contact sustainability@brighton-hove.gov.ukfor further advice.

10.1

10.2

11. Other Implications [delete any or all that are not applicable]

Social Value and procurement implications

For all property and procurement matters, Social Value considerations should be addressed. Social Valueguidance is available on The Wave.

Please contact the Social Value and Sustainability Procurement Manager for further advice [link to email]

For all procurement matters also include the outcome from the Procurement Advisory Board (PAB) if the matter has been before PAB. This can be a summary or an extract from the PAB minutes added as an Appendix. If a procurement matter has not first been considered at PAB, explain why. Contact your Strategic Procurement Manager for further advice.

11.1

Crime & disorder implications:

All councils are subject to a statutory duty (s17 Crime and Disorder Act 1998) to do all they can to reasonably prevent crime and disorder in their area across the range of services delivered within their communities. Please consider whether the decisions contemplated, or activities reported have potential to impact on community safety and, if relevant, include here a summary of the impact. Focus on measures that will help to prevent crime and disorder, including the misuse of substances and re-offending.

11.2

Public Health implications:

The Council is committed to improving public health and wellbeing and to reducing inequalities across the city. The health, equalities & wellbeing tool kitis available to help report writers complete this section. Consider the effect of the proposals on the council’s duty to promote the public health and wellbeing of people in its area

11.3

Supporting Documentation

1. Appendices [delete if not applicable]

Reference your appendices in the main body of the report. Upload them as separate documents to the report in the report management system. 

1.

2.

2. Background documents [delete if not applicable]

Background documents are documents relating to the subject matter of the report which:-

a) disclose any facts or matters on which the report, or an important part of the report, is based and

(b) have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report.

Listed background documents must be made available to inspection by the public.  Exempt or confidential documents are not required to be listed as background documents. Documents which are already published are not required to be listed.

1.

2.

Writing Committee reports

This guidance helps you write concise and easy to understand Committee reports.

1. Submitting your report

The Submitting Committee Reports Guide [insert as link] tells you how to submit reports using the electronic report management system. When you enter a report title, it creates a template report with guidance on what to include in each section of the report. 

2. Digital publication of reports

We publish all reports electronically. Democratic Services convert all documents to PDF to distribute to Councillors and officers. As this may change the format of the document, upload your document having first converted it to PDF if you wish it to retain its exact format (for example, if you would like suggested changes to a draft document to show as tracked changes in an appendix).

When the reports are published to the Council website or the Wave intranet, they are converted to HTML in line with digital accessibility regulations.

3. Length of reports

Write your report succinctly so it’s no longer than 4 sides of A4. Include detailed information as an appendix, where necessary.

4. Clarity and consistency

We must comply with legislation and government guidance on accessible content design to ensure everyone can understand the content of the report. At the foundation of accessible content design is writing in plain English. The Plain English Campaign have free guides on how to write in plain English including a useful A-Z of alternative words to use. All report authors should attend the Council’s digital accessibility training [insert as link]. A summary of key points is set out below.

· Write for the reader

Think about your audience and their needs, balanced against what you want to achieve. Design your content to answer their questions.  Elected members and co-optees to Committees, as well as members of the public and press, need to be able to understand Committee reports.

· Use everyday language and avoid jargon

Say exactly what you mean, using the simplest words that fit. This means writing words the reader can understand. Avoid specialist jargon. Explain all abbreviations and acronyms, unless they are well known and commonly used e.g. UK, EU, VAT.

· Write short sentences and paragraphs

Aim for between 15-20 words in each sentence. It doesn’t mean making all sentences the same length. Mix it up, so it’s punchy. Stick to one idea in a sentence. Long paragraphs are off putting to the reader – keep them short.

· Use headings and lists

We know that users scan digital content, and headings and lists help break up a page and make it easier to read and scan. Make sure your headings are meaningful.

Write in sentence case, which means the first letter is capitalised, and the rest are lower case.

Lists are great for presenting multiple pieces of information.

· Use tables for data

Use tables for data, not words. Often you can replace a table with a bulleted list, which is easier for people to read on their phones.

· Write meaningful links

Use unique and descriptive link text. Links that are not meaningful do not work for people using screen readers. Eg

Inaccessible link example

Click here for our report writing guide

Accessible link example

Download our report writing guide

· Don’t use different fonts and colours, italics, underlines or colours to convey meaning

Use one black font (Arial). Readers with cognitive disabilities struggle to read bold, different colours, italics and capitalised words.

Underlining denotes links in the digital world, and we use them only in link text.

5. Responsibility for the report

Reports must be in the name of one or more members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). The author of the report is the identified contact officer. The responsible ELT member must be included in the reviewer list so that they can give final approval before a report is released and it is submitted for decision. 

6. Confidentiality

If your report, or part of it is confidential and not for public release, you must say why it’s confidential. Describe what is exempt and why it applies – see Access to Information.

If it is only part of a report that is exempt, you can put the exempt part as an Appendix in Part 2 of the agenda.

7. Implications paragraphs

The report template [insert as link] provides guidance on how to fill in the implications paragraphs in reports. You must give legal and finance officers at least 5 working days before the report deadline to review reports. Follow the specific detailed guidance if your report has equalities and sustainability implications. 

8. Reports – timing and urgency

The Head of Democratic Services circulates details of deadlines for each meeting. The report will need to be considered at pre-meetings including ELT, Chairs and Cross-Party pre-meetings before Committee. It is important that you circulate your reports in time for each stage, so there is enough time for any necessary subsequent revisions to the report.  

Make sure final reports are with Democratic Services at least 7 working days before the Committee meeting. If there are less than 5 clear working days between publication and the meeting, the Chair will first need to agree to take the report as a late item. In this situation, you must also include a statement of the special circumstances and specific reasons for lateness that apply in the report, and why it is not possible to defer the matter to the next meeting.