Agenda item - Health & Wellbeing Board Development (Shadow Year)

Extract from the Governance Committee meeting held on the 10^th January 2012, together with a joint report of the Strategic Director People and the Director of Public Health and Adult Social Care (copies attached,) and an extract from the Cabinet meeting held on the 19^th January 2012 (to be circulated separately).

64.1         Councillor Littman introduced the report which detailed the proposed establishment of a Shadow Health & Wellbeing Board in April to run up until the formal creation of a Health & Wellbeing Board in 2013.

64.2         Councillor K. Norman referred to the extract from the minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on the 10^th January and stated that he hoped the Shadow Board would not become a political environment and therefore expressed concern over the proposal to increase the councillor membership from 3 to 7.  He had attended a number of seminars and workshops with regard to the new Board and the intention had been to keep the membership to a minimum with only 3 councillor representatives.  He therefore wished to move an amendment to that effect.

64.3         Councillor G. Theobald formally seconded the amendment.

64.4         Councillor Marsh welcomed the formation of the Board in principle but expressed her concern over the lack of clarity in regard to how it would relate to Children’s Services as she feared there was a potential for fragmentation of the various services involved.

64.5         Councillor Bowden stated that he welcomed the report but when he attended the various workshops had expressed his concern over the lack of councillor representation, as they were the elected representatives, and whilst he fully agreed that the Board should not be political, he believed that the officers on the Board should be protected in terms of the decision making and accountability of the Board.

64.6         Councillor Turton welcomed the establishment of the Board and whilst he had some sympathy for the amendment, he felt that there was a need to protect the democratic mandate of councillors in regard to decision-making.

64.7         Councillor Randall stated that he supported the need to keep the overall size of the Board down, but also felt it was important to recognise that councillors should be seen as those taking responsibility for decisions and therefore needed to be in a position to do so without putting officers in a difficult position.

64.8         Councillor Littman noted the comments and stated that he could not accept the amendment and as there was a need to protect the non-elected members of the Board when decisions had to be taken and to ensure that such decisions were regarded as those of the elected membership.

64.9         The Mayor noted that the amendment had not been accepted and put it to the vote which was lost.

64.10    The Mayor noted that the recommendations had been moved and put them to the vote which was carried.

64.11    RESOLVED: That the establishment of a Shadow Health & Wellbeing Board from April 2012 as set out in the report and in accordance with the draft terms of reference attached at Appendix One, as amended by the Governance Committee at its meeting on the 10^th January 2012,  ‘That the second bullet point in paragraph 3 (Membership) reads: Six additional elected Members which , taken with the Elected Member as Chair set out above, will be allocated to the different groups in proportion to the number of seats they have at Council, be approved.