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Cornwall Council Size Appendix B

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Cornwall Council Size Appendix B LGBCE (17)36-Cornwall Council Size Appendix B Cornwall Electoral Review Cornwall Council – Final Submission on Council Size 1. Executive Summary Cornwall Council made its first submission on Council size in October 2016. The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (‘the LGBCE’) responded to that first submission, making reference to its views on what the Council may wish to explore for future submissions. The Council, through its Electoral Review Panel (‘the Panel’) has subsequently carried out further detailed work to inform its final submission on Council size. A Council size of 99 is recommended. This represents a change from its earlier submission which was a Council size in the range of 105-115. The change is made on the basis of the key elements of the evidence which has been submitted and evaluated since the first submission which, in summary, are as follows:- (i) Organisational governance – there is recognition that one change that can be made to existing governance arrangements could be a reduction in the number of committees and seats on committees which could then support a recommendation for a reduction in Council size. The Panel conducted an exercise on this, looking at how far committee sizes could be reduced whilst maintaining efficient democratic decision making. This resulted in a Council size of 99. Further, the Council’s recent work on the governance arrangements for policy development and scrutiny from May 2017 sets out a reduction in the number of Committee seats for this function from the current number and this was included in the exercise; (ii) The outcomes of the report from the inquiry held by the Cornwall Association of Local Councils (CALC) which recommended a Council size in the range of 85-95. The Panel heard evidence clarifying that that those town and parish councillors present at the inquiry day favoured the higher end of that range; and (iii) The data analysis of the existing community networks and how they might be represented in terms of relative Council sizes based on the forecast electorate in 2023. The Panel noted that 99 was a “good fit” in this respect and was the number which provided the best fit in respect of the CALC Report’s preferred end of its recommended range of 85-95. The Council particularly wishes to highlight that, as part of its work programme and in accordance with the assurance given by the Monitoring Officer in his letter to the LGBCE dated 28 November 2016, the Panel gave due consideration to smaller Council sizes and there is reference to this, where appropriate, within the submission. This specifically included a Council size of 85. This was not supported because it would require fundamental changes to be made to the Council’s governance structure which, although in theory could be achieved, would still lead to significant issues in terms of the size of some of the rural divisions and the 1 LGBCE (17)36-Cornwall Council Size Appendix B number of electorate each Member would represent. Lack of clarity about future devolution and the desire and ability of Parish and Town Councils, especially smaller rural ones, to take on additional services, based on current experience, and the conclusion of the report from the Cornwall Association of Local Councils was also taken into account when deciding not to recommend a Council size of 85. There was general coalescence around the view that the community leader role would not significantly change by 2021. 2. Background Cornwall Council’s first submission on Council size was submitted in October 2016 and is attached at Appendix 1. Much of the factual information and evidence contained within the first submission is restated and remains pertinent to the Council’s final submission, albeit the recommended Council size has been reduced to 99 from the range of 105-115 The LGBCE responded to the first submission, referencing its anticipation that the Council, through the Panel, would wish, for future submissions, to explore the opportunity provided by the review to go back to “first principles” to evidence the number of councillors required under the likely new arrangements for effective governance to be operating from 2021. The LGBCE stated that requirements to meet governance, accountability and community leadership were the three aspects that would inform the Commission’s judgement when determining the appropriate number of Cornwall Councillors. It also stated that it would be expecting to get a better understanding of how the Governance Review External Group (‘GREG’) Report’s reflections and recommendations on the role and number of Councillors had informed the Panel’s view about Council size and that it would be helpful to see how the proposal for a more strategic role for Cornwall Council working alongside town and parish councils under a devolution arrangement would impact on Councillor numbers. Since that time, the Council has had the benefit of further input from the LGBCE on the main considerations for the final submission in terms of how many Councillors are needed to run the Council i.e. (i) The operation of an effective Leader and Cabinet model; (ii) The accountability and scrutiny function of both the Council and its partners; and (iii) The community leader/representational role. 3. The Process In response to the letter from the LGBCE, the Panel has undertaken three workshops to gather evidence to enable it to address the points raised in that letter, and to establish how that might inform its further thinking and its final submission on Council size. The notes of those workshops are attached at Appendix 2. Each section of this report directly relates to the GREG report, ‘Primed for Success’ and sets out the evidence received and the extent to which it has had an impact on the Panel’s thinking on the future size of the Council. The Panel has debated a range of numbers throughout the latter stage of the process which include 85-95, 99 and 105 and has, through analysis of the evidence, come to its conclusion that 99 is the appropriate Council size 2 LGBCE (17)36-Cornwall Council Size Appendix B 4. GREG Report’s reflections relating to role and number of councillors In seeking to explore the GREG report’s conclusion which stated that the size of the Council should be reduced, the Panel invited its members to attend one of its workshops. Oliver Baines was able to attend in person and Jane McCloskey by Skype, and the Panel’s questions and their responses are attached as part of the workshop notes at Appendix 2. Jacqui McKinlay and Andrew Campbell provided a written response which is attached at Appendix 3. The further evidence provided by GREG members made clear to the Panel that the judgements and recommendations they had come to were based on what they had heard through the course of their work, including references to the disengagement of backbench Members; the future impact of further devolution to Town and Parish Councils and its potential effect of reducing the workload of the Cornwall Councillor; the strategic and local role and the importance of democratic legitimacy. The GREG report does not propose an overall Council size and Panel members acknowledged that their role had not included considering or making a recommendation on this issue. GREG considered that the evidence submitted to them led to the conclusion that a significant reduction in Council size was possible and the Panel has, in recommending a Council size of 99, addressed this point, as this represents a reduction of nearly 20% of the current Council size. 5. Organisational Governance The Panel has received a range of evidence to support its work relating to organisational governance. However, the Panel noted that there is no current mandate from the Council for the Constitution and Governance Committee to review the Council’s existing governance structure, except in respect of the arrangements for policy development and scrutiny, which is referenced below. This should be taken into account when considering the notes of the workshop held on 9 December 2016 where discussion took place on a hypothetical governance structure for 2021 based on a Council size of 85. Although this was designed to challenge the Panel’s thinking, it also concluded that there were some fundamental challenges in such a scenario and its application in Cornwall. The Panel recognised, however, that streamlining of the Committee structure between 2017-21 was likely and that discussions had already started in relation to the Planning and Licensing functions in this regard. It also noted that any fundamental review of the Council’s existing structure in terms of Committees, their responsibilities and remits, would need to ensure that an effective decision making process would be maintained with a reduced Council size. Necessarily, this may also lead to a review of the Council’s Scheme of Delegation in terms of where decisions are taken and by whom. The Panel wished to emphasise that, although some services were in the process of being, or would in the future be, devolved to town and parish councils and Members were very supportive of this approach, it was likely that the majority of services and budgets would necessarily remain with Cornwall Council. Reference was also made to the fact that the Council was seeking further devolution of powers from central Government and, if successful, this would undoubtedly have a significant impact on the Council’s governance structure and level of work in the future. The recent work of the Panel in this area is summarised as follows:- 3 LGBCE (17)36-Cornwall Council Size Appendix B (i) The impact of a reduction in numbers on Committee sizes – the Panel undertook an exercise to look at the number of Councillors serving on existing Committees and to seek their views on the lowest number of seats which would enable them to operate effectively in future.
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