Bristol City Council

Ward Boundary Review of Bristol City Council

Stage 1 – Council Size

Submission to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England 10 June 2014

V1-2 version as approved at the Annual meeting of Full Council on 10th June

Contents

Table of Contents Page

Executive Summary 3

Introduction 4

Bristol in Context 6

Part 1 – Governance and decision making 9

Part 2 – Scrutiny functions 20

Part 3 – Representational role of councillors 23

Part 4 – The future 29

Appendix 1: New Councillor Induction and Refresher Programme 2013 32

Appendix 2: Scrutiny Membership 2013/14 35

Appendix 3: Four year scrutiny activity analysis 36

Appendix 4: Council Meetings and Elected Member Involvement 2013/14 41

Appendix 5: Council Committee meetings since 2006/7 43

1. Executive Summary

Having considered the future arrangements for Council Size, the Council are recommending that 70 councillors would provide efficient and effective representation to the public. In developing this submission the Council took as its starting point the existing number of members and then considered whether the evidence supported a variation of that figure. In arriving at the conclusion that the status quo should prevail a number of factors have been considered. These include potential changes in governance, developments in local and national policy, developments in communications and public expectations of councillors, and evidence provided by members concerning their commitments in discharging their governance and representative roles.

It is felt that Bristol has an appropriate number of elected members for the roles they are expected to fulfil. Some 41 councillors currently participate in the four Development Control Committees, 15 on the Licencing Committee and 8 each on the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee and the Public Safety and Protection Committee. Licensing alone can involve 35-45 hearings each municipal year, as elected members need to respond to circumstances which are often beyond the control of the Council. Over the past year numerous additional meetings have had to be convened and sub committees have had to meet three times a week on occasion and frequently the committees meet for a full day.

A number of constitutional changes are being considered at the Annual council meeting on June 10th which may result in a reduced number of scrutiny meetings, 2 fewer development control committees and reduced number of formal outside body roles. If agreed, these changes will result in a modest reduction in the number of committees but they will be more significant in helping to align decision making processes with a new council management structure.

Bristol councillors have a high profile in their local communities with many calls on their time - Neighbourhood Partnership and Neighbourhood Forum; school governors; own casework, as well as joint casework with the MP; various residents' associations, local organisations, village hall, church groups and local traders' associations. Those elected members who have engaged in the neighbourhood planning process have also found the process very demanding on their time.

Feedback given by elected members to their respective Party Whips indicates that, for many, the time required in order to fulfil their obligations as a city councillor is much more than they originally anticipated. A survey conducted in August 2013 assessing the amount of time councillors spend in their roles found that, on average, the overall time spent is 164 hours per month or 38 hours a week excluding specific responsibilities. Clearly, there is no such thing as the “average councillor” but the survey indicates that for many councillors the extent of their commitment is comparable to a full time job. The Council believes that in the interests of diversity, the role should be capable of being undertaken by those in work, and the concern is that by reducing the number of councillors it will become more difficult to attract such candidates. Councillors have also noted that the growth in technology, social media and other forms of electronic communications in recent years have, as well as diversifying the methods of communication with constituents also increased the demands on and expectations of councillors in dealing with case work.

Chapter 4 of this submission sets out the Council’s assessment of the implications of the changing policy and legislative environment in which it works. The impact of the localism agenda on the constituency work of councillors is already apparent in some areas as a result of development such as neighbourhood planning areas, and more locally the Council has itself committed to neighbourhood partnerships as a method of bringing local people and councillors together to address local issues. A number of members have also reported increasing constituency work and increasing complexity in that work as a result of the welfare reforms.

In light of the factors considered, the submission argues for no reduction in existing councillor numbers. It is felt that Bristol has an appropriate number of councillors for the roles they currently fulfil and/or those roles they may be asked to fulfil in the future. Bristol is a growing city which, over the last decade, has witnessed a period of unprecedented population increase. The current number of Bristol councillors compares favourably with other similar sized cities. Liverpool, for example, had some 322,631 registered electors as at November 2013 (compared to Bristol’s 323,711 registered electors) yet has 90 councillors. Manchester, with 372,688 electors in November 2013 has 96 councillors. For a city of the size of Bristol and taking into account both present and future roles for elected members, it is suggested that 70 councillors is an appropriate number.

2. Introduction

The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) has confirmed that Bristol City Council is in their ward boundary review programme for 2014/15. The first stage of the review is to decide how many Councillors, in total, should make up the Council in future.

In considering Council Size the LGBCE considers the following four parts:

1. Governance and decision making – what is the right number of councillors to take decisions and manage the business in an effective way? 2. Scrutiny functions – what is the right number of councillors to administer Bristol’s scrutiny responsibilities in a convenient and effective way? 3. Representational role of councillors – what is the right number of councillors to represent and provide leadership to local communities in Bristol? 4. The future – what governance changes are being considered and how do these impact on the number of councillors needed in the future?

This document represents the Council’s submission on Council Size after consideration of these four factors.

3. Bristol in Context

Bristol is the seventh largest city in England outside of London and one of the eight ‘Core Cities’ with an estimated population of 432,500 usual residents. Following a period of population decline in the post war years, the population stabilised in the 1990s and increased substantially during the 2000s. Over the last decade there has been a period of unprecedented population growth. Since 2001 the population of the Bristol Local Authority area is estimated to have increased by 42,400 people (10.9%), this compares to an England and Wales increase of 8.0% over the same period. If recent trends continue, Bristol’s population is projected to increase by an additional 44,800 people (10.5%) in the 10 years between 2011 and 2021.

Over the last decade, the population of Bristol has become increasingly diverse and some local communities have changed significantly. The proportion of the population who are not ‘White British’ has increased from 12% to 22% of the total population. There are now at least 45 religions, at least 50 countries of birth represented and at least 91 main languages spoken by people living in Bristol.

The largest increases by ethnic group since 2001 have been in Other White, Black African, Other Black and Multiple/mixed ethnic groups. These changes reflect the large growth in the Somali and the Polish populations in Bristol, as well as an increase in international students and the increasingly mixed child population. Overall the Black and Minority Ethnic group (BME) population has increased from 8.2% in 2001 to 16% in 2011. The proportion of people living in Bristol who were not born in the UK has increased from 8% of all people in 2001 to 15% of all people in 2011. Of all the people not born in the UK, 61% of them have arrived in the UK in the last decade (between 2001 and 2011).

Although all parts of the city have experienced changes in population since 2001, in terms of changes to population characteristics these have been particularly concentrated in the inner city and inner east areas of the city.

There are more children aged 0-15 living in Bristol than people aged 65 and over. The growth in child population (particularly under 5s, which grew by 34% in the last decade) is one of the highest in the country and has significant implications for services within the health, care and education system, including new school place provision. Bristol’s 57,200 older people (aged 65 and over) make up 13% of the total population. The proportion of older people is lower than in England and Wales as a whole with 17% in the same age group. There are more than 9,000 people living in Bristol aged 85 and over and the population continues to age gradually.

Bristol’s prosperity is not shared by all its citizens: many areas experience multiple deprivation. Bristol has distinct geographical concentrations of deprivation and affluence (which in some areas sit side by side). There are clear and persistent health and wellbeing inequalities across the city, including a persistent inequality in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas (with an estimated gap of up to 10 years for men and 6 years for women).

The impact of welfare reform will primarily be targeted at working age claimants as most (80%) of those affected are in work. Many of these households claiming benefits are likely to be worse off in 2015/16 than they are now.

In June 2013 the number of unemployed residents of Bristol fell for the fourth month running and was 15.4% below the level of June 2012, however the number of Bristol residents that have been unemployed for more than two years has been growing continually for the last two years.

Despite the recent stabilisation of house prices with the recession, Bristol is still one of the most difficult cities in Europe to afford to buy a flat or house. Many households are being priced out of the market at the same time as a projected fall in the number of new affordable homes being built, and a sharp increase in Right to Buy sales. Rising rents and restricted benefit levels are set to squeeze households on the lowest incomes, and are likely to increase homelessness.

Areas of growth and improvement

Total recorded crime in Bristol has been steadily reducing for the past 12 years. A total of 40,672 crimes were recorded in 2012/13, a decrease of 16.7% from 2011/12.

Between 2001 and 2011 the number of cars in the city has increased with an extra 25,200 cars available (2011 Census). However, despite this, 29% of households do not have access to a car therefore Bristol City Council needs to provide good public transport and sustainable alternatives both to reduce car use and provide for those without access to a car. Bristol has the highest rate of commuting on foot and by bike of any Local Authority in England and Wales. Bristol has won the European Green Capital Award for 2015, set up to reward cities achieving high environmental standards and encourage them to commit to further environmental improvement and sustainable development.

Bristol is one of the most successful cities in the UK, with a high employment rate and higher house prices than in most comparable cities. The city’s economy has weathered the 2008 recession better than most core cities. It is believed that around 70% of the city’s shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs and hairdressers etc. are independent. An opportunity exists with the development of the Bristol Temple Quay Enterprise Zone for employment opportunities in an area of Bristol with high unemployment and worklessness.

Challenges for democracy

The City of Bristol is divided into thirty-five wards, four constituencies and 14 Neighbourhood Partnerships who meet regularly and help shape local services. There are currently a total of 322,482 registered electors (as at 17 February 2014) who are represented by 70 councillors. The Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson was elected to office by a city-wide election on 15 November 2012. The Mayor has appointed a Deputy and 5 additional Assistant Mayors, who make up the Cabinet. The Mayor will serve a term of office of 3½ years, the next mayoral election being in May 2016. There are 70 councillors two each for the city's 35 wards. Councillors represent the electorate of their ward and serve for a four year term. Councillor elections are also in May and there are currently ward councillor elections in the city every three out of four years. This is changing in 2016 when the council will move to whole council elections every four years.

The current political representation on the council is1:

Labour 26; Liberal Democrat 23; Conservative 14; Green 4; Independents for Bristol 2; (and 1 vacancy from 1st April2); the current Mayor is independent.

Since 2001 the population of Cabot ward and Lawrence Hill ward have doubled in size. In Cabot this is mainly due to more student accommodation and new housing development (e.g Harbourside), resulting in an increased population of young people (18-30 years). In Lawrence Hill, the population increase is mainly due to higher birth rates and international migration, there are many more families, a 55% BME population and many hard to reach groups. The increasing population in the inner city has implications in terms of electoral equality. As at March 2013, the wards of Cabot, Lawrence Hill and Ashley all had 20% more electors than the Bristol ward average. Such electoral inequality has triggered the need for the Ward Boundary Review.

The annual Council meeting in June 2014 will consider constitutional changes to reflect the Mayoral system of governance whilst also recognising the importance of scrutiny and the Council’s committee system in discharging its functions.

The Council’s budget for the council 2014-2017 commits the Council to saving £83m, through changes and reductions in certain services and a large scale programme of organisational change, including the reduction in approximately 800 FTE officers. The impact of these changes on the role of the councillor is beginning to be recognised. The Annual council meeting will consider constitutional change to reflect the Mayoral system of governance whilst also recognising the importance of scrutiny and the council’s committee system in discharging its functions.

1 Local elections on 22nd May will change political representation of the council from 23rd May 2014. Post script the political balance of Bristol city council is now: Labour 31 seats; Liberal democrats 16 seats; conservatives 15 seats; Greens 6 seats; UK independence Party (UKIP) 1 seat; Independents for Bristol 1 seat 2 One member resigned on 1st April so one vacancy at time of writing. .

4. Part 1 – Governance and decision making

4.1 Leadership

4.1.1 What kind of governance arrangements are in place for your authority? Does the council operate an executive mayoral, Cabinet/Executive or committee system? Bristol held a referendum whether or not the city wanted an elected mayor in May 2012. Following a 'yes' vote, Bristol elected its first Mayor in November 2012.The mayor is elected every four years and is a full time role. Councillors are elected by thirds but will be elected every four years from 2016 which will coincide with the election of the mayor. There are 70 Councillors in addition to the mayor. Prior to the election of the mayor, the council operated a council leader and cabinet form of governance with the largest group forming a minority administration. The mayoral model has led to a smaller cabinet consisting of 6 members comprising 2 Labour, 1 Conservative, 2 Liberal Democrat Councillors and one Green Party member, plus the mayor. At the time of writing,the current portfolios of the Cabinet are:

 Councillor Mark Bradshaw (L) – transport, planning, strategic housing and regeneration.  Councillor Simon Cook (LD) – leisure, tourism, licensing and community safety.  Councillor Geoff Gollop (C) – finance and corporate services.  Councillor Gus Hoyt (G) – neighbourhoods, environment and council housing.  Councillor Barbara Janke (LD) – health and social care.  Councillor Brenda Massey (L) – children, young people and education.

Councillor Geoff Gollop also serves as the statutorily required Deputy Mayor. Councillor Brenda Massey is the lead member for children's services for the purposes of the Children Act 2004.

4.1.2 To what extent are decisions delegated to portfolio holders or are most decisions taken by the full Executive and/or Mayor? The Mayor is advised by his portfolio holder but retains the decision making responsibility for key decisions as defined by the council’s constitution. In the municipal year 2013/14, there were 59 such decisions.

4.1.3 Do Executive (or other) members serve on other decision making partnerships, sub-regional, regional or national bodies? There are 9 strategic bodies which the Mayor attends and/or nominates a representative (executive member usually). They are:

1. Children’s Outcomes Board 2. Core Cities Cabinet 3. Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries Conservation Area 4. Green Capital Company

5. Local Government Association 6. Local Government Information Unit 7. Safer Bristol Partnership 8. Wessex Regional Flood and Coastal Committee 9. West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Board

The Council will nominate representatives (councillors and where possible aldermen) for next council year (from June 2014) to 36 outside bodies categorised below.

 12 statutory bodies e.g. Avon Fire Authority, Portbury Sea Wall Commission – 27 councillor nominations required on committees and sub-committees  5 bodies to which Bristol City Council makes a financial contribution e.g. South West Local Councils – 6 councillor nominations required  19 organisations with city-wide impact e.g. Avon Pension Fund, Bristol Buildings Preservation Trust – 46 councillor nominations required  Total = 79 councillor nominations over 36 outside bodies, required to attend on average 4 meetings per year

Councillors may also hold roles in a voluntary capacity on outside bodies who do not fall into the categories above if contacted directly by an organisation to sit on a decision-making committee in their capacity as a ward member.

4.1.4 In general, are leadership and or portfolio roles considered to be full time roles? Job descriptions for the Mayor and Cabinet do not currently exist. However, given the scope of the role this is considered to be a full time role.

The Mayor / Cabinet members would be expected to attend the following formal meetings:

 Full Council  Cabinet  Overview and Scrutiny Management Board  Scrutiny commissions

In addition, the Mayor / Cabinet members would be expected to attend a range of relevant partnership bodies linked to their portfolio responsibilities, plus regular, informal individual briefings, and collective Cabinet briefings on immediate issues relating to their portfolios.

4.2 Regulatory

4.2.1 In relation to licensing, planning and other regulatory responsibilities to what extent are decisions delegated to officers? The following schemes of authorisation in respect of licensing, planning and other regulatory functions are delegated to officers in the constitution (see: http://www.bristol.gov.uk/page/council-and-democracy/constitution) as follows:

Human Resources Functions

The power to appoint staff, and to determine the terms and conditions on which they hold office, including procedures for their dismissal (section 112 of the Local Government Act 1972) is normally delegated to all strategic directors unless determined otherwise by the Head of Paid Service. All officers exercising HR functions must do so in accordance with the Council’s HR policies and any advice provided by Strategic HR. However, Elected Members play an important role in the appointment of first and second tier officers and the determination of appeals to elected members. There are approximately 25 meetings a year for elected members involved in staff appeals, each lasting half a day. In addition the council maintains an HR committee that oversees strategic policy issues.

Licensing Functions

The council must appoint a 10-15 member strong licensing committee whose terms of reference are largely set by relevant statute and not by the Council itself. Licensing functions that are the responsibility of the Licensing Committee can only be referred to full council where the interests of committee members are such that neither the full committee nor a subcommittee (comprised of three licensing committee members) can make a decision.

The Licensing committee can in turn arrange for sub committees and officers to discharge functions; the exception being those things (predominantly concerned with statutory hearings) that the legislation prohibits the committee delegating to officers. The Licensing Committee has delegated to officers virtually all decision making that it is able to lawfully ask an officer to undertake.

In addition the full council has arranged for some non-licensing authority functions to be discharged by the licensing committee as being related to that Committees work.

Planning and Development Control Functions

All the functions set out in the terms of reference of the Development Control Committees are delegated to the relevant Strategic Director except for the determination of any application where a member of the council for a ward containing the site of the application requests the matter be determined by a Development Control Committee. The three main Development Control Committees (Central, South and East and North) each met 12 times during 2013/14, and the newly established Enterprise Zone Development Control Committee met 3 times, with the expectation that it will meet quarterly in future. See Appendix 4 for additional detail on the range and frequency of all Council related meetings.

Public Safety & Protection Functions

All of the functions that are delegated to the relevant Strategic Director are set out in the Public Safety & Protection Committee terms of reference. Some functions, however, cannot be lawfully discharged by officers, ie. those where the governing legislation requires the council to act “by resolution”; this is the case for certain functions in street trading and sex establishment licensing, for example.

Public Rights of Way & Greens Functions

Functions listed in the constitution are delegated to the relevant Strategic Director. However, these are primarily administrative or non-contentious regulatory functions Applications for public rights of way (PROW) and town and village greens (TVG) are naturally adversarial and complex in nature in Bristol, The number of applications is not substantial but may be contentious in which case will be referred for determination by PROWG in accordance with the Council’s current constitution. Such isues are often subject to a public inquiry and the committee is called upon to make decisions based on often detailed and contentious evidence considered at the inquiry.

The Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee meets quarterly to receive reports and make decisions on applications to register a town or village green and applications for definitive map modification orders (DMMO’s) and disputed public path orders (PPO’s). Officers have taken approximately 1 to 2 reports on public rights of way per meeting in 13/14.

Officers in the Public Rights of Way team advise on applications for DMMOs and PPOs. Applications are likely to involve consideration of disputed, controversial or uncertain matters of evidence or law, and consequently are considered to be ‘quasi-judicial’ matters – i.e. the legal consequences are likely to be significant and therefore require consideration by councillors. The councillors on the committee receive training in Town & Village Green and Public Rights of Way law and practice to assist them in making decisions on applications.

The majority of work on Greens is done by officers on behalf of the Service Director for Legal Services (and also external advisors where the matter is contentious or if the land is owned by BCC, as determination of land rights often requires a quasi- judicial process). Following changes in the legislation on Town and Village Greens (TVG) the number of applications has reduced (there are currently 4 pending applications). The PROWG committee considered 1 to 3 TVG applications per meeting in 2013/14.

4.2.2 How many members are involved in committees? Some 54 members are involved in the main 6 Scrutiny Commissions for 2013/14 and 41 in the four Development Control Committees. There are 15 elected members on the Licencing Committee and 8 each on the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee and the Public Safety and Protection Committee. Additional detail on the membership of committees other than Full Council can be seen in Appendix 4.

According to councillor membership information per committee for 13-14:

 11 councillors were on 1 committee  21 were on 2 committees  20 were on 3 committees  5 were on 4 committees  4 were on 5 committees  2 were on 6 committees  1 was on 7 committees

4.2.3 Is committee membership standing or rotating? Committee membership is fixed (at the annual council meeting). Substitutes are generally permitted, whereas for the Licensing Committee and Appeals Panels membership allows for rotation between a pool of appropriately trained councillors.

4.2.4 Are meetings ad hoc, frequent and/or area based? There are a very broad range of regular meetings, other than Full Council, that involve elected members. Details of these meetings, indicating how many members on each committee and how frequently they met in 2013/14, is detailed in Appendix 4. Appendix 5 highlights the frequency of Council related meetings within the authority since 2006/07.

The principal non-executive committees are;

Development control:

Development control committees are area based. There are 4 in total, operating on the following frequency:

 Development Control (Central) Committee (10 members, 12 meetings in 2013/14)  Development Control (North) Committee (10 members, 12 meetings in 2013/14)  Development Control (South & East) Committee (10 members, 12 meetings in 3013/14)  Development Control (Enterprise Zone) Committee: newly established to focus on the development of the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone (11 members, met 3 times in 2013/14).

Licensing: The Public Safety & Protection Committee generally meets monthly. Approx. 35-45 Licensing hearings (each hearing comprising 3 councillors from within a pool of 15 trained councillors) are held in a council year.

The frequency of meetings of The Licensing committee, or more usually one of its subcommittees, is determined by the need to hold hearings and is beyond the control of the Council. Over the past year numerous additional meetings have had to be convened and sub committees have had to meet three times a week on occasion and frequently the committees meet for a full day.

4.2.5 What level of attendance is achieved? Are meetings always quorate? The overall attendance at Committee meetings over the 2012-13 municipal year was 80%. There has been the odd (rare) occurrence where Neighbourhood Committee/Partnerships were not quorate, although only one or two in a municipal year. Other types of Council committees are very unlikely to be inquorate.

4.2.6 Does the council believe that changes to legislation, national or local policy will have influence over the workload of committees and their members which would have an impact on council size? It is anticipated that the localism agenda, coupled with cutbacks in officer numbers will increase the workload of councillors quite considerably. In response to a recent member survey a number of councillors indicated that their constituency work generally and the complexity of their casework was increasing.

4.3 Demands on time

4.3.1 Is there a formal role description for councillors in your authority? There are no formal job descriptions for councillors however there is ‘A Guide to Being a Bristol City Councillor’ (May 2013) which outlines what is expected of councillors and how they are supported.

In brief, the role of Bristol City Councillors incorporates the following duties:

 To contribute to good governance and actively encourage community participation and citizen involvement in decision-making  To represent the interests of the ward  To deal with constituents' enquiries and representations, fairly and without prejudice  Meet regularly with key local stakeholders  Listen to the needs of local people and key stakeholders to take their views into account when making decisions and considering policy proposals  To participate in the activities of any outside body to which they are appointed and report back to the council  To champion the causes which further the interests, quality of life and sustainable development of the community  Develop a working knowledge of the organisations, services, activities and other factors important to the community's well-being and identity

A Code of Conduct for Members was adopted by the Council on 19th June 2012, under the provisions of the Localism Act. The Code explains that councillors have a responsibility to represent the community and work constructively with City Council staff and partner organisations to secure better social, economic and environmental outcomes for all.

The Code of Conduct commits elected members to address the statutory principles of the Code by:

 Championing the needs of residents – the whole community and in a special way your constituents, including those who did not vote for you - and putting their interests first.  Dealing with representations or enquiries from residents, members of our communities and visitors fairly, appropriately and impartially.  Not allowing other pressures, including the financial interests of yourself or others connected to you, to deter you from pursuing constituents' casework, the interests of the authority’s area or the good governance of the authority in a proper manner.  Exercising independent judgement and not compromising your position by placing yourself under obligations to outside individuals or organisations who might seek to influence the way you perform your duties as a member of the authority.  Listening to the interests of all parties, including relevant advice from statutory and other professional officers, taking all relevant information into consideration, remaining objective and making decisions on merit.  Being accountable for your decisions and co-operating when scrutinised internally and externally, including by local residents.

 Contributing to making the authority’s decision-making processes as open and transparent as possible to enable residents to understand the reasoning behind those decisions and to be informed when holding yourself and other members to account but restricting access to information when the wider public interest or the law requires it  Behaving in accordance with all legal obligations, alongside any requirements contained within the authority’s policies, protocols and procedures, including on the use of the Authority’s resources.  Valuing your colleagues and staff and engaging with them in an appropriate manner and one that underpins the mutual respect that is essential to good local government.  Always treating people with respect, including the organisations and public that you engage with and those you work alongside.  Providing leadership through behaving in accordance with these principles when championing the interests of the community with other organisations as well as within the authority.

4.3.2 Do councillors receive formal training for all or any roles at the council? A comprehensive induction programme is delivered following each local election. This is aimed at newly elected councillors but is also open as a refresher for all, with group leaders actively encouraging their members to refresh their knowledge/skills. Using the feedback taken from the previous year’s induction, the programme is planned and agreed by the Councillor Development Steering Group. It is complemented by the councillor handbook, ‘A Guide to Being a Bristol City Councillor’.

Wherever possible, a choice of attendance times is offered for every session on the induction programme, maximising attendance opportunities for all. Any councillors unable to attend will be offered a one to one with the appropriate officer where possible. Details of the induction programme are sent to all those standing in the election 4 weeks beforehand. The induction programme covers a variety of topics which are delivered by BCC officers in priority order. See Appendix 1 for a detailed programme.

Any councillor joining a regulatory committee must undertake training specifically designed for that committee. These committees are as follows:

• Development Control Committee (DC) • Licensing Committee • Public Safety and Protection Committee • Public Rights of Way Committee

Any councillors acting as substitutes must also attend the training. Training is arranged as part of the Councillor Induction Programme and also as required.

Councillors are also required to undertake recruitment and selection training if sitting on the appointment panels for senior officers and Appeals Committee training. This is arranged as and when necessary.

Councillors may change roles e.g. become a Cabinet Member, Group Leader, Lord Mayor, Chair, join a scrutiny commission etc and bespoke induction/support programmes will be provided if required, upon request.

The Council works in partnership with its neighbouring authorities (Bath and North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset) who lead and oversee the development and delivery of the Core Skills Programme throughout Autumn/Winter, maximising development opportunities to the sub-regions 266 councillors, pooling resources, sharing good practice and helping to build relationships that can enhance all aspects of partnership working.

The Core Skills Programme comprises of a range of core skills common to all members irrespective of role. All sessions are delivered by external training providers. The Programme is planned by the Joint Authority Councillor Development Steering Group (membership is made up of councillors and officers from each authority).

4.3.3 Do councillors generally find that the time they spend on council business is what they expected? Feedback given by elected members to their respective Party Whips indicates that, for many, the time required in order to fulfil their obligations as a city councillor is much more than they originally anticipated. Undertaking the work of a councillor in Bristol is virtually a full time job, requiring about 35-40 hours a week, although technology means that some of this can be done in the evenings and at weekends.

To reduce the number of councillors would increase the workload of other councillors and a great many councillors would struggle to continue. This would also pose a greater barrier to recruitment, particularly of potential councillors who are employed.

4.3.4 How much time do member generally spend on the business of your council? In August 2013, all Bristol City’s 70 councillors were surveyed about the amount of time that they spend in their roles. In total, 69 councillors responded. Among the findings it was noted:

 On average, the overall time spent is 164 hours/month or 38 hours/week (excluding specific responsibilities with or without a special responsibility allowance).  2/3 of councillors spend between 50-149 hours/month (12-35 hours/week) in their role.  1/3 spends up to 99 hours/month (23 hours/week).  1/3 spends between 100-149 hours/month (24-35 hours/week).  1/3 spends greater than 150 hours/month or (36 hours/week).  On average, those with other employment spend 126 hours/month (30 hours/week) in their role as a councillor.  Those with no other employment spend (230 hours/month or 53 hours/week)  46% of councillors have a responsibility that does attract an allowance. The average time spent on these responsibilities is 35 hours/month (8 hours/week).

The charts below indicates the average hours per month spent on council and committee meetings, the average hours per month spent on Council nominated outside bodies and the average hours per month spent on group meetings related to Council business, respectively.

Council and committee meetings 30 (including travel and preparation) 40% 37% 35% 25 30% 30% 20 25%

15 20%

16% 15% 10 9% 10% 5 7% 5% 1% 0 0%

Number of councillorsofNumber 0-19 20-39 40-59 60-79 80-99 100+ Average hours per month

Council nominated outside bodies

(including travel and preparation) 30 40% 35%

25 36%

30% 20 25% 21% 23% 15 20% 15% 10 9% 10% 5 6% 6% 5%

Number of councillorsofNumber 0 0% 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25+ Average hours per month

Group meetings related to Council business 25 (including travel and preparation) 35% 30% 30% 30%

20 25% 15 20% 20%

10 15% 9% 10% 5 7% 4% 5%

0 0% Number of councillorsofNumber 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25+ Average hours per month 17

4.3.5 Does the council appoint members to outside bodies? If so, how many councillors are involved in this activity and what is their expected workload? Bristol city council provided nominations to 70 outside bodies in 2013/14 (62 of which required councillor nominations). The total number of nominations in 13/14 was 174 nominations, of which 133 were councillors (76%), with the remaining nominations being Mayor, Aldermen and in a few cases officers. In total, 46 councillors held a position on at least one outside body, and many councillors were nominated to more than one outside body. Based on responses from outside bodies and information from councillors, the estimated number of councillor hours spent on outside bodies was 1350 hours in 13/14, which equates to an estimated average of 29 hours per year spent by councillors nominated to outside bodies (i.e. the 46 relevant members).

For 2014/15 work has been done with the Whips to help categorise and consolidate the number of outside bodies which require nominations and for 14/15 36 outside bodies will require councillor nominations.

4.3.6 Does the council attract and retain members? Bristol City Council does continue to attract members. Every seat in local elections over the last five years of elections in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013 have been contested by an average of 4.8 candidates per seat, and 4.8 political parties per seat. On the whole, very few independent candidates have stood in Bristol - only five out of some 120 contests recorded over the last five years of elections. However, this does not include the eight candidates who stood as ‘Independents for Bristol’ in 2013, as the latter were a registered party. Some 41% of candidates over this period were female.

Bristol retains its members, with a third having been elected at least three times, and 44% currently in their first term.

4.3.7 Have there been any instances where the council has been unable to discharge its duties due to a lack of councillors? There has not been an instance where the council has been unable to discharge its duties due to a lack of councillors.

4.3.8 Do councillors have an individual or ward budget for allocation in their area? If so, how is such a system administered? Councillors do not have an individual or ward budget in Bristol. Instead, a variety of local budgets are devolved to Neighbourhood Partnerships (NPs) which are local bodies covering two or three wards made up of local residents and elected councillors. Neighbourhood Partnerships usually meet every quarter, though there are a number of additional meetings which also make demands on the time of elected councillors, such as the agenda meetings that take place ahead of the formal meetings of the Partnership, neighbourhood forums and themed subgroup meetings (see section 6.7).

Elected councillors have the responsibility for making decisions on devolved budgets at Neighbourhood Partnership meetings, based on technical information and local input from resident NP members and the wider community. At least half of the councillors of the wards that

the NP covers must be present in order for decision about devolved budgets to take place. There is no requirement for each ward to be represented by an elected member as long as the neighbourhood committee (the name for the elected councillors) is quorate.

There is no requirement for Neighbourhood Partnerships to spend devolved money equally across the wards that they cover, although many NPs choose to do so.

Neighbourhood Partnerships are supported by an Area Coordinator who manages the devolved budgets, Democratic Services staff who are responsible for ensuring decisions follow correct legal process, and a network of council staff responsible for supporting the NPs with information and delivery of decisions.

Each Neighbourhood Partnership has the following budgets devolved to them: Wellbeing budget – £20,000 for a 2 ward NP, £30,000 for a 3 ward NP. Local Traffic Scheme budget – £17,143 for a 2 ward NP, £25,718 for a 3 ward NP. Clean and Green budget - £1,500 per NP. Highways Maintenance budget – there is a total budget of approx. £1m across the city and this is allocated on a needs basis which is determined by technical assessments. Section 106 budgets – the amount of s106 money each NP has devolved to them varies depending on the developments within the NP area. There is currently approximately £4m devolved to Neighbourhood Partnerships. CIL – the amount of CIL devolved to NPs varies depending on the developments within the NP area and surrounding areas.

Neighbourhood Partnerships are also responsible for influencing local services and choosing priorities for staff and partners to focus on in the local area. Decisions about influence are made by councillors and local residents together.

5. Part 2 – Scrutiny functions

5.1 How do scrutiny arrangements operate in the authority? How many committees are there and what is their membership? Scrutiny plays a key role in holding the Mayor and Executive to account. The scrutiny arrangements were reviewed in November 2013-January 2014. The Council has an Overview and Scrutiny Management Board consisting of 10 members which has met 9 times in 2013/14 (excluding inquiry days and workshops).

Scrutiny commissions and reviews provide:

 forums to hear evidence, consider different views or opinions and respond to public priorities;  a public arena to promote confidence and greater involvement in local democracy.  a vehicle for constructive challenge, public accountability and improved outcomes for people in Bristol. Especially through early engagement before decision making, policy development and review.

Further detail on Scrutiny activity within the authority is provided in Appendices 2 and 3, including proportionality, the number of Scrutiny Commission meetings, the number of inquiry days etc. In brief, the details of current commissions are as follows:

1. Overview and Scrutiny Management Board manages the scrutiny function and hosts monthly question time with the Mayor and Cabinet Members (10 members, 9 meetings in 2013/14). 2. Children Young People and Families looks at all services for children and young people. This includes: school places and admissions, school performance, children's safeguarding and Youth Links (9 members, 6 meetings in 2013/14). 3. Resources reviews financial management of the council, including contributing to the development of the council’s annual budget (8 members, 13 meetings in 2013/14). 4. Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care covers all health services (including children), adult social care and services for older people (8 members, 12 meetings in 2013/14). 5. Neighbourhoods and Communities has a remit for all housing issues, as well as leisure, sport, culture, parks and green spaces, operational waste /recycling and street cleanliness (9 members, 6 meetings in 2013/14). 6. Sustainable Development and Transport deals with transport (e.g. cycling, buses, rail, residents parking), development and sustainability issues for example climate change, air quality, strategic waste (10 members, 6 meetings in 2013/14).

The statutory duty to scrutinise services beyond those provided or commissioned by the Council is fulfilled by:

7. The Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Commission, who scrutinise health services in Bristol (as noted above – HWASC Commission has 8 members and met 12 times in 2013/14)

8. The Overview and Scrutiny Management Board also acts as the Council’s Crime and Disorder Committee, and scrutinises Safer Bristol, our local community safety partnership (as noted above – OSMB has 10 members and met 9 times in 2013/14)

The Council also participates with neighbouring councils on a number of joint scrutiny bodies including:

9. The Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Panel. 10. The West of England Joint Scrutiny Committee. 11. The South West Joint Ambulance Committee. 12. The Joint Health Committee.

There were 52 meetings of formal Council scrutiny commissions in 2013/14 and 54 councillors were a member of a scrutiny commission. In addition to the formal meetings of the Commissions there were an additional sixteen inquiry days, working group meetings and sub-committee meetings in 2013/14

5.2 What is the general workload of scrutiny committees? Has the council ever found that it has too many active projects for the scrutiny process to function effectively? The workload of the scrutiny commissions (they are referred to as commissions rather than committees in Bristol) is substantial and the recent review conducted by the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) recommended that the council reduce its scrutiny commission meeting structure in order to ensure sufficient capacity in terms of member time commitments and officer support and resourcing in order to enhance and focus the work of the scrutiny commissions on policy development. The annual Council meeting will consider proposals to reduce the number of scrutiny committees and also align them with the new organisational structure of the Council.

5.3 How is the work of scrutiny committees programmed? Is the work strictly timetabled? The process at present is that individual scrutiny commissions hold work programme setting meetings in June/July when they receive information from relevant officers/partners to assist them in identifying priorities with particular regard to Council’s own corporate/Mayoral priorities. The work programme is reviewed prior to each meeting of individual commissions through agenda briefings and there are also six monthly reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board on progress against individual commission work programmes. Each Commission also holds an Annual Review and there is an Annual Scrutiny Report which goes to Full Council at the end of the municipal year.

Meetings are strictly timetabled however the review by the Centre for Public Scrutiny found a need to improve co-ordination of policy development so that work programmes of the scrutiny commissions could be programmed more closely in line with the policy development cycle of the Executive.

5.4 What activities are scrutiny committee members expected to carry out between formal meetings? Every year, usually in June, each commission picks two or three topics they want to review more closely. The next step is to decide how they want to do it, who they want to hear from, what specific information is needed and to set a deadline for it to be completed. To do this, the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board may set up a select committee. Using the parliamentary model, this means taking evidence from expert witnesses, service users, stakeholders and then making evidence-based recommendations.

In addition, Bristol has adopted the practice of Inquiry Days, which help councillors get a good understanding of complex issues through expert speakers and engaging in debate with specialists. People from a wide range of organisations are invited to share their expertise and views through panel discussions or workshop sessions. This approach helps councillors identify and explore key issues, share information and explore topics. It also allows for a wide range of views to be shared. This process can help reassure councillors that their policy recommendations are well-informed. It can also put a spotlight on specific initiatives or areas of work and provide excellent networking opportunities leading to more joined up working with partners.

Scrutiny Commissions may also wish to address their programme priorities through an informal working group, site visit or walkabout, public consultations, use of social media, or whatever works best for the topic under discussion.

Further detail on Scrutiny activity during the past four years is provided in Appendix 3.

6. Part 3 – Representational role of councillors

6.1 In general terms, how do councillors carry out their representational roles with electors? Do members mainly respond to casework from constituents or do they have a more active role in the community? Councillors tend to have a high profile in their local communities with many calls on their time - Neighbourhood Partnership and Neighbourhood Forum; school governors; own casework, as well as joint casework with the MP; various residents' associations, local organisations, village hall, church groups and local traders' associations.

6.2 How do councillors generally deal with casework? Do they pass on issues directly to staff or do they take a more in depth approach to resolving issues? There continues to be a large amount of casework for councillors and in some areas of the city the volumes are increasing. Cases vary in complexity, however across the board the volumes of complex casework appear to be rising, and the issues themselves are more complex than historically.

For straightforward casework issues are more easily handed over to officers, but Party Whips have expressed concerns that this may become more problematic as officer numbers have reduced (from April 2014). Complex cases often require considerable research and liaison with non-council bodies such as the fire and police authorities and the local MP. Complex cases can last a considerable period (over 18 months), during which time the complexity of the case has often increased. Long and complex casework is often something that one officer cannot deal with. There are also roles the councillors fulfil, such as advocates in planning applications, which cannot be delegated to officers.

6.3 What support do councillors receive in discharging their duties in relation to casework and representational role in their ward? Bristol City Council has three separate political group offices set up to support the work of councillors in the three main parties on the city council, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative. The current composition is 70 elected members and each of these political groups has a separate office, with an office manager and few staff totalling 7.5FTEs. The Green Party and independents receive more limited support.

For the purposes of the council’s constitution, all of the councillors on a Neighbourhood Partnership comprise a council committee known as a ‘Neighbourhood Committee’ and have delegated power to take certain local decisions on behalf of the council. Each Neighbourhood Committee must maintain proper accountability over the use of resources to ensure that public accountability and high standards of financial integrity are exercised. To this end, supplementary

financial training is provided to committee members, as required, and financial monitoring information is provided in a simple and consistent format.

Neighbourhood Partnerships are supported in the exercise of their financial responsibilities by an officer known as an Area Co-ordinator, who manages the budgets devolved to the Partnerships. The Area Co-ordinator works closely with Finance staff across all directorates of the authority and has access and training to the Council’s finance and procurement systems for the purposes of monitoring budgets and contracting (whether internal or external).

Democratic Services staff also attend Neighbourhood Partnership meetings and are responsible for ensuring decisions follow correct legal process. A further network of council staff supports the Neighbourhood Partnerships through the provision of information and the implementation of decisions.

6.4 How do councillors engage with constituents? Do they hold surgeries, distribute newsletters, hold public meetings, write blogs etc? Engagement with the public takes many forms and councillors try to adopt a flexible approach depending on local needs:

 Surgeries are changing in nature and are still required. Static surgeries are still required but in some areas councillors focus more on using street surgeries, visiting a cluster of residential streets on a particular day;  Home visits – residents often expect a home visit for more complex cases;  Email – a council email address is made available to each councillor and these are actively used. Initial contact and simpler queries are often dealt with by email;  Newsletters - most councillors distribute newsletters on a regular basis;  Meetings - attendance at local public meetings is required, including neighbourhood forum meetings (to set priorities every 3 months), community groups and local planning forums;  Social media - some councillors maintain a blog, use Twitter and/or can be contacted on dedicated Facebook pages.

The many different ways the public can communicate with councillors and expect to be communicated with by councillors, the expectation that a prompt response is received and the 24- hour nature of email and social media all add pressure on councillors to communicate quickly and potentially at any hour.

6.5 How has the role of councillors changed since the council last considered how many elected members it should have? The council last considered how many elected members it should have in 1996, when Bristol became a unitary authority and the county of Avon was abolished.

Since then Bristol has become increasingly diverse, public expectations from public services have continued to rise, communication technologies and social media have taken off, and neighbourhood partnerships and neighbourhood fora have been established. As a result of all of these changes, the work for councillors has increased in recent years.

6.6 Has the council put in place any mechanisms for councillors to interact with young people, those not on the electoral register or minority groups or their representative bodies? Bristol Youth Links is the umbrella brand for a range of services for children and young people aged 8-19 (and up to 24 for those with learning difficulties). It includes carefully created opportunities to help children and young people engage in service design, local decision-making and city-wide democratic structures including representation on equalities forums. It is our ambition for children and young people to be valued as active citizens – involved in, and enriching, all aspects of our city life.

The following represents the Council’s formal mechanisms for representative consultation with children and young people:

Bristol Youth Council 28 independent Elected Members (aged 11-18); voted in to office by other (BYC) children and young people on the strength of their personal manifestos via a city-wide elections process. This qualifies them to represent the views of children and young people to the Mayor, Councillors, Council Officers and the wider community. The 28 seats are distributed across the city in alignment with Neighbourhood Partnership Area boundaries.

Bristol Youth Council (formerly known as Bristol Youth Select Committee) acts much like any other Council Committee. It meets monthly and has defined terms of reference. The Bristol Youth Council takes reports and hears evidence from both officers and elected members on issues of concern/interest to young people. For example, in November 2013 the Youth Council was attended by the Councillor who chairs the Sustainable Transport Board, who was seeking the views of the Youth Council on public transport issues. At the same meeting both officers and elected members who had been involved in establishing the Education and Skills Mayoral Commission consulted with the Youth Council on the issue of unemployment among young people. Conversely, the Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Commission has two representatives from Bristol Youth Council serving as established co-optees, enabling the elected representatives of young people to participate in the political scrutiny of the Council’s children and young people’s services.

Bristol Youth Mayors 2 Youth Mayors supported by 2 Deputy Youth Mayors (Male and Female), elected from membership of Bristol Youth Council. Their role is to represent children and young people’s views to the Mayor.

UK Youth Parliament 3 Members and 3 Deputy Members of the UKYP, elected from membership of Member BYC whose role it is to represent Bristol’s children and young people regionally and nationally

Representation on 2 Youth Members elected from BYC to participate in the political scrutiny of Children and Young Children and Young People’s Services - from education, health and welfare, to People’s Services youth services and play. (CYPS) Scrutiny Commission.

Shadow Bristol The Shadow Bristol Children’s Safeguarding Board comprises 5 members from

Children’s the BYC and 5 from the Children in Care Council (CiCC). Their role is to hold the Safeguarding Board Full Board to account for meeting its strategic objectives; to ensure these address issues of concern to children and young people; and to ensure children and young people’s voice is listened too at all times. They have regular meetings with both the Service Director and the BCSB’s independent chair. Children in Care A non-elected consultative forum, divided into 2 age bands that enables the Council Service Director and elected members to stay in touch with children and young people’s experiences of the service. They are also involved in the design and delivery of care staff training (e.g. the award winning ‘In Our Shoes’ programme) Area Youth Forums Non-elected consultative forums in the North, South and East Central Areas of the City which are linked to the Neighbourhood Partnerships. They are designed to give children and young people their say on local matters and to develop democratic awareness, skills and confidence. Each is attended by a Link member from the Bristol Youth Council, who is responsible for carrying forward any issues raised. Equalities Youth Non-elected consultative forums specifically designed to develop and represent Forums the views of children and young people from protected equalities groups. This includes the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Youth Forum, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Youth Forum and the Listening Partnership for Disabled Young People. As with the Area Forums, each is attended by a Link member from the Bristol Youth Council, who is responsible for carrying forward any issues raised.

The council invests in equalities forums to ensure that the voice of equalities communities is supported and heard and that equalities groups are able to influence council policy and delivery (and in fact that of other public sector partners). These forums raise issues of concern with the council, comment on policy and service changes (including budget proposals) and hold the Council to account in terms of promoting equality for disadvantaged groups and our performance on equalities.

In addition to one-to-one approaches to elected member leads on particular issues, historically the equalities forums have also had regular interaction with elected members as nominated co-optees on scrutiny commissions. The use of co-optees to support the work of scrutiny has been a feature of Bristol’s approach, the objective being that they bring with them, a wider range of expertise and experience to the scrutiny function. They are all non-voting, apart from statutory education representatives (2 parent governors and 2 diocesan nominees) who l sit on the Children, Young People and Families Commission.

It is anticipated that, with a move towards fewer formal meetings and greater use of informal “task and finish” approaches to scrutiny, the use of expert witnesses will form a more flexible and appropriate approach in support of this way of working and greater use will be made of them in future. Yet, formal co-optees can still be retained, if chairs of the individual Scrutiny Commissions believe their input will help them to deliver their work programmes.

Each Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) will also have one or two equalities representatives whose role will be to champion equalities issues and help the NP understand and meet the needs of equalities groups in their area. The equalities representatives will be able to advise, signpost and

suggest ways in which their NP can take account of any equalities issues raised and improve outcomes for equalities groups in their local area.

Elections

The method used to register to vote is changing from household registration to Individual Electoral Registration (IER) from 10th June 2014. There is national concern that a significant number of people currently on the electoral register will not remain registered once IER is introduced.

Officers will be providing councillors with a toolkit pack which will help them explain the change to residents, and contain information about where to direct residents. There will be a helpline number that councillors can direct residents to deal with specific enquiries. There will also be text for councillors to include in any ward newsletters, and to pass on to any community groups that they are involved with, posters to display in community and public buildings. It is expected that councillors will assist in managing a significant number of enquiries about IER on an ongoing basis.

6.7 Are councillors expected to attend meetings of community bodies such as parish councils or residents associations? If so, what is the level of their involvement and what role are they expected to play? There are no parish councils in Bristol. Councillors are expected to attend 4 Neighbourhood Partnership meetings per annum and to attend an agenda briefing meeting prior to the neighbourhood partnership meeting. Many councillors also attend other community meetings associated with neighbourhood partnerships such as neighbourhood forums and themed subgroup meetings (see table below)

There is no formal expectation for councillors to attend residents associations or other local meetings, although many councillors choose to do so.

Neighbourhood Partnership meetings summary:

Meeting Number Councillors expected Role of councillors covering each to attend? ward per year Neighbourhood 4 (sometimes Yes Decision makers as part of the Partnership meeting NPs have Neighbourhood Committee (NC). (decision making additional One councillor is NC chair. meeting) meetings) Many NPs are chaired by councillors. NP agenda briefing 4 Yes Input into and briefing on the agenda Neighbourhood Average of 4 Not mandatory but Role as community champions. Forums (open public (can be many councillors Some forums are chaired by forum meetings) between 0 and attend councillors, some use forums as 8) an additional surgery. Themed subgroup Up to 20 Not mandatory, many Some subgroups are chaired by meetings for the NP depending on councillors attend councillors. (to input into decision the NP relevant meetings. Councillors often take a making – many are community champion role, and open meetings) also take a role in feeding back

discussions to the NP meeting. Neighbourhood 12 No but councillors are Community champion role. Delivery Team invited and some meetings (tasking councillors attend. meetings for officers and partners, not open public meetings)

7. Part 4 – The future

7.1 Localism and policy development

7.1.1 What impact do you think the localism agenda might have on the scope and conduct of council business and how do you think this might affect the role of councillors? While the Council will retain responsibility for statutory functions, the longer term cumulative impact of the changes introduced under the umbrella of the ‘Localism agenda’ (Localism Act, Open Public Services, Welfare Reform, Health and Social Care Act etc) is likely to have a significant impact on the future scope and conduct of council business. For example, there is likely to be a greater shift towards commissioning, contract management and advice and support activity to enable the ‘community’ (individuals, neighbourhoods, specific user groups etc) to understand and take up more direct control of the services that they use/provide. Local (and individual) control of services is a key feature of the personalisation agenda outlined in the Health & Social Care Act and Care Bill as well as the greater shift towards community rights granted through the Localism Act. As the number of bodies/organisations involved in the delivery of local services becomes more complex, local councillors will have a central role in assisting constituents to navigate this changing environment.

Increasing the rights for communities has already increased the workload for councillors, for example in the championing role and in relation to community assets, which is anticipated to be an area of growth as successful projects become more widely publicised. Councillors are required to be closely involved in such projects because of their role in signing off delegations of funds to communities.

Changes in legislation and policy over the last few years has resulted in additional workload and changes in staff being migrated across from the NHS to Local Authorities (e.g. in terms of Public health). Many elected members have experienced increasing case loads and complexity of cases as a result of the impact of welfare reform and the changes brought about by the Localism agenda. For example, there are currently 5 designated Neighbourhood Planning Areas in the city.

 Lockleaze Neighbourhood Planning Area  Old Market Quarter Neighbourhood Planning Area  Lawrence Weston Neighbourhood Planning Area  Knowle West Neighbourhood Planning Area  Redcliffe Way Neighbourhood Planning Area

As part of the requirement for designation as a Neighbourhood Planning Forum, under the Localism Act, the qualifying body must be open to membership from all who live and work in the designated area and they must be open to elected members for the relevant area. The extent to which local elected members engage in the neighbourhood planning process is up to the individual councillor, but the development of local neighbourhood plans can be very demanding on an elected member’s time. Moreover, there is an incentive for elected members to engage in this

process, as failure to do so may mean seeing land use policy and development opportunities move forward without their influence and missing out on opportunities to engage with their electorate, or to influence the council on their behalf and lobby for additional support for their proposals.

7.1.2 Does the council have any plans to devolve responsibilities and/or assets to community organisations? Or does the council expect to take on more responsibilities in the medium to long term? There are no current plans to devolve any powers to community organisations. The Council has a Community Asset Transfer Policy which enables BCC to provide community organisations with long leases over BCC owned property where they can evidence community benefit.

In terms of Neighbourhood Partnerships, there are plans to implement some of the outcomes of the Neighbourhood Partnership review/consultation (2013), which will be focussed on improving efficiency, reducing bureaucracy and improving the way that Neighbourhood Partnerships can effectively influence things that affect their local areas. Work is starting to develop a phased approach to implementing the review, with a view to the first phase being implemented within Neighbourhood Partnerships from June 2014.

The first phase is likely to mainly involve improving the way that NPs run and implementing a clear charter to set out what local services and standards NPs can expect, what can be influenced and how NPs can hold services to account. The second phase is likely to involve increasing the level of influence the Neighbourhood Partnerships have over more functions within the council, including potentially developing a formal consultee role for council business which impacts on the neighbourhood area. A further phase may then look at future devolution of responsibilities/ budgets/ assets. We do not currently have timescales for this. It is not possible to say at this point what effect the changes will have on the workload of councillors.

7.2 Service delivery

7.2.1 Have changes to the arrangements for local delivery of services led to significant changes to councillors’ workloads? (For example control of housing stock or sharing services with neighbouring authorities) Some councillors have expressed the view that the number of meetings they are expected to attend under the existing Neighbourhood Partnership (NP) structure is very demanding on their time. While only the quarterly Neighbourhood Partnership meeting is mandatory, many councillors also attend a variety of related meetings which feed into the Neighbourhood Partnerships, including agenda setting meetings, neighbourhood forums and the meetings of themed subgroups.

The Council is not pursuing any major shared services at this time that may impact on councillors workload. The changes in the delivery, roles and operational boundaries of fire and police services have resulted in larger and longer meetings involving councillors. The council still retains its own housing stock and councillors are regularly engaged with tenants over housing issues. The outsourcing of housing surveys in particular has resulted in increased work for councillors.

Caseloads have increased as a result of cuts across other public sector organisations and local services.

7.2.2 Are there any developments in policy ongoing that might significantly affect the role of elected members in the future?

It is possible that the evolution of neighbourhood partnerships may result in more responsibility and involvement of councillors at a local level. However, it is not possible to assess the potential impact at this time.

7.3 Finance

7.3.1 What has been the impact of recent financial constraints on the council’s activities? Would a reduction in the scope and/or scale of council business warrant a reduction in the number of councillors? Further cutbacks in local government services will place more pressure on councillors from residents. Overall, the Council faces a decrease in overall funding of around £52million by 2016/17. On top of this the authority expects the cost of providing essential services to rise by around £36 million over the next three years, due to a combination of rising prices and growing demand for services such as social care and education due to population growth.

Financial constraints are reducing officer numbers and that includes reducing councillor support. Moving responsibility from Bristol City Council to local groups will increase the need for member involvement. The impact of cuts are being felt differently between wards and also within wards, with a number of wards having high levels of multiple deprivation and increasing levels of complex casework, for example because of the cuts in benefits and the bedroom tax.

7.3.2 If you are proposing a reduction in the number of councillors for your authority to what extent is this a reflection of reduced activity of the council overall, an anticipation of efficiency plans or a statement to local people? Or none of these things? Workloads and pressures on councillors are increasing in volume and complexity as a result of the cuts in public services at a national and local level, a rising population in Bristol, increased pressure on housing and public services, the impact of email and social media, and the increasing role of neighbourhood working. Given these factors a reduction of councillor numbers does not seem possible therefore no change is proposed to council size.

Appendix 1: New Councillor Induction and Refresher Programme 2013

DATE & VENUE TIME WHO WHAT W/C 9TH MAY Tuesday 7th May 1.00pm- The Lord Mayor of Bristol, Cllr Welcome session and swearing in 3.30pm Peter Main, City Hall: (approx) Mayor of Bristol, George  ID badges Room 15 (12pm- Ferguson  New Councillor Induction and 4pm) Angie Ridgwell, Interim City Refresher Programme Room 1 (1pm- Director  IT Demonstration and briefing 3pm) Liam Nevin, Service Director  Official Photographs ID Suite Legal  Introductions to support staff Council Chamber Rachel Boast, Councillor (3pm-3.30pm) Development Officer Official swearing in takes place at 3pm Simon Gambling, IT Other officers/councillors – names TBC Wednesday 8th 10.00am- Ian Pagan, Democratic Practical Paperwork and support to May 11.00am Services Manager members (Group Offices) or Jayne Jarrett, Payroll  Payroll and pension Thurs 9th May 6.00pm-  Register of Interests 7.00pm  Members Allowance Scheme The Mansion  Members Support House

Friday 10th May 10.00am- Liam Nevin, Service Director, The Council Part 1 – what new or 11.00pm Legal councillors need to know Monday 13th Shahzia Daya, Principal An overview of Governance and May 6.00pm- Solicitor (Corporate Services) decision making (inc role of Cabinet, 7.00pm Ian Pagan, Democratic Full Council, Scrutiny, regulatory The Mansion Services Manager committees, neighbourhood House partnerships, outside bodies), Code of Conduct and Member/Officer Protocol

Thursday 16th 10.00am- Liam Nevin, Service Director An Introduction to Decision Making May 12.00pm Legal,  The Mayor and Cabinet or Shahzia Daya, Principal  Full Council The Mansion 6.00pm- Solicitor (Corporate Services)  Scrutiny House 8.00pm Ian Pagan, Democratic  The Lord Mayor Services Manager,  Regulatory Committees Shana Johnson, Scrutiny  Other Committees Coordinator and Ian Hird, Cabinet Coordinator Monday 20th 2.00pm- Shahzia Daya, Principal Data Protection and Freedom of May 3.00pm Solicitor (Corporate Services) Information or City Hall 6.00pm- 7.00pm Tuesday 21st MAY 2013 - ANNUAL COUNCIL (inc Lord Mayor making ceremony), 6.00pm W/C 27th MAY - HALF TERM SCHOOL HOLIDAYS (NO SESSIONS)

DATE & VENUE TIME WHO WHAT Monday 3rd June 10.00am- Martin Richard and Health and Safety Briefing 12.00pm Neal Alldred, The Mansion or BCC Health and Safety Team House 6.00pm- 8.00pm Tuesday 4th June 10.00am- Joanne Mansfield, Principal Development Control Training 12.00pm or Solicitor and (Planning Committee) 6.00pm– Gary Collins, Service Manager 8.00pm (Development Management) Please note that all councillors have to attend this training before sitting on a Development Control Committee.

Wednesday 5th 10.00am- Refresher training is recommended June 12.00pm every 3 years.

Thursday 6th 10.00am- June 12.00pm

(4 sessions in total)

The Mansion House th Monday 10 10.00am- Sarah McMahon, Consultation Finding out about your ward - June 12.00pm and Research Coordinator, Val Introduction to using online maps and or Purkis, GIS and Business other applications to find information 6.00pm- Intelligence Manager and and intelligence about your Ward, City Hall 8.00pm Jayne Mills, Research and including 2011 Census results. Strategic Specialist Di Robinson, Service Director for Neighbourhoods Tuesday 11th 10.00am- Jean Pollard, Service Director, Corporate Parenting – Councillors June 12.00pm Children and Young People Roles and Responsibilities or Thursday 13th 6.00pm– June 8.00pm

The Mansion House Wednesday 12th 10.00am- Di Robinson, Service Director An Introduction to Neighbourhood June 12.00pm for Neighbourhoods and Partnerships City Hall and The (City Hall) Communities and Gemma Mansion House or Dando, Service Manager, 6.00pm – Neighbourhood Partnerships 8.00pm (The Mansion House)

DATE & VENUE TIME WHO WHAT Monday 17th 10.00am- Peter Robinson, Service An Introduction to Local Government June 12.00pm Director, Finance Finance or City Hall 6.00pm- 8.00pm Tuesday 18th 10.00am- Russell Ward, Head of Commissioning – A Councillors Role June 12.00pm Partnership, Procurement and or (Mansion Commissioning Wednesday 19th House) June 6.00pm- The Mansion 8.00pm House and City (City Hall) Hall

Friday 21st June 2.00pm- Jean Pollard, Service Director, Safeguarding Children - Councillors Or 4.00pm Children and Young People Roles and Responsibilities Tuesday 25th June 6.00pm- 8.00pm City Hall

26th June OR 2pm-5pm Pauline Powell, Legal Sevices Licensing Briefing for Councillors

6pm-9pm Please note that all councillors have to attend this training before sitting on a Development Control Committee. 27th June

City Hall 16th July 10am-1pm Pauline Powell, Legal Sevices Public Safety and Protection OR 6pm- Committee Training 9pm Please note that all councillors have to attend this training before sitting on a Development Control Committee.

28th June 2.00pm George Ferguson and Nicola The Council Part 2– What new Yates, City Director councillors need to know OR 6.00pm  Partnerships and Initiatives 23rd July  Local and national context

Appendix 2 – Scrutiny Membership 2013/14

OSM AND SCRUTINY COMMISSIONS, 2013-14

Overview and Neighbourhoods Children, Young Sustainable Resources Health Wellbeing Call In Sub- Scrutiny and People and Development Scrutiny and Adult Social Committee Management Communities Families and Transport Commission Care Scrutiny Board Scrutiny Scrutiny Scrutiny Commission Commission Commission Commission 4:3:2:1 3:3:2 +1 3:3:2 +1 4:3:2:1 3:3:2 3:3:2 2:2:1 Jeff Lovell Steve Pearce Mahmadur Khan Noreen Daniels Mark Brain (Lead) Margaret Hickman Helen Holland (Chair) (Lead) Derek Pickup Afzal Shah Peter Hammond Mhairi Thelfall Mahmadur Khan Doug Naysmith Ron Stone (Chair) Jenny Smith Peter Hammond Estella Tincknell Hibaq Jama Mahmadur Khan Doug Naysmith (Lead) Clare Gary Hopkins Helen Holland Peter Levy Mike Wollacott Peter Main Campion-Smith (Chair) Mark Bailey Christian Martin Fi Hance Christian Martin Sean Emmett Jackie Norman John Goulandris Tim Kent Glenise Morgan Jackie Norman Anthony Negus Mark Wright Sylvia Townsend Alastair Watson Chris Windows Alastair Watson Lesley Alexander Vacancy (Lead & Vice David Willingham (Lead) (Lead) (Lead & Chair) Chair) John Goulandris Mark Weston Wayne Harvey Jay Jethwa Mark Weston Claire Hiscott (Lead) (Lead) Richard Eddy Daniella Radice Rob Telford Charles Lucas Rob Telford Tess Green

Appendix 3 – Four year scrutiny activity analysis

Scrutiny Activity 2010/11 Scrutiny Activity 2011/12

Scrutiny Number of Agenda Inquiry Days Working Select Number Agenda Inquiry Days Working Select Commission ordinary Items Groups/Workshops Committees of items Groups/Workshop Committees meetings ordinary Meetings Overview 8 32 2 (Child Communications Enforcement 5 22 Drug Policy Communications Adult and Scrutiny Poverty and Working Group (5 of Tenancy Impact Working Group (2 Safeguarding Management Teenage Meetings) Conditions Meetings) 5 meetings Committee Pregnancy) 4 meetings

Health and 10 41 1 (Urgent None None 9 30 Mental None None Adult Social Care) Health Care Resources 12 46 None None None 10 40 None None None meetings including including 5 3 single budget issue meetings budget meetings

Community 9 21 None None None 5 14 ESOL None None Cohesion and Safety Enforcement Encouraging Aspiration Providing Opportunity (joint with Children’s Services and Youth 36

Scrutiny Activity 2010/11 Scrutiny Activity 2011/12

Scrutiny Number of Agenda Inquiry Days Working Select Number Agenda Inquiry Days Working Select Commission ordinary Items Groups/Workshops Committees of items Groups/Workshop Committees meetings ordinary Meetings Select/OSM) Children’s 8 38 None None None 8 25 Deaf and 1 workshop None Hearing Working Group - Impaired The role of Services Childrens Services scrutiny (2 Primary meetings) School Admissions

Innovation in School Organisation Quality of 8 33 Home None None 5 24 Welfare None Life Adaptations Reforms

Supply of Social Housing

Sustainable 8 36 1 (Climate Flood and Water 5 25 High Streets Highway None Development Changes Management Act Maintenance and Energy 5 meetings Standards Review Transport Security Working (3 Framework Meetings)

BRT Working Group (1 meeting work

Scrutiny Activity 2010/11 Scrutiny Activity 2011/12

Plus 2 workshops

Meeting 64 247 4 10 4 46 180 10 11 5 Totals Total Meetings: 82 Total Meetings: 72

Scrutiny Activity 2012/13 Scrutiny Activity 2013/14 as at end April 2014 (projected)

Scrutiny Number of Agenda Inquiry Days Working Select Number Agenda Inquiry Working Select Commission ordinary Items Groups/Workshop Committees of items Days Groups/Work Committee meetings s ordinary shop meetings Meetings meetings

Overview and 5 10 1 Scrutiny and Adult 9 1 (Living 3 (Licensing 5(Education Scrutiny Governance Safeguarding Wage) Policy Select) Management Working Group 4 5 meetings 1 (Night Scrutiny Committee meetings Licensing Time Board) (Overview and Policy Economy) 2 (Affordable Scrutiny Scrutiny Housing Management Board 2 Review Board from Panel)) 2013) Health and Adult 11 44 5 Workshops 12 Social Care Resources 11 (includes 41 13 3 budget meetings) Community 7 18 1 Cohesion and Safety (Not re- established in 2013 function to OSMB) Children’s 7 26 1 Early Years/Early 6 Services Help Review Panel (Children, Young 3 People and Families from 2013) Quality of Life 6 25 Affordable Housing 6

Scrutiny Activity 2012/13 Scrutiny Activity 2013/14 as at end April 2014 (projected)

(Neighbourhood 2 s and Communities from 2013) Sustainable 4 25 3 Highways 6 1 (Rail Development Maintenance 2 Inquiry) and Transport meetings 3 (Residents BRT 2 meetings Parking Working Group)

Meeting Totals 51 189 6 18 7 52 2 9 5 Total Meetings : 82 Total projected Meetings:68

Appendix 4 - Council Meetings and Elected Member Involvement 2013/14 (Updated May 2014)

Committee Title Number took place Number of Members Full Council 9 70

Executive Member Meetings Cabinet 11 7 Exec Briefings 236 7

Scrutiny Commissions Overview & Scrutiny Management Board 9 10 Call In 3 5 Children, Young People and Families Commission 6 9 Neighbourhoods and Communities Commission 6 9 Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Commission 12 8 Resources Scrutiny Commission 13 8 Police and Crime Panel (including complaints) 7 3 Sustainable Development and Transport Commission 6 10 Licensing Policy Scrutiny Board 4 3

Regulatory Committees Development Control (Central) 12 10 Development Control (South & East) 12 10 Development Control (North) 12 10 Development Control (EZ) 3 11 Licensing Committee 4 15 Licensing Hearings Sub Committees 51 3 Licensing Policy Scrutiny Board 3 3 Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee 3 8 Public Safety and Protection Committee 1 8

PSP Sub Committees 11 4

Neighbourhood Partnerships 41

Avonmouth & Kingsweston NP 4 4 Ashley, Easton & Lawrence Hill NP 4 6 Bishopston, Cotham & Redland NP 4 6 Brislington Community Partnership 6 4 Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East NP 4 6 Dundry View NP 4 6 Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill NP 4 6 Greater Bedminster Community Partnership 5 4 Greater Fishponds NP 4 6 Henbury & Southmead NP 4 4 Hengrove & Stockwood NP 5 4 Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury on Trym NP 5 6 Horfield and Lockleaze NP 4 4 St George NP 4 4

Other Council Committees Appeals Committees 24 3 Audit Committee 6 6 Election and Democracy Committee 4 10 Health Inequalities Partnership 5 1 Health & Wellbeing Board 9 5 Human Resources Committee 8 6 Outside Bodies Committee 2 5 Party Group Leaders 12 3 Party Group Whips 4 3 Selection Committee 6 5 Women’s Commission 5 4

Outside Bodies Serviced by Democratic Services Downs Committee 5 6 Bristol Buildings Preservation Trust 6 5 King George V Memorial Trust 0 3

Appendix 5 – Council Committee meetings since 2006/7 (updated March 2014)

Committee Title 2006-7 2007-8 2008-9 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 est’d

Full Council 10 10 11 8 9 7 7 9

Executive Member Meetings Cabinet 19 14 15 10 12 12 12 11 Exec Briefings 183 205 227 212 257 279 266 236 SLT 44 42 52 45 37 45 40 -

Scrutiny Commissions Overview & Scrutiny Management Committee 7 7 7 5 8 5 6 - Overview & Scrutiny Management Board 9 Call In 1 3 5 1 1 1 1 2 Children’s Services Scrutiny Commission 8 8 8 7 7 9 8 - Children, Young People and Families Commission 6 Neighbourhoods and Communities Commission 6 Health (& Adult Care) Scrutiny Commission 8 8 7 9 8 9 7 - Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care Commission 12 Joint Health Scrutiny Committee 8 8 10 5 4 2 3 0 Joint Ambulance Scrutiny Cttee 0 Resources Scrutiny Commission 10 12 12 8 11 10 11 13 Quality of Life Scrutiny Commission 8 8 9 7 8 6 7 - Social Development Scrutiny Commission 8 ------Physical Environment Scrutiny Commission 8 9 ------Police and Crime Panel (including complaints) - - - - - 1 12 7 Sustainable Development and Transport Commission - 9 9 7 7 5 5 6 Care and Communities (Cohesion) Scrutiny Commission - 8 11 8 9 6 7 - Select Committee – Adult Social Care 5 4 4 - - - - - Select Committee – Libraries 5 ------Select Committee – Climate Change - 7 ------Select Committee – Museums and Archives - - 6 1 - - - - Select Committee – Sustainable Travel - - 7 - - - - -

Select Committee – Adult Education - - - 5 - - - - Select Committee – Third Sector Commissioning - - - 6 - - - - Select Committee – Informal and Community Adult Learning ------Select Committee – Enforcing Tenancy Conditions - - - - 4 - - - Select Committee – Adult Safeguarding - - - - - 3 4 -

Regulatory Committees Development Control (Central) 10 8 10 8 8 8 10 12 Development Control (South & East) 11 8 9 8 8 8 8 12 Development Control (North) 11 9 9 10 8 8 9 12 Development Control (EZ) ------5 3 Licensing Committee (including Hearings Sub Committees) 33 36 47 39 44 45 38 55 Licensing Policy Scrutiny Board - - 6 1 3 - 4 3 Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee 4 4 4 3 3 5 4 3 Public Safety and Protection Committee (including Sub Committees) 15 14 14 22 11 18 18 11

Neighbourhood Partnerships Avonmouth & Kingsweston NP - - 6 8 4 4 5 4 Ashley, Easton & Lawrence Hill NP - - - 2 4 4 4 4 Bishopston, Cotham & Redland NP - - 1 4 5 4 6 4 Brislington Community Partnership - - - 12 4 4 4 4 Cabot, Clifton and Clifton East NP - - - 1 4 4 4 4 Dundry View NP - - - 2 4 4 4 4 Filwood, Knowle and Windmill Hill NP - - - 2 6 4 4 4 Greater Bedminster Community Partnership - - - 2 4 6 4 4 Greater Fishponds NP - - 5 2 4 4 4 4 Henbury & Southmead NP - - - 1 5 5 5 4 Hengrove & Stockwood NP - - - 1 4 4 4 4 Henleaze, Stoke Bishop and Westbury on Trym NP - - - 3 4 4 5 4 Horfield and Lockleaze NP - - 5 7 5 4 4 4 St George NP - - 9 6 5 4 4 4

Other Council Committees Avonside Foster Carers Association 1 4 2 1 1 2 1 - 44

Appeals Committees 16 28 32 27 22 26 15 24 Audit Committee 10 6 6 5 7 7 5 6 BDF Advisory Panel - - 4 5 2 7 - - Bristol Legacy Commission - - 6 8 2 - - - Bristol Partnership (combined total) 8 4 6 4 16 - - - Bristol Partnership Against Racial Harrassment 2 6 2 - - - - - Corporate Employees Health and Safety Committee 4 4 4 4 4 4 2# - Corporate Parenting Panel 3 5 5 5 5 5 2# - Election and Democracy Committee - - - - 5 6 4 4 Health Improvement Partnership - - - - - 5 4 - Health Inequalities Partnership - - 5 Health & Wellbeing Board - - - - 4 8 9 Human Resources Committee 7 8 8 8 9 8 7 8 Joint Commissioning Board 6 3 4 - - - - - Joint Employee Relations Board 8 4 3 4 4 4 2 - Learning Difficulties Partnership 6 6 6 6 6 4 1 - Members ICT Working Group 3 6 6 6 4 4 1 -

Outside Bodies Committee 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 Party Group Leaders 11 8 11 8 8 9 10 11 Party Group Whips 5 4 3 1 4 4 4 4 Physical and Sensory Impairment Group 6 6 6 6 5 6 2 - School Organisational Committee 1 1 ------Standards Committee 4 4 5 5 5 5 - - Standards Sub Committee (complaints) - - 7 6 8 5 - - Selection Committee - 12 8 39 13 14 6 6 Women’s Commission ------5

Outside Bodies Serviced by Democratic Services Downs Committee 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Retail Forum 8 8 8 8 8 8 1 - Bristol Buildings Preservation Trust 4 4 4 5 5 7 6 6 King George V Memorial Trust 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 0 TOTALS : 658 679 703 641 579