Agenda Item No. 5

Governance Committee

22 January 2018 Part I

Honorary Aldermen

Report by Director of Law and Assurance

Electoral Division: N/A

Executive Summary

The is able to appoint former members with eminent service as honorary aldermen of West Sussex. The Chairman has asked for the matter to be considered. The report sets out possible criteria and other considerations for the Governance Committee to discuss.

Recommendation

That the Governance Committee determines whether to recommend to the County Council that an honorary alderman scheme should be adopted.

Proposal

1. Background and Context

1.1 Section 249 of the Local Government Act 1972 sets out a power for councils to appoint former members as honorary aldermen in recognition of eminent service as a . The County Council has never used this power, but research has now been undertaken at the Chairman’s request. Research has found that about half of the County Councils in England appoint honorary aldermen, including Hampshire and Kent in the South East.

1.2 The Governance Committee is asked to consider whether an Honorary Alderman scheme should be established in West Sussex County Council. To be appointed, a member must have retired as a member of the County Council and have ceased to be politically active.

1.3 The Act leaves it for councils to define ‘eminent service’. From a check of other councils’ criteria, where published, it seems that most work on a system of either a certain minimum length of service, or holding certain senior positions, or a mixture of both. The number of aldermen can be capped (one council gives 12 as the maximum number at one time) but many others do not cap, with up to around 30 Aldermen.

1.4 At present, there are three ways of in which the County Council recognises the service of members:

 A Certificate of Public Service when the member stands down or loses their seat, regardless of length of service. Agenda Item No. 5

 Any member who reaches 20 years’ service receives a commemorative gift.  Former Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen are invited to all major civic events run by the Chairman – including the Carol Service and any summer reception.

1.5 Given the current arrangements, there may be an advantage to link the award to a particular length of service – 20 years would match the long established custom of marking a member’s 20th anniversary. Sixteen years might also be a suitably long time scale, generally four council terms.

1.6 Alternatively it could be linked to holding certain positions, such as chairman, leader, group leader etc. The downside to this is that it can be seen to favour a majority party as they naturally tend to have more post-holders of these positions. Holding such positions for a significant period may be a factor.

1.7 The other consideration is when this should take effect. If the County Council wishes to establish an honorary aldermen scheme, it could be with effect from a certain date, such as 16 or 20 years’ service by the time of the 2017 election or 2021, as it may be difficult to make arrangements for former members who retired from the County Council many years ago. Whether the service has to be consecutive is also a consideration. The draft Standing Order set out at the Appendix is not worded to require consecutive service.

1.8 To appoint an Alderman, a special Council meeting has to be held, probably on the rising of the quadrennial Council meeting after an election, as it would be known who was eligible by then after each election. Two thirds of the Council must vote in favour of the proposed appointment.

1.9 A board containing the names of Aldermen could be created and lapel badges or similar could be produced. Aldermen should be given a space in the chamber, probably a generic space for ‘Honorary Aldermen’ so that they can attend to observe. It is expected that honorary aldermen would be invited to major receptions such as a summer reception, and the Carol Service.

2. Proposal

2.1 The Governance Committee is asked to consider whether to recommend an honorary alderman scheme to the County Council, possibly based on 16 years’ service as a member of the County Council, as of the election in 2017. A draft Standing Order is attached as an Appendix.

3. Resources

3.1 A new board listing the names of honorary aldermen would be needed for the Council Chamber. Lapel badges bearing the County Council crest and the words ‘honorary aldermen’ could also be produced. It is expected that these costs would be below £5,000 and would be met from the Chairman’s Fund, within existing resources.

Agenda Item No. 5

Factors taken into account

4. Consultation

4.1 None.

5. Risk Management Implications

5.1 The appointment of honorary aldermen would mean that these post-holders should be seen to be in good standing, in the same way expected of a current member of the County Council. Any failure of an honorary alderman to maintain high standards could create reputational risk for the County Council. If an honorary alderman scheme is introduced, the County Council should reserve the power to remove the designation in certain circumstances such as if the alderman received a criminal sentence.

6. Other Options Considered

6.1 The power also exists to create honorary freemen of West Sussex. This can be given to any person, but this is difficult for a county authority, particularly where more localised freedoms of towns is already available from other local authorities in West Sussex. Few other county authorities appear to offer freedom of the county, so this is not recommended for progression.

7. Equality Duty

7.1 N/A

8. Social Value

8.1 N/A

9. Crime and Disorder Act Implications

9.1 N/A

10. Human Rights Implications

10.1 N/A

Tony Kershaw Director of Law and Assurance

Contact: Charles Gauntlett – 033022 22524

Background Papers

None Agenda Item No. 5 - Appendix

Draft Standing Order based on proposal

Aldermen

63. (1) The Council may hold a special meeting to consider the award of the of ‘honorary alderman’ to former members of the County Council with at least 16 years’ service.

(2) Two thirds of the County Council must vote in favour of the award for it to be bestowed upon a former member.

(3) An honorary alderman’s name will be added to a board in the Council Chamber. He or she will be entitled to sit in the chamber to observe Council meetings and will be invited to all major civic events held by the County Council.

(4) The designation ‘honorary alderman’ may be removed from any individual in the case of them receiving a criminal conviction or other high profile problems emerge. The removal must be agreed by two thirds of the County Council on the recommendation of the Monitoring Officer.