 Garfrannol, ddweud i'r sinoteid gweithio amlunol ac, ystod, rydych chi'n rhaid i'r fawr o'i cyffredinol. Welacol y ddiwrnod o ddweud o'r Gweithfyrdion Cyffredinol. Mae'n rhaibaroth Cynslau Anna Bradnam ac rhaid i dechrau y fawr o'r gweithfyrdion cyffredinol. For the information of the public, our committee is responsible for reviewing the constitutional electoral arrangements and for promoting and maintaining ethical standards. May I start with a few housekeeping announcements. Those present in the chamber, please note that everything on your desk, including your laptop screen, is likely to be broadcast at some point. The camera follows the microphone being switched on, so councillors and officers are advised to wait a couple of seconds before speaking to allow the camera to catch up. Please can those participating in the meeting via the live stream indicate that you wish to speak via the chat column. Please don't use the chat column for any other purpose. Make sure that your device is fully charged and that you switch your microphone off unless you're invited to speak. Please ensure that you've switched off or silenced any other devices you have so that they don't interrupt proceedings. When you're invited to address the meeting, please make sure your microphone is switched on. When you've finished addressing the meeting, please turn off your microphone immediately. Speak slowly and clearly, being mindful of the internet, and please don't talk over or interrupt anyone. I think we can confirm the meeting is correct. If at any time a member leaves the meeting, please make the fact known to me so that it can be recorded in the minutes. Firstly, the first item on our agenda today is apologies for absence. Are there any apologies for absence today? Yes, Chair. We've had apologies from Councillor Bridget Smith and apologies from Councillor Aiden van der Waier. Councillor Brian Mills is attending the meeting remotely. Thank you very much. The second item is declarations of interest. Do any members have interest to declare in relation to any item of business on this agenda? Two, three, and myself. Councillor Heather Williams. Thank you, Chair, just in relation to item five. I don't know who in Water Beach or the District Council it is, but I may know them. For Water Beach and I, I think we all most definitely probably know them for the District Council. Thank you. Councillor Mark Hull. I'm sitting. Yes. Councillor Paul Berpock. Yes, it's similar item four in that I'm a member for Milton Water Beach. So very likely no people who, you know, related to the issues being discussed in item four. Thank you very much. And I have the same interest to declare I'm a member for Milton and Water Beach. So I may well know any people who have been referred to even indirectly in item five. Thank you. If we come to a point later in the meeting where you realise you have an interest, please raise it at that point. So the first, the next item is the minutes which are on page seven. This is the minutes of the meeting of the Civic Affairs Committee held on Thursday, 8 December. Can I ask if everyone's happy that that is a correct proof record of the meeting? And so can I move the approval of the minutes? Can we take that by affirmation? Thank you very much. Thank you. So the committee therefore agrees by approval, the approval of the minutes has a correct record by affirmation. The next item on the agenda is item four, assistant to political groups. Can I ask Rory McKenna, our legal adviser, to introduce this item, please? So thank you, Chair. So through yourself, members, the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides local authorities the power to appoint political assistants. This report appraises committee of those provisions and the conditions and recommends that council amend the constitution to appoint political assistants. So local authorities have a power to appoint a limited number of political assistants who's post-qualify as politically restricted but who are excluded from the general requirement that all persons appointed be done so on merit. It's obviously not mandatory to appoint political assistants but authorities may do so within relatively stringent conditions which are set out at page five of the report. Now, Dulock issued non-statutory guidance on the 11th of October 2021 for local authorities who are considering employing local authority political assistants. And the purpose of the guidance was three-fold and again that is set out at point six of the report. Now I'm just going to highlight some of the key points from the guidance. The post of a political assistant in a local authority is politically restricted, which means that unlike other politically restricted posts, the post holder cannot stand for election, act as an election agent or self agent, be an officer of a political party, manage a party or branch of the party and cannot canvass on behalf of a political party or be a candidate for the election. Political advisors are however permitted to speak to the public with the attention of affecting support for the political party but their actions must not give the impression that they are acting as representatives of the political party. Political advisors are also able to publish or cause to be published written work or other material which is intended to affect public support for that party but they must not give the impression that the publication is authorised by the party. No appointments can be made until the posts have been established for all qualifying groups. It's for the authority to determine the salary payable and in the report members will see that these posts have been evaluated at point 25 on South Cams' scale. Authorities are encouraged to carry out a value for money job assessment when considering the remuneration to be set and that has been done. In terms of the contract of employment it must terminate at or before the annual meeting so in South Cams' case that will be just before the elections in May 2026 but that doesn't mean that a person or a post holder can't be reappointed for a further term. When considering how best to manage the resources councils should take into account their use, potential use, necessity and the necessity of having an assistant. Local authority should publish the details as best practice. The number of political assistants to be appointed in South Cams' cases that would be two. One for each of the political groups. The political group that the assistant serves, the number of councillors in each political group and the number of hours per week that the political assistant would carry out now. Obviously what you're being asked to do today is a civic affairs committee to amend the constitution to allow that to happen and so if the posts were filled then obviously at that point in time the information would go on to the council's website. So members at point eight of the report you will see that you have two options. The first is to amend the constitution, sorry to recommend a council, to amend the constitution to allow for their appointment or just to maintain the status quo. Now in terms of the financial considerations you will see at point ten that the budget has already been approved. The cost can be met from the general fund contingency until it's revisited during the next budget process. In terms of the legal implications they are set out at point eleven and it's clear there that the post is to be filled in accordance with the wishes of the political group to which the post has been allocated. So members that's in essence the substance of the report. The recommendation is the civic affairs committee recommends that the council amend the constitution to allow for their appointment. I think at this stage it's probably appropriate to open the floor to debate obviously you need a proposer and a seconder because I can't move the recommendation. Thank you chair. Thank you Rory. So do we have a poser for this recommendation? Thank you Councillor Henry Batchelor and do we have a seconder? Susan offered to propose but I took Henry's proposal so I was just asking would you like to second it. Thank you seconded by Councillor Heather Williams. So let's have, I don't know if you want to ask any questions about it. Thank you Councillor Khan. I simply wanted to comment that having the provision within the constitution doesn't oblige one to actually appoint but having but changing the constitution gives it opportunity and depending on the financial circumstances in the future one might appoint or not appoint. So I see no harm in this proposal whatever future political view on this might be. Thank you Councillor Khan, well put. Does anybody else want to make a comment? Councillor Hull. Yes, with regards to page 11, the third bullet points down. Could you just explain that a little bit more for me please? So this is the no appointments can be made until posts have been established for all court points? Until everybody has got somebody lined up basically there's nobody can have an appointed person. Is that correct? So the first stage in the process is to allow the constitution to have political assistance to be appointed so that's the first stage in the process. I read that there to be the sort of mechanics behind the scenes in terms of the job description and the person spec and then putting it out for appointment that is what I understand to be the establishment of that stage. Sorry I've kept my mic on. Bear in that in mind, how is it going to work if someone was to leave so we have a void in one and an active person in the other? Well as I say, what has been proposed here today is to allow for the appointment of political assistance. I see it very much as any other staff member that leaves. The point that you would go back to the probably the group leader to ask them whether or not they wish the post to be filled. Thank you Councillor Khan. I presume that the position here is the establishment of the post on the staff role rather than whether it is vacant or not at that particular time and it would be at the political group to fulfil it. Is that my understanding correct? So at the present moment in time the appointment can't be filled because the constitution needs to be amended to allow it to be done so that's the process that's happening here today. Members will be familiar with the requirements of the constitution. The Civic Affairs Committee can't make this change, they have to make the recommendation to full council to make that change so that's the purpose today. Sorry James, no I was commenting about Councillor Howell's point about these points being made until the post has been established. If somebody designs the post is still established I presume. Yes that is correct. Thank you. Does anybody else wish to make any further points? Thank you. So we'll come to the recommendation then which is on page 9 paragraph 3. The Civic Affairs Committee, sorry before we proceed, I just wanted to reiterate what Councillor Khan said which is that this committee is simply considering whether to make this possible by means of amending the constitution. So the recommendation is that Civic Affairs recommends that the council amend the constitution to allow for the appointment of political systems. So can I see your votes in favour? Do we want to take? Very good. Thank you very much. So that's unanimous. Thank you very much everyone. So the committee therefore agrees the recommendation by affirmation. Moving on, item 5, this is the update on the code of conduct complaints. So can I ask Rory McHenner to introduce the item please? So thank you Chair through you. Chair your members are all well familiar with this report by now. You can see that there are four matters to which I wanted to update members of the committee this morning. In relation to the three Water Beach Price Council matters, I can confirm that all of them went out for investigation. An experienced barister in code of conduct matters was appointed. The subject member and the complainant were interviewed and the complaints were not upheld. Now at that stage I consulted with the deputy independent person and we were both satisfied that the investigators report was sufficient and that no further action was required in relation to those matters. And Chair there was one matter in relation to a district councillor and it was concluded after consultation with the independent person that the complainant did not merit a formal investigation as there had not been a breach of the code. Now I didn't deal with that matter personally because I had got a conflict and had to appoint the deputy monitoring officer to consider that complaint. Chair that's my report. Thank you. Thank you very much Rory. I think as a councill we have valued your wisdom and your adherence to a proper process. So thank you. Does the members do as anybody wish to make any comment on this? No okay thank you. So we are asked to note that report. Are you happy that we know the report? Thank you. So members you see from your agenda that the next meeting will be held on Tuesday the 4th of July at 10am and since this is I think the last meeting which Rory will be with us I just wanted to say a very profound thank you from the Civic Affairs Committee and from South Cancer District Council we may have one further opportunity to do this but certainly from Civic Affairs I think we all have benefited from your wisdom and your measured approach and your words of caution to us. So I just wanted to say thank you very much indeed. Thank you. With that members I'll close the meeting. Thank you. Thank you very much. Sorry Councillor Mills did you want to say something? Yes and it doesn't matter that you've closed the meeting but I think we just ought to recognise your efforts as chair of Civic Affairs during your period of office and how about you've conducted the meetings. Thank you. That's very kind of you. Thank you Councillor Mills. Thank you. With that.