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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Rose Seabourne.
There were no declarations of interest.
The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed as an accurate record.
The Business and Democratic Support Services Manager (B&DSSM) invited Members of the Democratic Services Committee to comment on the draft Member Satisfaction Survey (included in Appendix One to the report) and suggest any changes or additions they considered appropriate, before agreeing its content in advance of the survey being circulated to all Members in May this year. Under section 2 of part 1 of the survey, there was a question ‘Do you feel adequately equipped to undertake your role as a councillor’, it was agreed that it should be clear under each section what this question related to. The B&DSSM clarified that there wasn’t currently an option to select a preference for 5pm meeting start times within the survey as there hadn’t been an overwhelming majority of members who had expressed an interest in 5pm start times. However, he advised that that if within a committee there was an overwhelming majority of members who were keen for a 5pm start time, this would be something that would need to be explored. The B&DSSM explained that 4pm meeting start times fell within existing working patterns, however, for later start times other implications would need to be considered such as the opening time of the building, officer welfare and working alone in the building, access to IT support for assistance with potential issues and also potential clashes with community council and governance meetings. This did not mean 5pm start times had been totally discounted, and if there was a strong desire for 5pm meeting start times the message would be passed to the relevant scrutiny officer. Members considered the draft survey questions presented in Appendix One to the report and suggested the above changes and additions that would be implemented prior to the survey being circulated to all members for completion.
The B&DSSM presented to the committee the Welsh Local Government Association’s (WLGA) Councillor Support Self Evaluation Framework. The Committee noted the Wales Councillor Support Self Evaluation Framework attached as Appendix 1 to the report.
The B&DSSM outlined the report asking members to note the guidance produced for applying payments to co-opted members (set out in Appendix one), which had been developed in accordance with Determination 5 of the IRPW’s 2024 report and to comment on its suitability as a local flexible approach, better reflecting new ways of working and hours actually worked. Officers confirmed that applying the hourly rate and keeping track of meeting times would not be onerous. The total number of co-opted members would be circulated to members of the Committee. Democratic Services Committee considered and agreed the guidance set out in Appendix One to the report prior to its implementation and agreed that, upon receipt of good practice examples, the guidance could be amended if appropriate in consultation with members of Democratic Services Committee.
The date of the next meeting would be agreed in due course and members of the committee would be notified.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
Lists the council's current councillors only. Co-opted members, officers and former councillors aren't shown.