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A New Dawn Rises For South Ayrshire
At the first full meeting of the Council held since the Local Government Election on 3 May 2007, elected members unanimously agreed to move from the old committee system to a cabinet style of administration.
Said the Council’s new Leader, Councillor Hugh Hunter: “I would like to take the opportunity to thank the elected members and Chief Officers of the Council who undertook the task of researching, evaluating and recommending to us the new structure which fundamentally changes the way that the Council will operate in the future.”
Councillor Hunter added: “There is no doubt that there are exciting times ahead. It is no longer in the ‘gift’ of the Administration to work on its own, giving little regard to the part played by opposition parties. The system of decision making, combined with the facility for real scrutiny of those decisions is, without doubt, going to make for a challenging and dynamic future. Rest assured that it is my clear intention as Leader of the Council to do my very best for South Ayrshire, and to do my utmost to ensure that the Council as a whole does its very best.”
The newly-elected Council decided unanimously to accept the new decision-making structure which had been recommended to it by members of the Policy and Resources Committee of the previous Council.
In preparation for the changes, a Working Group had been set up in October 2006 by the previous Council to review the Council’s decision-making practices and procedures, to compare arrangements operating within other authorities and to bring forward recommendations for consideration and possible implementation by the new Council.
Known as the 2007 Working Group and comprising six elected members and supported by the Chief Executive, Depute Chief Executive and other Officers, the Group had been meeting since October 2006 and had reviewed:
The Group decided that the previous Council Committee system was no longer fit for purpose due to the duties and expectations placed on a modern Scottish Local Authority, the specific responsibilities of Elected Members in respect of scrutiny & accountability; and the Best Value regime.
Following the election the Council still comprises 30 Elected Members. However, there are now eight multi-Member Wards, serviced by either three or four Members.
At its first meeting, the new Council decided to formally approve the implementation of the new decision-making structures recommended to it.
The move means the introduction of an Executive-type structure, based on a Leadership Panel, with much stronger effective scrutiny.
The Council also decided that after a reasonable period of operation, possibly one year, a further review should be undertaken.
Under the new approved system, the Council will continue to have the following key responsibilities:
It was also decided that the full Council, chaired by the Provost/Civic Head or Depute, will meet on a scheduled basis every eight weeks, subject to review, and that its procedures would be governed by revised and updated Standing Orders.
Introduced into the Council’s decision-making structure are the following:
