Agenda and minutes

Councillor Follows advised that this was the adjourned meeting from 9 October 2023.  He advised that the meeting was taking place at Waverley, as there was a planning inquiry taking place at Guildford, therefore Guildford were unable to host the meeting.  Councillor Follows was nominated as the chairman for the meeting and no objections were noted.

Cllr Follows welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting and invited those present to introduce themselves.

Apologies were received from Councillor Rehorst-Smith.

To receive from Members declarations of interests in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the respective Guildford and Waverley Codes of Conduct for Councillors.

There were no disclosures of interests made.

To agree the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2023.

The meeting on the 9 October was adjourned before item 1 on the agenda, this was due to the committee not being quorate.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 March 2023 were approved.

Councillor Martin raised at query relating to the Staff Survey.  He advised the committee that the minutes of the meeting of the 17 March note that the 2022 Staff Survey results would be brought to the current meeting.

Officers apologised for the oversight and advised the Committee that it would be brought to the next meeting.  Officer also noted that the upcoming Staff survey would include the new arrangements and would also be brought to the next meeting for the committee to review.

This report presents the collaboration risk register for its six-monthly review by the Joint Governance Committee (the Committee). The register was last presented to the Committee in March 2023. Since then, it has been updated by officers, including the assessment of scores and updates to mitigations.

Recommendation to Committee

1.              That the Committee reviews the collaboration risk register and the changes to the risk ratings suggested by officers and agrees any further changes.

2.              That the Committee ask officers to undertake a comprehensive review of the register, including risks; mitigations and scoring, with a view to making it more succinct and focused on the key threats to success of the collaboration.

Councillor Follows informed the Committee that it would discuss the structure of the Collaboration Risk Register (CRR) first. He advised that he felt the CRR had too many columns which made it quite confusing to review.  Councillor Follows felt that the target columns were unnecessary and should be removed.  Councillor Follows commented on the Risk Strategy and felt that 28 risks were too many.  He also advised that it would be helpful to add dates where risks were identified.

Councillor Follows invited Councillor Spence, the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee to address the Committee. Councillor Spence agreed with Councillor Follows, advising that there are over 20 risks, and some of the risks could be merged. Councillor Peter Martin addressed the Committee, he also agreed with the comments, noting that the targets and further planned action columns were confusing, he agreed that one or two of the risks could be merged.

Councillor Bigmore addressed the Committee, and he commented on the difference between action priorities and risk appetite.  He also queried the ratings column and how a risk would move from high to medium.  Councillor Spencer informed the Committee that he had previously been a Chief Risk Officer.  He advised that the appetite was important but was happy with where the inherent residual risks were now.  Councillor Spencer queried the control measures which he felt were key to control.  He expressed that currently, it seemed to be more like a narrative than a risk register.

Councillor Follows suggested a task and finish group be formed for a short period to support officers with the structure and the deliverables for the CRR.  He suggested that the task group be formed of Councillors from both Guildford and Waverley and nominated himself, Councillors Kiehl, Bigmore, and Booker.  He also thought that it was important that Councillor Spence as the chair of the Waverley Audit and Risk Committee and Councillor Bellamy as chair of the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee should be co-opted into the task and finish group meetings.

Ian Doyle, Joint Strategic Director of Transformation and Governance addressed the Committee. He advised that he agreed with the comments and would welcome support from a task and finish group.  Councillor Kiehl addressed the Committee and queried whether it was a living document, who reviewed the register, and who else viewed the register.  Ian Doyle confirmed that it was the Joint Governance Committee that would view and be responsible for reviewing the CRR.

Moving to the CRR deliverables, Councillor Bigmore queried risk no.1 on the Register: the partnership lacks clear objectives.  He suggested that they had completed the initial work and that they were now out of mandate and queried what the next steps were.  Responding to Councillor Bigmore’s comments, Robin Taylor, Joint Executive Head of Organisational Development addressed the Committee.  He advised that his team was now working on the vision statement, project plan, and funding options.  Robin Taylor informed the Committee that several recommendations would be brought forward, including recommendations on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

The Joint Governance Committee’s terms of reference includes a requirement to undertake periodically a formal review (at least once every 12 months) of the inter-authority agreement (IAA) in respect of the Joint Management Team (JMT), ensuring it continues to be fit for purpose and recommending to both Full Councils any changes required.

This report provides the Committee with an update on the IAA and relating matters since its last meeting on the 17 March 2023.

Recommendations to Committee

That the Committee notes the report and the updates on both IAA’s between Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council.

Susan Sale, Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services introduced the item, she informed the Committee Members that the Inter Authority Agreement (IAA) had been extended to now include arrangements for temporary sharing of staff.  She advised that the two documents, in respect of the JMT and the Temporary Shared Staffing, would be amalgamated and the Terms of Reference for the Committee are being amended to reflect its expanded remit and responsibilities.

Councillor Peter Martin addressed the Committee and he noted that he had not had sight of the full IAA and that he had searched the Council website and had not been able to locate a copy.

Susan Sale explained that the IAA was drafted before she started at the Council and once amended would ensure that members had access. She noted that the IAA is the legal document that sets out the parameters for the JMT, it was not currently a part of the constitution of either council.

The Committee resolved to the following:

1.         To note the report and the update on both the IAA agreements with Guildford Borough Council.

The Joint Governance Committee was created in April 2022 and its Terms of Reference (TOR) can be found in Part 3 (Appendix 2) of the Waverley Borough Council’s Constitution and Part 3 (Terms of Reference of the Council) of the Guild Borough Council’s Constitution.

At the request of the new Joint Executive Head of Legal & Democratic Services, the TOR for the Joint Governance Committee were reviewed to ensure they remained, relevant, fit for purpose and included any collaboration arrangement updates.

This report is for information only, it asks that the Joint Governance Committee note that the Joint Constitutional Review Group (JCRG) will be asked to consider the amendments to the TOR at its meeting on the 30 November.  It will be recommended that the JCRG recommend the amendments to WBC Standards & GP committee and GBC Governance & Standards Committee, with a recommendation that each committee recommends the amended TOR to their full Council for adoption.

Recommendations to Committee

1.    That the Joint Governance Committee resolves to noting the report and the proposed amended TOR.

2.    That the Committee provides comments and feedback by way of consultation so that Officers can put those comments to the JCRG.

Susan Sale Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services addressed the Committee and introduced the item.  She informed the committee that as per her comments on the previous items, the Committee’s Terms of Reference required updating to reflect the JGC’s new responsibilities to review the Temporary Shared Staffing IAA.

Susan Sale noted that there were also a number of other minor amendments which included periodic review periods, frequency of meetings, quorum, procedures for electing a Chairperson in the absence of both Co-Chairs and voting.

The Leader suggested a further amendment to the use of substitutes under clause 8, he felt that it would be beneficial for the Group Leaders to nominate a main substitute.  Officers noted that formal substitutes could limit the Committee's flexibility.  The Committee members discussed the suggestion and felt that it would be beneficial to have formally appointed substitute members and the TOR should be amended to reflect this.

Members discussed the proposed reduction of the member's quorum.  Members queried reducing the number from 7 to 4 and wonder if this was too low. Officers advised the members that the quorum level across both councils was a quarter and that 4 was consistent with the other committees across both councils.

The Committee resolved to the following:

1.               Note the report and the proposed amendments.

2.               Provide feedback and comments to the Joint Constitutional Review Group, including their comments regarding Clause 8, The appointment of formal substitutes.

3.               Amend Clause 8 to appoint formal substitutes.

4.               That the Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services be delegated authority to amend both the Guildford Borough Council and Waverley Borough Council Constitutions accordingly.

The date of the next meeting was confirmed as the 24 January 2024.