Meeting documents
Cabinet (DCC)
Thursday 19 February 2009
Meeting: Cabinet (County Hall, Durham - Committee Room 2 - 19/02/2009 10:00:00 AM)
Item: A5 Statutory Officer Appointments in Outgoing Authorities
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| Report of Lesley Davies, Acting Director of Corporate Services [Cabinet Portfolio Member for Corporate Services, Councillor Michele Hodgson] | |
Purpose of the Report
1 To seek Cabinet approval to making appropriate staff available to District Councils in the run up to Vesting Day.
Background
2 In the run up to the abolition of the District Councils a number of staffing changes are occurring and will continue to occur for various reasons e.g. departures, the redundancy of Chief Executives, which will to some extent affect all of the District Councils. This could create a gap in a number of Councils during which there is no suitable officer to hold a particular statutory position e.g. Head of Paid Service, Section 151 Officer or Monitoring Officer.
3 There are adequate statutory powers available to enable an arrangement whereby the County Council’s statutory officers could assume the responsibilities of statutory officers in outgoing authorities where gaps might arise. This is reinforced by the provisions of the Durham Structural Change Order itself which places a general duty upon the Councils to co-operate with each other in order to secure the economic, effective, efficient and timely transfer of functions and to generally exercise functions for the purposes of the Order.
Recommendation
4. Cabinet is requested to agree to allowing the statutory officers referred to above or some other officer nominated by them with appropriate qualifications and experience to take up appropriate statutory appointments in the District Councils where requested to do so, in the run up to Vesting Day. Appropriate assurances will be sought from outgoing statutory officers in order to manage the risks involved in the process.
Local Government Reorganisation
(Does the decision impact upon a future Unitary Council?)
The proposals would enable a smooth transition process.
Finance
It is not proposed that any charge is made for the services provided.
Staffing
None
Equality and Diversity
None
Accommodation
None
Crime and disorder
None
Sustainability
None
Human rights
None
Localities and Rurality
None
Young people
None
Consultation
Cabinet Portfolio Holder Member, Resources
Health
Attachments
1 To seek Cabinet approval to making appropriate staff available to District Councils in the run up to Vesting Day.
Background
2 In the run up to the abolition of the District Councils a number of staffing changes are occurring and will continue to occur for various reasons e.g. departures, the redundancy of Chief Executives, which will to some extent affect all of the District Councils. This could create a gap in a number of Councils during which there is no suitable officer to hold a particular statutory position e.g. Head of Paid Service, Section 151 Officer or Monitoring Officer.
3 There are adequate statutory powers available to enable an arrangement whereby the County Council’s statutory officers could assume the responsibilities of statutory officers in outgoing authorities where gaps might arise. This is reinforced by the provisions of the Durham Structural Change Order itself which places a general duty upon the Councils to co-operate with each other in order to secure the economic, effective, efficient and timely transfer of functions and to generally exercise functions for the purposes of the Order.
Recommendation
4. Cabinet is requested to agree to allowing the statutory officers referred to above or some other officer nominated by them with appropriate qualifications and experience to take up appropriate statutory appointments in the District Councils where requested to do so, in the run up to Vesting Day. Appropriate assurances will be sought from outgoing statutory officers in order to manage the risks involved in the process.
| Contact: Lesley Davies Tel: 0191 383 3502 |
| Appendix 1: Implications |
Local Government Reorganisation
(Does the decision impact upon a future Unitary Council?)
The proposals would enable a smooth transition process.
Finance
It is not proposed that any charge is made for the services provided.
Staffing
None
Equality and Diversity
None
Accommodation
None
Crime and disorder
None
Sustainability
None
Human rights
None
Localities and Rurality
None
Young people
None
Consultation
Cabinet Portfolio Holder Member, Resources
Health
Attachments
Statutory Officer Appointments in Outgoing Authorities.pdf