Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence or notices of substitution.

Under the provision of Council Procedure Rule 35(8) Councillor Crook will substitute for Councillor Pattison.

Under the provision of Council Procedure Rule 35(8) Councillor Crook substituted for Councillor Pattison.

Councillor Munro substituted for Councillor Lawson.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Hall and Scott.

To appoint a Chair for this Meeting of the Committee.

(Apologies for absence have been received from Councillor Pattison).

RESOLVED – That Councillor Crook be appointed to Chair for this meeting of the Committee.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 7 April 2025.

RESOLVED – That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 7 April 2025 be approved as a correct record.

Committee Members will be asked to advise if there are any items on the Agenda in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or any other interests, which may prevent them from participating in the discussion or vote on any of the items.

No interests were declared.

Most agenda items will be considered in public session, however, it shall be advised whether the Committee will consider any matters in private, by virtue of the reports containing information which falls within a category of exempt information as contained at Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

It was noted that exempt information had been submitted in relation to Agenda Item 9 (Minute No.9 refers).

To receive any public questions.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, the period for the asking and answering of public questions shall not exceed 15 minutes.

Any questions must be submitted in writing at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting.

No questions were asked.

The Committeewill receive any petitions and/or deputations from members of the public. A deputation is where up to five people can attend the meeting and make a presentation on some particular issue of concern. A member of the public can also submit a petition at the meeting relating to a matter on which the body has powers and responsibilities.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10, Members of the Public must submit a deputation in writing, at least three clear working days in advance of the meeting and shall subsequently be notified if the deputation shall be heard. A maximum of four deputations shall be heard at any one meeting.

No deputations or petitions were received.

To receive details of recent appointments, pending changes to the senior management arrangements and to approve that the Member Appointment Panel be convened accordingly.

Contact: Steve Mawson, Chief Executive

RESOLVED –

1)    That the recent appointment of Executive Director for Children and Families be noted.

2)    That (i) approval be given to commence permanent recruitment to the post of Service Director – Commissioning, Quality and Health Partnerships (formerly Service Director – Resources, Improvement and Partnerships), in accordance with Chief Officer recruitment procedures and (ii) a Member Appointment Panel be convened to recruit to this post.

3)    That the interim operational arrangements for Place Directorate be noted.

The Committee received a report which provided an update on changes to senior management arrangements. The Committee were advised that (i) following the appointment process the post of Executive Director - Children and Families had now been recruited to and (ii) interim arrangements were being put in place to provide leadership capacity on a short term basis of up to six months to the post of Service Director – Highways, Waste and Streetscene due to the absence of the postholder and (iii) with regards to the post of Service Director – Skills and Regeneration, interim arrangements had been put in place to fill the post via a secondment arrangement and that the permanent recruitment process would commence in the Autumn.

The Committee were asked to give approval to the commencement of permanent recruitment to the post of Service Director – Commissioning, Quality and Partnerships (formerly Service Director – Resources, Improvement and Partnerships) in accordance with Chief Officer recruitment practices. It was noted that the title of the post had been amended following a review of the portfolios of the Service Directors within the service area.

RESOLVED –

1)    That the recent appointment of Executive Director for Children and Families be noted.

2)    That (i) approval be given to commence permanent recruitment to the post of Service Director – Commissioning, Quality and Health Partnerships (formerly Service Director – Resources, Improvement and Partnerships), in accordance with Chief Officer recruitment procedures and (ii) a Member Appointment Panel be convened to recruit to this post.

3)    That the interim operational arrangements for Place Directorate be noted.

To review the Council’s approach to the remuneration of the Returning Officer (in Kirklees this is designated as the Chief Executive) for local elections.

Contact: Shauna Coyle, Head of People Services

Exempt information is provided in the appendix to the report.  Consideration must be given to whether the public and press should be excluded from the meeting prior to the determination of the matter to enable the exempt information to be discussed by passing the following resolution:- To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during the consideration of this item of business, on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. 

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the payment of a fee to the Returning Officer for the delivery of local elections, equating to a fee per 10,000 of the electorate of 53.5%, in line with the current locally agreed approach for national and regional elections.

(The report included exempt information in accordance with Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, namely it contains information relating to financial and business affairs of third parties (including the Authority holding that information)).

The Committee gave consideration to a report which sought to review the Council’s approach to remunerating the Returning Officer (RO) for local elections, in order to recognise the personal responsibility attached to this function.

The Committee noted that the Returning Officer role, held by the Chief Executive, carried personal statutory responsibility which is separate from their duties as Chief Executive, and while fees are currently paid for regional and national elections, no such arrangement exists for local elections in Kirklees.

The report explained that the proposed remuneration would align with the government’s methodology for national elections, applying a rate of £475 per 10,000 electors, with a locally agreed application of 53.5%. Based on the current electorate of 319,308, this would result in a fee of £8,114.34. The cost would be absorbed into the elections budget and adjusted over the next five years.

The Committee noted that this approach would ensure consistency with national standards and reflect the personal accountability of the RO. The decision would not affect existing arrangements for regional and national elections, and any changes would be reflected in future pay policy statements.

RESOLVED – That approval be given to the payment of a fee to the Returning Officer for the delivery of local elections, equating to a fee per 10,000 of the electorate of 53.5%, in line with the current locally agreed approach for national and regional elections.