To review membership of the budget working group to ensure proportionality or else to agree to the group not being proportionate.

Deferred item from inquorate meeting of 6 July 2018.

The clerk to the forum explained the outcome of the annual review of forum membership. No changes were required to the membership of the forum to maintain proportionality. However it was necessary to consider the membership of the budget working group (BWG).

There were no regulations governing the composition of a working group of the schools forum, as such it was a matter for the forum itself to determine the numbers and allocations of seats. The BWG was established to have a broadly proportionate share of seats between maintained primary schools, maintained secondary schools and academies. The present allocation of seats had been determined in 2012 and the proportion of pupils in each type of school had been slowly shifting since then.

It was noted that the forum could choose to retain the current allocation of seats. However to remain proportional the allocation of seats would need to be adjusted by reducing the number of seats for maintained secondary schools and increasing the number of seats allocated to academies.

Members of the forum indicated that it was sensible that the working group remained proportional.

It was resolved that:

a)    the allocation of seats on the budget working group be adjusted in line with the outcome of the proportionality review by reducing the number of seats allocated to local authority maintained secondary schools to one and increasing the number of seats allocated to academies to five.

To review the membership of the Herefordshire Schools Forum and the Budget Working Group and to consider arrangements for elections of members for the 2018-2021 term.

The Forum was invited to review the membership of the Herefordshire Schools Forum and the Budget Working Group and to consider arrangements for elections of members for the 2018-2021 term.

Members indicated support for recommendations as set out in the report:

That:

(a)        the outcome of the annual review of proportionality is noted and no changes are made to allocations of seats on Herefordshire Schools Forum;

(b)        the allocation of seats on the budget working group be adjusted in line with the outcome of the proportionality review by reducing the number of seats allocated to local authority maintained secondary schools to one and increasing the number of seats allocated to academies to five; and

(c) the timetable for elections to the forum for the 2018-2021 term, as set out in paragraph 17, is supported.

It was noted that consideration would be given to whether the mechanism for taking an urgent decision on any of these matters would need to be employed.