To receive an update on governance arrangements for the Board.

The Board was invited to express its views on future governance arrangements prior to the Council considering the Board’s formal establishment.

A report was circulated at the meeting.  This contained draft terms of reference and a paper setting out various options and considerations for the Board to discuss.

The Governance Services Manager presented the report.  He informed the Board that Regulations had only recently been received but these had left a number of questions about the Board’s operation unanswered.  National guidance had also been promised but was still awaited.

In discussion the following principal points were made:

·         The Regulations provided that all Members of the Board could vote unless the Council directed otherwise.  Members discussed the merits of all Members having a vote.  Some Members indicated that they did not wish to have voting rights because of concerns about a potential conflict of interest and the possibility that this might inhibit their contribution to discussions.  The consensus was that voting rights should therefore be restricted to the statutory core membership of the Board.

·         The Board noted that the Council’s Code of Conduct would apply to all Board Members.  It was requested that arrangements be made to familiarise Members with the Code and the requirements this placed upon them.

·         The Board had previously agreed that each Member should have a designated substitute.  It was noted that because of the commitments facing Board Members it would be helpful to make arrangements for there to be more than one designated substitute for each Member.    It was recognised, however, that it would be desirable to maintain continuity of attendance as far as possible.

·         It was proposed that the existing membership of the Board be supported as far as practicable with the addition of one Councillor, a National Health Service Commissioning Board Local Area Team Representative and the appointment of a representative of a Carers support organisation.

·         It was suggested that quarterly meetings of the Board in public would be sufficient to manage the formal business of the Board.  However, the other scheduled meeting dates should be kept free for development work and other informal meetings and briefings arranged as considered appropriate.

RESOLVED:

That (a)     the Board’s draft Terms of Reference be supported in principle; 

(b)       the restriction of voting to the statutory core membership as specified in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 be supported;

(c)       the appointment of one additional Councillor to the Board be supported;

(d)       the appointment of a National Health Service Commissioning Board Local Area Team Representative be supported;

(e)       the continuation of the existing membership of the Board be supported as far as practicable;

(f)        the appointment of a representative of a Carers support organisation be supported;

(g)       provision be made for it to be possible to nominate more than one person to serve as a designated substitute for a Board Member to seek to ensure representation at each meeting;

(h)       quarterly decision making meetings of the Board in public should be supported, supplemented by additional meetings if necessary and development and other informal meetings and briefings arranged as considered appropriate; and

(i)        the application of the Council’s Code of Conduct to Board Members be noted and Members advised of the requirements this placed upon them.