|
Title |
Appointment of an Independent Member of Commercial Assets Sub-Committee |
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Purpose of the report |
To make a recommendation to Full Council |
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Report Author |
Coralie Holman, Group Head Assets |
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Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards |
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Exempt |
No |
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Exemption Reason |
Not applicable |
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Corporate Priority |
All |
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Recommendations
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CPRC is asked to recommend to Full Council the appointment of:
Mark Bunney as the independent member of the Commercial Assets Sub-Committee
|
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Reason for Recommendation |
As part of the move to the new committee system structure and governance, the Council resolved to have an independent member of the Commercial Assets Sub-Committee. |
1. Summary of the report
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What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
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The terms of reference for the Commercial Assets Sub Committee included one independent member appointment |
Formalise the independent member appointment and complete the Member selection for this committee. |
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This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
|
Confirm the appointment of the selected candidate |
If Full Council approval is received on 12th December 2024, issue all the relevant appointment paperwork, so the selected candidate is able to attend the CASC meetings and input into decision making. |
1.1 The revised terms of reference for the Commercial Assets Sub-Committee (CASC) were approved by the Council on the 25th April 2024 and this reflected that there would be one independent member on that committee.
1.2 In order to affect the decision of the Council to appoint an independent member to CASC, the role was advertised and was subject to a recruitment process. There was only a single applicant, however following consultation with The Chair and Vice-Chair of CASC, it was agreed the applicant’s experience was suitable and the applicant should be invited to an interview.
1.3 As a result of the recruitment process, this report is recommending Corporate Policy & Resources Committee (CPRC) support the appointment of the preferred candidate until the end of the 2026/27 Municipal year and asks Full Council to approve the appointment.
2. Current position - Recruitment Process
2.1 A recruitment pack was produced in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair of CASC. The pack included a person specification stating the skills, knowledge and can be found in Appendix 1.
2.2 The role was advertised on the Council’s website, on all social media channels and with Resident’s Associations.
2.3 As referred to in section 1.2 of this report, there was only a single application for the role. Following assessment of the application against the personal specification, this candidate was shortlisted for interview and the panel proceeded with a single interview.
2.4 The interviews were undertaken by the Chair and Vice Chair of CASC Committee and assisted by the Deputy Chief Executive (Terry Collier), and the Group Head Assets (Coralie Holman).
2.5 Through the interview process Mark Bunney demonstrated that he fully met all the requirements of the person specification and would bring appropriate expertise to the committee. The interview panel were unanimous in their decision on the recommendation to progress this appointment.
3. Options
3.1 Option 1 - It is recommended that Corporate Policy & Resources Committee approve a report to Full Council for the appointment of Mark Bunney as the independent member of Commercial Assets Sub Committee until the end of the 2026/27 Municipal year.
3.2 Mark Bunney is a Chartered Surveyor, who has worked within the property sector for over 35 years. He has experience of advising pension schemes, charities and property companies on complex property matters.
3.3 Option 2 – It is not recommended that Corporate Policy & Resources Committee do not approve the appointment, but instead seek to extend the recruitment process to seek other interest in the role.
4. Next steps
4.1 If the CPRC are supportive to recommend to Full Council the appointment of Mark Bunney, subject to Council agreement, Mark Bunney would with immediate effect be a member of that Committee following the Council meeting on 12th December 2024.
5. Financial implications
5.1 This role attracts the usual committee allowance of £2000pa
6. Risk Management
6.1 If the Council does not progress this appointment, next steps would be to advertise the post in property or similar trade journals, which may attract other applicants, but they may not meet the preferred option of someone who is based local to and as a result ha knowledge of Spelthorne. In addition, further time and external costs of c. £4000 per trade journal advert are likely to be incurred.
7. Procurement comments
7.1 There are no direct procurement implications in respect of this appointment. The role has been openly advertised.
8. Legal comments
8.1 The proposed appointment will meet the following purposes of the Constitution as set out in Article 1 para 1.3:
Sub-para 5: enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively; and
Sub para 9: ensure that hight standards of probity and ethics are evident in all aspects of the Council’s decisions and activities.
8.2 The Terms of Reference for Commercial Assets Sub-Committee envisage that an independent member will be appointed.
9. Other considerations
9.1 To progress neither option would be in direct contravention of the April 2024 decision to appoint an independent Member to CASC, hence, to do nothing is not a viable option.
10. Equality and Diversity
10.1 There are no direct equality issues arising.
11 Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
11.1 The appointment will include electronic access to all reports, hence paper resources will not be needed
12 Timetable for implementation
12.1 Immediately progress next steps, outlined above, if approved.
13 Contact
13.1 Coralie Holman Group Head Assets c.holman@spelthorne.gov.uk
Background papers: There are none.
Appendices: Appendix 1 Recruitment Pack