Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Stephen Greentree nominated and Councillor Nirmal Kang seconded Councillor Richard Wilson as Chair of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee.

It was RESOLVED that Councillor Richard Wilson be elected as Chair of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee.

Councillor Stephen Greentree *Richard Wilson nominated and Councillor Nirmal Kang *Sally Shorthose seconded Councillor Joanne Shaw as Vice Chair of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee.

It was RESOLVED that Councillor Joanne Shaw be elected as Vice-Chair of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee.

*amended by the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee on 02 September 2026.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were none.

All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter:

(i)     Any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

(ii)    Other interests arising under the Code of Conduct in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting

There were none.

To approve the minutes of the inaugural meeting of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee held on 21 May 2026.

The Committee RESOLVED that the minutes of the inaugural meeting of the West Surrey Shadow Authority Standards Committee held on 21 May 2026 subject to the last item being amended from ‘To appoint members of the Standards Sub Committee’ to ‘To appoint members of the Constitution Sub-Committee’.

Notice of questions must be provided in writing by email to the Monitoring Officer at monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk no later than noon, two clear days before the day of the meeting (noon on Wednesday, 8 June 2026).

There were none.

Members must provide notice of the questions in writing by email to the Monitoring Officer at monitoring.officer@westsurrey.gov.uk no later than noon, two clear days before the day of the meeting (noon on Wednesday, 8 July 2026).

There were none.

To note member training and development progress to date, endorse the proposals for next steps and provide any feedback.

The Committee considered a report that provided an update to the Committee on member training and development for the new West Surrey Shadow Authority members.

The Interim Monitoring Officer advised the Committee that a record of any training sessions attended would be recorded against each councillor to ensure that mandatory training had been undertaken. A Sharepoint site for members would be created and it was proposed that all training sessions would be recorded and that they along with any training slides would be stored there for members to access. A record of all training sessions attended or viewed by individual members would be kept to ensure that all mandatory training had been completed.

RESOLVED to:

1.    Endorse the Member Development Programme Delivery Approach and Principles set out at paragraphs 14 to 22;

2.    Note the arrangements for Phase 1 Induction Training of the Member Development Programme, as set out in Appendix 2 of the report;

3.    Authorise the Monitoring Officer to proceed with arrangements for Phase 2 of the Member Development Programme, and provide any feedback on the proposed Phase Training Programming, set out in Appendix 3 to the report; and

4.    Agree to receive a report from the Monitoring Officer at the September 2026 meeting of the Standards Committee with a progress update on the Member Development Programme.

To consider the proposed changes to the Constitution including:

·       to recommend the adoption of revised Executive Procedure Rules into the Constitution, subject to adoption by the Leader

·       to authorise the Monitoring Officer to make any consequential constitutional, formatting or cross-referencing amendments required to give effect to the changes

·       to note the Monitoring Officer’s intention to update the Constitution under her delegated authority to include the Executive Portfolio Holder appointments made by the Leader of the Council

·       to note the changes to be made to the West Surrey Shadow Authority Constitution by the Monitoring Officer under her delegated authority

The Committee considered a report that sought approval of the formal adoption of revised Executive Procedure Rules into the West Surrey Shadow Council Constitution. Members were asked to note the Executive Portfolio Holder appointments and to make a recommendation to the Shadow Authority to update the Shadow Authority Constitution. 

Concerns were raised about the process of asking questions of the Executive and some members felt that the revised Executive Procedure Rules process would be too restrictive.

Councillor Hulley proposed and Councillor Austin seconded a motion to amend the draft constitution as follows:

A Member of the Shadow Authority may ask the Leader, or any other member of the Shadow Executive, a maximum of three questions, on materially different topics, at a meeting of the Shadow Executive, on any matter in relation to which the Shadow Authority has powers or duties or which affects the area of the Shadow Authority and which relates to an Executive function.

A Member wishing to ask a question must submit the question in writing to the Monitoring Officer at monitoring.offer@westsurrey.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the day of the meeting.

The length of any such question is limited to a maximum of 150 words.

The Monitoring Officer will help ensure the question is worded appropriately. Any such questions may be rejected by the Monitoring Officer if it appears to them that is it defamatory, frivolous, vexatious or offensive, not about a matter for which the Shadow Executive within the last six months, it requires the disclosure of confidential or exempt information, it refers to legal proceedings taken or anticipated by or against the Shadow Authority, or it would more appropriately be dealt with by the Shadow Authority under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Data Protection Act 1988 as amended. If a question is rejected by the Monitoring Officer, the member shall be advised of the reason for rejection.

A question relating to an urgent matter not otherwise included on the agenda may be asked provided that (a) the consent of the Leader has been obtained and (b) that the text of the question has been provided to the Monitoring Officer by noon on the day of the meeting.

An answer to a question from a member, may be given verbally at the Shadow Executive meeting, by reference to published material or information readily available to Members, or in writing, within 5 clear workings days of the meeting.

Questions shall be put and answered without debate.

Proposed amendment to the Executive Procedure Rules re Member Questions/SCS/23Jun26 Page 27.

4.9 Questions will be taken in order in which they are received by the Monitoring Officer, subject to the provisions that all members who submit such a question shall have their first question dealt with before any additional questions from them are considered.

4.10 There shall be a total time limit of 30 minutes at a meeting of the Shadow Executive for taking questions from members.

Questions shall be taken in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9/SD

To consider the expressions of interests received from existing Independent Persons from the sovereign authorities to makes appointments to the role of Independent Person. This role will assist with the arrangements for dealing with complaints about elected members and co-opted members until 31 March 2027.

Appendix A contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 1 – Information relating to any individual and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because disclosure to the public would be a breach of  the individual’s right to privacy and data protection principles, and would not meaningfully contribute to public understanding or accountability.

The Committee considered a report that sought approval to retain the services of the seven existing Independent Persons of the twelve sovereign authorities in Surrey and a recommendation to be made to the West Surrey Shadow Authority to make the appointments to the role of Independent Persons for the purposes of the Localism Act 2011 to assist with the arrangements for dealing with complaints about elected members and co-opted members util 31 March 2027.

The Committee were advised only six of the existing Independent Persons had submitted their Curriculum Vitae.

The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to the West Surrey Shadow Authority:

1.    That it appoint Bill Donnelly, Jane Clarke, Belinda Knight, John Smith, Dean Spears and Tim Stokes as Independent Persons for the remainder of the Shadow Period until 31 March 2027; and

2.    That an allowance of £1,159 per annum, pro rata, as detailed in the Shadow Authority’s Members’ Allowance Scheme be paid to each of the Independent Persons, together with expenses for travel, where such costs are incurred in connection with their duties.

To consider the options for future Shadow Authority meetings dates and time, agree a proposal for future meeting times for the duration of the ‘shadow authority’ term and agree next steps for proposing and agreeing future meeting dates from 1 April 2027.

The Committee considered the three options outlined in the report in order to make a recommendation to the Shadow Authority.

During the debate a number of views were expressed both for and against the options. Members highlighted that the location of the central West Surrey Authority offices might have an impact on the timings for committee meetings. The Committee asked that the Senior Responsible Officer for the Implementation Team be requested to bring a report to the next Committee meeting to update members on potential locations.

The Committee resolved to:

1.    Make a recommendation to the Shadow Authority as follows:

a)    Executive meetings to take place at 10am (as already agreed by the Leader of West Surrey Shadow Authority),

b)    Employment Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings to take place at 10am or 2pm. Determination of the meeting times to be made by the Chair of the Committees following consultation with Members of that Committee.

c)    Audit and Governance Committee meetings to take place at 2pm or 5pm. Determination of the meeting times to be made by the Chair of the Committee following consultation with Members of that Committee.

d)    Standards Committee meetings to be held at 2pm

e)    Shadow Authority meetings to take place at 2pm or 7pm. Determination of the meeting times to be made by the Chair of the Committee following consultation with Members of that Committee.

2.    Agree the next steps for proposing and agreeing future meeting dates from 1 April (post vesting day); and

3.    Recommend the proposal for future meeting times for the remainder of the shadow period (as agreed in recommendation 1) to the Shadow Authority for consideration at its meeting on 30 July 2026.

To agree the Committee Forward Plan.

The Committee RESOLVED to approve the Committee Forward Plan subject to the following item being added:

Appointment of Independent Persons from 01 April 2027.