Lead member roles 2003/04

Report: 10
Date: 22 September 2003
By: Clerk

Summary

This report asks committees to decide which lead member roles they require for the current year.

A. Recommendation

That the committee considers its lead member roles, as shown in Appendix 1 to this report, and confirms or otherwise the continuation of those appointments in 2003/04.

B. Supporting information

1. In September 2002, the Co-ordination & Policing Committee agreed a statement of the lead member role and responsibilities and invited other MPA committees to consider which lead member roles they required to address particular areas of the committee’s work, and to appoint to those roles. Committees did this in their November/December cycles.

2. Attached as Appendix 1 is a list of the current lead member roles and the statement of what that role involves.

3. Committees should review their lead member roles each year to confirm that they remain relevant and if other areas have become significant enough to require the contribution of a lead member. In doing so they may wish to consider the views current lead members on their role over the preceding year. This review needs to be done at the first meeting of the committees after the Authority’s Annual Meeting, as the committee membership may change.

C. Equality and diversity implications

The appointment of lead members is the opportunity to address equalities and diversity implications, including the specific and general duty under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, to ensure that key areas of responsibility are properly covered. Under their terms of reference, all committees must have due regard to equal opportunities generally, the general duty of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the requirements of any other equalities legislation – this requirement also applies to lead members in carrying out a role given to them by the committee.

D. Financial implications

None.

E. Background papers

• Report to Co-ordination & Policing Committee, 24 January 2003

F. Contact details

Report author: Simon Vile, MPA.

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

Appendix 1

Lead Member roles 2002/03

Full Authority / Co-ordination & Policing Committee

• National and international functions: Sir John Quinton
• Forensic services: Sir John Quinton
• Public order policing: Nicholas Long
• Policing of football matches and other sporting events: Richard Sumray
• Health & Safety: Jennette Arnold
• Road safety: Jenny Jones
• Trafficking in women: Jenny Jones
• Domestic violence: Jennette Arnold
• Drugs: Richard Sumray

Consultation Committee

• Independent Custody Visiting: Nicholas Long
• Community Police Consultative Groups: vacancy
• Appropriate Adults: Nicholas Long

Equal Opportunities and Diversity Board

• Mental health issues: Rachel Whittaker

Finance Committee

• IS/IT: Reshard Auladin
• Estate issues: Nicholas Long

Human Resources Committee

• None formally approved by the committee.

Planning, Performance and Review Committee

• Response times: Lynne Featherstone
• Best Value: Reshard Auladin
• Child Protection: Richard Sumray

Professional Standards and Complaints Committee

• None formally approved by the committee.

The Lead Member role

• To act as champion for that particular subject area, recognising that on occasions the lead member should have the freedom to act in a scrutiny or questioning capacity.
• To be the initial point of contact for the MPS or others wishing to discuss issues informally with an MPA member or to sound out views.
• Under some circumstances, and particularly in the event of non-availability of the Chair, to act as a spokesperson.
• To contribute to policy development locally and nationally as appropriate, by representing the MPA on other bodies etc.
• Committee Chairs are by definition the lead member for those areas in their committee’s terms of reference, unless another member has been allocated a specific responsibility – in such cases it is preferable for that member to be drawn from the committee’s membership.
• Lead members do not have the authority to commit the MPA to a course of action or to make decisions on its behalf.
• In carrying out their role or speaking publicly, the lead member must promote and represent views or policies agreed by the MPA or its committees even if these are not their own views.
• Lead members have a responsibility to keep the relevant committee informed of their work by way of regular written updates, and to keep themselves informed of the key developments and issues in their lead area.
• A lead member can request briefings/information on their subject area from MPA and MPS officers (within reason in terms of the time it might take to produce a briefing).
• The lead member role does not attract a special responsibility allowance unless specifically agreed by the MPA and the general assumption is that SRAs will not apply, given that basic allowances were set at a comparatively high level to recognise such demands on MPA members.

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