Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011

PART 1 — STRENGTHENING LOCAL DEMOCRACY

CHAPTER 1 — PROMOTING AND SUPPORTING MEMBERSHIP OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Survey of councillors and unsuccessful candidates for election as councillors

Duty to conduct a survey

1

• (1) A local authority must, in accordance with a direction under this section, conduct a survey of—

• (a) councillors in its area, and

• (b) unsuccessful candidates for election to the office of councillor in its area.

• (2) A local authority must conduct a survey , or arrange for the conduct of a survey, in relation to each ordinary election to—

• (a) the council of the county or county borough, and

• (b) a community council in the local authority's area.

• (3) The Welsh Ministers may give a direction to local authorities that—

• (a) specifies the questions that must be asked in a survey;

• (b) specifies requirements about—

• (i) the form of the survey;

• (ii) how the survey is to be conducted;

• (iii) the collation of information from the survey.

• (3A) A survey in the case of an ordinary election may be conducted—

• (a) entirely after the ordinary election, or

• (b) by asking the candidates for election to the office of councillor to respond to the survey before the ordinary election and collating the information provided afterwards.

• (3B) A local authority may include questions in a survey, or arrange for the inclusion of questions in a survey, in addition to the questions required by a direction of the Welsh Ministers under this section.

• (4) The questions that may be specified in a direction under subsection (3) include (but are not limited to) questions about the individual to whom they are addressed which relate to—

• (a) gender;

• (b) sexual orientation;

• (c) language;

• (d) race;

• (e) age;

• (f) disability;

• (g) religion or belief;

• (h) health;

• (i) education and qualifications;

• (j) employment;

• (k) work as a councillor.

• (5) Nothing in this section places a duty on any individual to provide any information.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (7) section—

• “belief” (“cred”) means any religious or philosophical belief and a reference to belief includes a reference to a lack of belief;

• “councillor” (“cynghorydd”) includes community councillor;

• “disability” (“anabledd”) means a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day to day activities;

• “race” (“hil”) means colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins;

• “religion” (“crefydd”) means any religion and a reference to religion includes a reference to a lack of religion;

• “sexual orientation” (“cyfeiriadedd rhywiol”) means a person's sexual orientation towards—persons of the same sex,persons of the opposite sex, orpersons of either sex.

Completion of a survey and publication of information

2

• (1) A local authority must complete its survey and provide the information collated in it to the Welsh Ministers within six months of the date of the ordinary election to which it relates.

• (2) A local authority must provide the information in in such form or manner as the Welsh Ministers may direct.

• (3) A local authority may publish the information collated in a survey in such manner as it considers appropriate, subject to subsection (6).

• (4) The Welsh Ministers must—

• (a) collate the information they receive from local authorities under this section, and

• (b) publish it within twelve months of the date of the ordinary election to which it relates.

• (5) The Welsh Ministers may—

• (a) publish information under subsection (4)(b) in such manner as they consider appropriate, subject to subsection (6);

• (b) share any information provided to them under subsection (1) with any body representing the interests of county, county borough or community councils in Wales.

• (6) No information received under section 1 or this section is to be published or shared in any form that, either by itself or in combination with any other information, identifies any individual to whom it relates or enables that individual to be identified.

Guidance about surveys

3

In exercising its functions under sections 1 and 2, a local authority must have regard to guidance given by the Welsh Ministers.

Publication of directions about surveys

3A

The Welsh Ministers must publish any direction given under section 1(3) or 2(2).

Supporting membership

Remote attendance at meetings

4

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Annual reports by members of a local authority

5

• (1) A local authority must make arrangements for—

• (a) each person who is a member of the authority to make an annual report about the person's activities as a member of the authority during the year to which the report relates,

• (b) each person who is a member of the authority's executive to make an annual report about the person's activities as a member of the executive during the year to which the report relates, and

• (c) the authority to publish all annual reports produced by its members and by the members of its executive.

• (2) The arrangements may include conditions as to the content of a report that must be satisfied by the person making it.

• (3) A local authority must publicise its arrangements.

• (4) In exercising its functions under this section a local authority must have regard to guidance given by the Welsh Ministers.

Timing of council meetings

6

• (1) The Welsh Ministers may give guidance about the times at which meetings of a local authority are held.

• (2) A local authority must have regard to guidance given under subsection (1).

• (3) In subsection (1), “meetings of a local authority” means—

• (a) meetings of the local authority;

• (b) meetings of any committee or sub-committee of the authority.

Training and development of members of a local authority

7

• (1) A local authority must secure the provision of reasonable training and development opportunities for its members.

• (2) A local authority must make available to each member of the authority an annual review of the member's training and development needs.

• (3) The review must include an opportunity for an interview with a person who is, in the opinion of the authority, suitably qualified to provide advice about the training and development needs of a member of a local authority.

• (4) In exercising its functions under this section a local authority must have regard to guidance given by the Welsh Ministers.

• (5) In the case of an authority which operates a leader and cabinet executive (Wales), a reference in this section to a member of a local authority does not include the executive leader.

CHAPTER 2 — LOCAL AUTHORITY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES

Head of democratic services

8

• (1) A local authority must—

• (a) designate one of its officers to discharge the functions in section 9 (“democratic services functions”);

• (b) provide that officer with such staff, accommodation and other resources as are, in its opinion, sufficient to allow his or her functions to be discharged.

• (1A) A local authority must have regard to any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers about the local authority's function under subsection (1)(b).

• (2) A head of democratic services may arrange for the discharge of democratic services functions by staff provided under this section.

• (3) An officer designated by a local authority under this section is to be known as the head of democratic services.

• (4) A local authority may not designate any of the following under this section—

• (a) the authority's chief executive appointed under section 54 of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021;

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) the authority's chief finance officer, within the meaning of section 5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.

Democratic services functions

9

• (1) The functions of the head of democratic services are—

• (a) to provide support and advice to the authority in relation to its meetings, subject to subsection (2);

• (b) to provide support and advice to committees of the authority (other than the committees mentioned in paragraph (e)) and the members of those committees, subject to subsection (2);

• (c) to provide support and advice to any joint committee which a local authority is responsible for organising and the members of that committee, subject to subsection (2);

• (d) to promote the role of the authority's overview and scrutiny committee or committees;

• (e) to provide support and advice to—

• (i) the authority's overview and scrutiny committee or committees and the members of that committee or those committees, and

• (ii) the authority's democratic services committee and the members of that committee;

• (f) to provide support and advice in relation to the functions of the authority's overview and scrutiny committee or committees to each of the following—

• (i) members of the authority;

• (ii) members of the executive of the authority;

• (iii) officers of the authority;

• (g) to provide support and advice to each member of the authority in carrying out the role of member of the authority, subject to subsection (3);

• (h) to make reports and recommendations in respect of any of the following—

• (i) the number and grades of staff required to discharge democratic services functions;

• (ii) the appointment of staff to discharge democratic services functions;

• (iii) the organisation and proper management of staff discharging democratic services functions;

• (i) such other functions as may be prescribed.

• (2) The references to “advice” in paragraphs (a) to (c) do not include advice about whether or how the authority's functions should be, or should have been, exercised.

• (3) The following kinds of support and advice are not to be considered as support and advice for the purposes of subsection (1)(g)—

• (a) support and advice to a member of the authority in discharging that member's functions as part of the executive of the authority (except as provided for under subsection (1)(f));

• (b) advice about whether or how the authority's functions should be, or should have been, exercised in relation to any matter under consideration, or to be considered, at a meeting of the authority, a committee referred to in subsection (1)(b) or a joint committee which a local authority is responsible for organising.

• (4) Nothing in subsection (1)(h) affects the duty of the chief executive in section 54(2) of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

• (5) In this section, references to a committee (or joint committee) include references to any sub-committee of that committee.

Duty to adopt standing orders about management of staff

10

• (1) The Welsh Ministers may by regulations require a local authority—

• (a) to incorporate prescribed provision relating to the management of staff provided under section 8(1)(b) in its standing orders;

• (b) to make other modifications of those of its standing orders which relate to the management of staff.

• (2) In this section “management of staff” does not include appointment of staff or dismissal of staff or the taking of other disciplinary action against staff.

Local authorities to appoint democratic services committees

11

• (1) A local authority must appoint a committee (“a democratic services committee”) to—

• (a) exercise the function of the local authority under section 8(1)(a) (designation of head of democratic services),

• (b) review the adequacy of provision by the authority of staff, accommodation and other resources to discharge democratic services functions, and

• (c) make reports and recommendations to the authority in relation to such provision.

• (2) It is for a democratic services committee to determine how to exercise those functions.

Reviews at request of a local authority

11A

• (1) The democratic services committee of a local authority may, at the request of the authority, review any matter relevant to—

• (a) the support and advice available to members of that authority, and

• (b) the terms and conditions of office of those members.

• (2) A democratic services committee must make reports and recommendations to the authority following a review.

• (3) It is for a democratic services committee to determine how to exercise its functions under this section.

Membership

12

• (1) A local authority is to appoint the members of its democratic services committee.

• (2) A local authority must secure that—

• (a) each member of its democratic services committee is a member of the authority;

• (b) no more than one of the members of its democratic services committee is a member of the authority's executive (but see subsection (6)) or an assistant to its executive;

• (c) in the case of a local authority which operates a leader and cabinet executive (Wales), the executive leader is not a member of its democratic services committee.

• (3) The appointment of a person as a member of a democratic services committee has no effect if the membership of the committee breaches subsection (2) immediately after the appointment (whether or not by virtue of the appointment).

• (4) In a case where one or more persons are to become, or to cease to be, members of a democratic services committee at a particular time, all those changes of membership are to be taken into account in determining whether the membership of the committee breaches subsection (2).

• (5) A democratic services committee of a local authority is to be treated as a body to which section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (duty to allocate seats to political groups) applies.

• (6) If two or more members of a local authority are appointed to the executive to share office, more than one of those members may be appointed to its democratic services committee (and if they are so appointed, together they count as one executive member for the purposes of subsection (2)(b)).

Sub-committees

13

• (1) A democratic services committee—

• (a) may appoint one or more sub-committees, and

• (b) may arrange for the discharge of any of its functions by such a sub-committee.

• (2) A sub-committee of a democratic services committee may not discharge functions other than those conferred on it under subsection (1)(b).

Proceedings etc

14

• (1) A local authority is to appoint the person who is to chair the democratic services committee (who must not be a member of an executive group).

• (2) If there are no opposition groups, the person who is to chair the democratic services committee may be a member of an executive group but must not be a member of the local authority's executive or an assistant to its executive.

• (3) A democratic services committee is to appoint the person who is to chair any sub-committee of such a committee.

• (4) All members of a democratic services committee, or of a sub-committee of such a committee, may vote on any question that falls to be decided by the committee.

• (4A) If two or more members of a democratic services committee are members of the executive who share office, those members have between them one vote for the purposes of subsection (4).

• (5) A democratic services committee of a local authority, or a sub-committee of such a committee—

• (a) may require members and officers of the authority to attend before it to answer questions, and

• (b) may invite other persons to attend meetings of the committee.

• (6) It is the duty of any member or officer of a local authority to comply with any requirement imposed under subsection (5)(a).

• (7) A person is not obliged by subsection (6) to answer any question which the person would be entitled to refuse to answer in, or for the purposes of, proceedings in a court in England and Wales.

• (8) A democratic services committee, or a sub-committee of such a committee, is to be treated as a committee, or sub-committee, of a principal council for the purposes of Part 5A of the Local Government Act 1972 (access to meetings and documents of certain authorities, committees and sub-committees).

• (9) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), the expressions “executive group” and “opposition group” have the same meaning as in section 75.

Frequency of meetings

15

• (1) A democratic services committee must meet once in every calendar year.

• (2) The democratic services committee of a local authority must also meet if—

• (a) the local authority resolves that the committee should meet, or

• (b) at least one-third of the members of the committee requisition a meeting by one or more notices in writing given to the person who chairs the committee.

• (2A) If two or more members of a democratic services committee are members of the executive who share office, those members together count only as one member of the committee for the purposes of subsection (2)(b).

• (3) It is the duty of the person who chairs a democratic services committee to secure that meetings of the committee are held as required by subsections (1) and (2).