Improving Our Decision-Making

A proposed new approach

A presentation given to the Luton Liberal Democrat Council Group in 2005
The Current Situation
 Current Problems
• Lines of accountability and communication
are unclear
• Poor coordination within Group and
Executive
• Poor coordination with officers
• Inability to effectively prioritise
• Officer agenda not Group agenda
 New Proposal
• To add in two new coordinating bodies
• To remove wasteful meetings and duplication of
effort
• To abolish NTEs & OTEs
• To clarify the remit of meetings
• To create opportunities for better communication
• To create a more logical decision making process
 Objectives
• To work better as a Lib Dem team
• To work better with officers
• To increase the accountability of officers
• To better control the agenda
• To ensure the Group is at the heart of
decision making
The New Proposal
 Group Board
• Function:
– Political direction & leadership
– Monitor achievement of Group objectives
– Help communication between executive
members
– Coordinate group media activities
– Provide a campaigning input into decision
making
 Group Board
• Reports to:
– Group
• Membership:
– Leader
– Deputy Leader
– Portfolio holders
– Group Chair
– Group Coordinator
– (Clerk: Group Assistant)
 Joint Board
• The Council’s “Board of Directors”
• Function:
– A meeting of the executive and the management team
– Provide political context for management decisions
– Co-ordinate strategic decision making & policy
development
– To monitor the achievement of council objectives
– Set-up, set the terms of reference & membership, and
receive reports from joint member/officer groups
– Agenda planning for Executive and Full Council
 Joint Board
• Reports to:
– Group Board (Members)
– CDMT (Officers)
• Membership:
– Leader, Deputy Leader & Portfolio holders
– Chief Executive & Corporate Directors
– Key Heads of Service
– (Clerk: Group Assistant & Executive Secretary*)
 Additional Issues
• Coordination of Joint Working
• Group Policy Development
• Officer Support
• Role of Portfolio Holders
 Coordination of Joint Working
• Joint Board will set-up, set the terms of reference
& membership, and receive reports from joint
member/officer groups
• This will help the Executive work with the officers
in a more coordinated way and ensure that we set
the agenda for joint working
• This will mean we can better cover:
– Policy development
– Overseeing key projects
– Monitoring of key themes
– E.g. Finance Group & Performance Group or
Swimming Pool Group
 Group Policy Development
• There is a need to strengthen the way the Group
develops policy
• Within this proposal there are two suggestions for
how we do this:
– Establish “Theme Groups” that meet regularly to
discuss issues
– To make space for this (and full Policy Group
meetings) every other Group meeting would have a
policy focus
• How do we fit this in with Scrutiny?
 Officer Support
• We should change the way Democratic Services
support the decision making process by
restructuring to create the post of Executive
Secretary
• This role would be:
– To clerk Executive, Joint Board, and member/officer
meetings
– To follow up the decisions of Executive & Joint Board
– To help portfolio holders with their role as Executive
members
• This would free up the Group Assistant to
concentrate on supporting the Group
 Role of Portfolio Holders
• The aim of this proposal is not to replace
the role of Portfolio Holders or restrict their
ability to act on their own initiative or shape
the agenda
• It is to provide a much more coordinated
and structured framework within which
they can operate
The Full Picture
 Scheduling
• This proposal should not create more meetings
• It should replace the current confused system of
OTEs & NTEs, various ad hoc meetings, and late
night emails we currently use
• The different bodies will meet on an alternate basis
over a 4 week cycle
• Meetings of one body will receive reports from
and refer issues to meetings of other bodies
• Thus it will be easier to track and follow up issues
and reports as they move from meeting to meeting
 A Four Week Cycle
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4

Group Group (Policy)

Group Board Group Board

Joint Board

Executive Executive
 The Decision Making Process
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Group Group
Group Group
(Policy) (Policy)

Group Group Group Group

Board Board Board Board

Joint Joint
Board Board

Exec Exec Exec Exec

 Summary
• Introduction of Group Board and Joint
Board
– Better communication and coordination
– More logical programme of meetings
– Clearer political accountability
• Greater emphasis on policy making by &
within the Group
• Better & more appropriate officer support
 Next Steps
• Approval by Group?
• Work up more detailed proposal with
officers
• First Group Board & Joint Board meetings
begin with new Executive
• Changes in staffing and officer procedures
phased in over summer