(12 members, 6 from Cherwell District Council
and 6 from South Northamptonshire Council, unnamed
substitutes)
The Joint Commissioning Committee is
established pursuant to the Section 113 agreement between Cherwell
District Council and South Northamptonshire Council dated 9
December 2010 as amended by Deeds of Variation dated 28 July 2011
and 20 May 2015 and the final shared services and confederation
business case approved by both Councils on 23 February 2015 and 25
February 2015.
The Joint Commissioning Committee's remit
is to have overall responsibility for the provision, to the
adopting councils, of shared services arrangements both in respect
of services the Councils have direct responsibility for and
services provided to the Councils via the confederation company and
its delivery units (if established).
Membership of the Joint Commissioning
Committee is 12 members (who should not be directors of the
confederation or its delivery units (if established) from each of
the councils, currently this is 6 from Cherwell District Council
and 6 from South Northamptonshire Council and will be reviewed if
another council was admitted to the shared working programme and confederation (if established).
Political balance will apply to the appointment of members by each
of the Councils.
The quorum for the committee is four
voting members of which at least two must be from Cherwell District
Council and two from South Northamptonshire Council.
Functions
•
To have responsibility for and to take any decision on
staffing matters, (other than those delegated to officers) and any
other non-executive decisions function specifically delegated to
the committee by the respective councils, for any shared
service established for the councils
(including those shared services provided via the confederation
company and its delivery units if established).
•
To have responsibility for and to take any executive
decisions (other than those delegated to officers), specifically
delegated to it by the respective Executive arrangements of the
councils with regard to any shared service established for the
councils (including those shared services provided via the
confederation company and its delivery units if
established).
•
To ensure that any shared service meets the requirements of
the councils in furthering the objectives of their respective
corporate plans.
•
To set and monitor performance standards and budgets for
shared services, (including those provided by the confederation
company and its delivery units if established), providing
intervention where required.
•
Through their commissioning officers to manage (on behalf
of the councils) their contracts and arrangements for service
delivery (including with the confederation if
established).
Shared Management
In the case of shared Chief Officer
posts:
•
To act as the interviewing panel for the Head of Paid
Service (Chief Executive), making recommendations to the councils
for formal appointment.
•
To act as the interviewing panel and appoint chief officers
(currently Directors and Heads of Service) working across the
councils (NB. Anyone involved in the decision for a particular post
must be present throughout the entire interview
process).
Shared Posts
Where a business case has been agreed by
the councils and a decision made to share a service between them
(including via the confederation company and its delivery units if
established) to:
•
Agree posts to be declared
‘at risk’, and to approve dismissal, including
compulsory or voluntary redundancy and the exercise of
discretionary awards to any post where costs are shared or are
going to be shared. This excludes the dismissal of the Head of Paid
Service, the Chief Finance Officer or the Monitoring Officer on the
grounds of misconduct which must be the subject of a resolution of
the relevant full Council following compliance with the procedure
set out in the Officer Employment Procedure Rules.
•
Determine the terms and conditions of employment of any
posts where costs are shared or are going to be shared.
•
Determine and review all policies affecting the employment
of staff in posts where costs are shared or going to be
shared.
•
Approve the creation of new posts where this is an increase
to the establishment and there is no budget where costs are shared
or are going to be shared.
•
Approve any restructuring of teams involving more than five
posts where costs are shared or are going to be shared.
Statutory Officer Discipline
The
role and responsibilities of the Joint Commissioning Committee with
regard to Statutory Officer disciplinary action is to:
·
Deal with minor instances of unsatisfactory conduct
at an early stage.
·
Ensure that the Statutory Officer clearly
understands the standards of conduct expected of
him/her.
·
Carry out, or make arrangements for, an
investigation when any breach of discipline is alleged.
·
Ensure that the Statutory Officer subject to
investigation is kept up-to-date with progress.
·
Decide, in the most serious cases whether or not to
suspend or (where the Statutory Officer has already been suspended
by the Head of Paid Service or Monitoring Officer under their
delegated powers) to continue the suspension of the Statutory
Officer, in accordance with the Statutory Officer disciplinary
policy.
•
Report to Full Council (of the employing authority) in
respect of a recommendation to dismiss, having convened a Panel
comprising Independent Persons in accordance with the Officer
Employment Procedure Rules.