Committee details

(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.