Executive	9 December 2021
Report of the Director of Governance Portfolio of the Executive Leader

Lord Mayoralty 2022/23

Summary

1. The purpose of this report is to invite the Executive to consider the points system for the annual nomination of the Lord Mayor for the City of York Council. The Executive will be asked to formally confirm those with the most points to qualify for nomination of the Lord Mayor for the next approaching municipal year, 2022/2023.

Recommendations

2.      Members are asked to:

(i) consider the accumulated points system as set out in paragraphs 3-6 below; and to

(ii) invite Councillor Warters to consider accepting the nomination for Lord Mayor for 2022/2023, in line with the accumulated points system.

Reason: To ensure that the Council adopts an appropriate method by which to nominate Lord Mayors for Office.

Background

3. The system for nominating the Lord Mayor is based on an accumulation of points determined by the number of seats held by each particular group on the Council.  The group having the largest cumulative total of points on Lord Mayor’s Day each year is invited to nominate the Lord Mayor for the following year.  A group loses 47 points when nominating the Lord Mayor.  It should be noted that currently a nominee for Lord Mayor requires at least five years’ service as a City of York Councillor, or four years in an election year (see minute 74 of the Executive Meeting on 29 November 2018).

Current Points System

4. Should a group lose all its seats on the City Council, it may have any accumulated points frozen until seats are once again gained by that group on the Council.

5.      Under the current points system, the number of points accumulated by each group or independent Member, as we move towards the Annual Meeting in May 2022, is as follows:

PARTY	POINTS at LM Day 2021	LOSS FOR LM	POINTS at LM Day 2022*	Total
Labour	-16		-16 + 17	1
Lib Dem	28	-47	-19 + 21	2
Green	-3		-3 + 3	0
Conservatives	3		3 + 2	5
York Independents	4		4 + 2	6
Councillor Warters (Independent)	9		9 + 1	10
Councillor D Taylor (Independent)	1		1 + 1	2

*Note: In view of the Covid 19 Pandemic, there was no Annual Meeting in May 2020 and the previous year’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Looker, was asked to serve a consecutive second term of office.  The Council’s points system then became operational again as of May 2021 when the current Lord Mayor assumed Office for the current Municipal Year 22/22.

6.      The above table shows that Councillor Warters, with a total of 10 points, will qualify for the Lord Mayoralty in 2022/2023 under the existing points system.  Councillor Warters has indicated that he would like to consider his position closely over the Christmas break.  Given that the nomination for 2022/23 goes to him as an individual independent member, there is sufficient time into the New Year before proceeding with the traditional practices of announcing a Lord Mayor Elect.

7.      Traditionally, the outgoing Lord Mayor assumes the mantle of Deputy Lord Mayor following their year in office. This is to ensure there is an experienced Member to chair meetings of Full Council, should the incumbent Lord Mayor be absent for any Council meetings during their term. Otherwise, the role of Deputy Lord Mayor is very minimal, given that the civic standing of York requires it to have a Sherriff to work alongside and share duties with the Lord Mayor during their year of office.

Options

8.    Under the existing points system, the available option to Members is:

To invite Councillor Warters to consider accepting the nomination of Lord Mayor for the Municipal Year 2022/2023 based on the existing accumulated points system, set out in paragraphs 3-7 above.

Analysis

9.      The nomination of a Lord Mayor is an annual event which is undertaken by way of a points system to ensure a fair and robust outcome.  This system has been in place for some considerable time and has operated successfully in terms of rotating the role and honour of becoming Lord Mayor on a cross party basis.

Council Plan 2019 - 23

10. The appointment of the Lord Mayor in York is a fundamental part of the city’s continuing historic traditions. The role of Lord Mayor is firmly enshrined in the Council’s Constitution, as an ambassador for the city and its cultural and economic ambitions.  As such, the appointee will promote all of the Council’s priorities.

Implications

11.    There are no direct implications in relation to financial, human resources, legal or equalities arising from the recommendations in this report.

Risk Management

12.    Failure to appoint a Lord Mayor in the second most traditional city outside of London could have a significant impact on the Council’s reputation in terms of maintaining its civic heritage. It is important that an equitable and robust system is applied to the nomination process.

Contact Details
Author:	Chief Officer Responsible for the report:
Dawn Steel Head of Civic, Democratic & Scrutiny Services Tel No. 01904 551030	Janie Berry Director of Governance
	Report Approved	√	Date	23.11.21
Wards Affected:  All					√
For further information please contact the authors of the report

Background Papers/Annexes: None