Annual Council Meeting

21 May 2026

 

Report of the Director of Governance

 

Committee Arrangements, Allocation of Seats and Appointments to the Council Structure and Other Bodies for 2026/27, and Allocation of Motions

 

Summary

 

1.           At its Annual General Meeting, Full Council considers the allocation of seats on Committees and other bodies every year and makes appropriate appointments for the coming Municipal Year. This report sets out details of those arrangements, together with a proposed schedule of motions from Groups for consideration at ordinary meetings of Council, as required by the Council Procedure Rules.

 

2.           The distribution of seats on committees is allocated in accordance with the proportionality principles set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990.

 

3.           In accordance with the Local Government Act 2000 covering Executive arrangements, the Council Leader is responsible for appointing to the Councils Executive, an Executive cannot exceed 10 members. 

 

4.           The Annual Meeting must also approve a schedule of motions allocated to Groups for consideration at ordinary Council meetings.

 

Committee updates

 

5.         The Planning Policy Advisory Group was established in May 2025 and operates as an Executive Advisory Group. It is proposed that the group be renamed ‘Planning Policy and Local Plan Advisory Group’ and the Membership would be increased to eight Members, comprising four Labour Members, three Liberal Democrat Members, and one Conservative Member, with the Chair appointed from the Labour Group. Meetings would be held in public, include opportunities for public participation, and agendas and minutes would be published in accordance with access to information requirements.  Terms of reference for the group will be agreed at its first meeting in June 2026.

 

6.         The Health and Wellbeing Board (HWBB) will convene in fewer and distinct meeting formats for municipal year 2026/27. Currently the HWBB meets publicly a minimum of five times annually; it is proposed that going forward there instead be two public meetings, akin to the current format, and two non-public workshop meetings. This will mean the board will meet once per quarter, with half the meetings in public and half in private as strategic partnership sessions. There is no proposed change to the composition of the board.

 

Allocation of Seats

 

7.           Full Council is asked to approve appointments to those available seats to which the political balance rules must be applied, under the provisions of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Full details are contained in Annex A. 

 

Appointments to the Executive

 

8.           Council will be aware that it is the role of the Leader to appoint Executive Members.  Annex B1 sets out, for information, the Executive Members for 2026/2027, and their respective portfolios.

 

Appointments to Committees, Working Groups and Other Bodies

 

9.           Section 16(1) of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 provides:

 

“Where any relevant authority or any committee of a relevant authority have determined the allocation to different political groups of the seats on a body to which section 15 above applies, it shall be the duty of that authority or committee so to exercise their power to make appointments to that body as to give effect –

 

(a)     as soon as practicable after the determination; and

(b)     if a vacancy subsequently occurs on that body, as soon as practicable after the occurrence of the vacancy, to such wishes about who is to be appointed to the seats on that body which are allocated to a particular political group as are expressed by that group”.

 

10.        Consequently, where committee places are subject to group allocation and the group expresses its wishes, the Council is under a duty to give effect to those Group wishes. 

 

11.        In light of the group allocations of seats referred to above, Full Council is asked to note the group allocations to those Committees and other bodies set out in Annex B2, and to agree any non-Group vacancies which may exist.  Regarding future changes in Group nominations, Council is also asked to delegate authority to put such changes into effect, to the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer.

 

12.        These include various external bodies, together with Chairs and Vice Chairs of Committees (Annex B3) and membership of Ward Committees (Annex B5). These appointments will be made in accordance with nominations to be made by political groups.  

 

13.        Council will note from the proposed appointment to the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation that there is a request that Council waives the political balance requirements for that organisation.  Council is therefore asked to waive political balance in that case.

 

14.        Finally, ahead of the elections in May 2027 it is proposed that, in consultation with group leaders, that democratic services team review the current appointments to outside bodies.

 

Appointment of Substitutes

 

15.        The political proportionality calculations, and the allocation of seats to political Groups, do not take into account, or have any bearing on, the appointment of substitutes.  Groups are invited to appoint designated substitutes for committees, to ensure both quoracy and balance on those committees.  Any substitute appointed to either Planning Committee, or to the Licensing Committee, must have undertaken the requisite training prior to sitting on the committee in question.

 

 

 

 

Combined Authorities

 

16.        Details of places available to the Council in relation to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, are set out in Annex B4.

 

17.        Following a review of the West Yorkshire governance and committee framework approved in March 2026 (link to report here), this year’s nominations we will be different to previous years.  The Non-Constituent Council Combined Authority Board Member must be appointed by the City of York Council and is non-voting.  The CYC is not required to appoint to West Yorkshire’s Audit and Governance Committee.  With regards to the Scrutiny Committee, the Combined Authority must by law appoint: at least one Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and at least one Member to it from each Constituent Council and from the Non-Constituent Council.

 

18.        Each Constituent Council must nominate the number of Members to the committee set out in the table below (reflecting size), but cannot nominate: their Combined Authority Board Member (or substitute), a member they have nominated to a decision-making committee of the CA, or any Executive (or Cabinet) Member in their own Council.

 

Bradford

 4 Members

 4 Substitutes

Calderdale

 2 Members

 2 Substitutes

Kirklees

 3 Members

 3 Substitutes

Leeds

 4 Members

 4 Substitutes

Wakefield

 2 Members

 2 Substitutes

York

 1 Member

 1 Substitute

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Schedule of Motions

 

19.        A proposed schedule of allocation of motions to ordinary Council meetings is attached at Annex C to this report, in accordance with the requirements of the Council’s Constitution.  Members will note the revised allocation schedule following the adoption of revised Council Procedure Rules, at the meeting of Council held in November 2024, that saw the number of motions per meeting reduced from four to three.

 

 

Consultation

 

20.        In accordance with the usual process for gathering nominations to available places at the Annual Council Meeting, all party Groups have been consulted on and provided with the necessary information on available places.

 

Options

 

21.        Options open to the Council are:

 

a)           to approve the allocation of seats and proportionality to Committees and other bodies for 2026/27, waiving political balance rules for the Yorkshire Purchase Organisation place, and the delegation of approval of future changes to group allocations to the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer; or not approve the above and to propose alternatives.

 

b)           to make the appointments proposed at the meeting to Committees and other bodies set out in Annexes B and C, including the appointment of Chairs and Vice Chairs to Committees; or not make the appointments proposed and to propose alternatives.

 

Council Plan 2023-27

22.        Establishing an appropriate decision-making structure, is essential in providing a framework through which the Council can make decisions, relating to the delivery of its core priorities, effectively.

 

Implications

 

Financial

 

23.        Not applicable to this report.

 

Human Resources (HR)

 

24.        Not applicable to this report.

 

 

 

 

Equalities

 

25.        The Equality Act 2010 requires the Council when exercising its functions to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and other conduct prohibited under the Act; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. The protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

 

Legal Implications

 

26.        Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 imposes a duty on the Council to allocate seats on its ordinary and advisory committees to party groups, giving effect, “so far as is reasonably practicable”, to principles set out in the Act.  These principles are:

 

a)           Not all the seats on the body are allocated to the same political group;

 

b)           That the majority of the seats on the body is allocated to a particular political group if the number of persons belonging to that group is a majority of the authority’s membership;

 

c)           Subject to (a) and (b) above, that the number of seats on the ordinary committees of a relevant authority which are allocated to each political group bears the same proportion to the total of all the seats on the ordinary committees as is borne by the number of members of that group to the membership of the authority;

 

d)           Subject to (a) to (c) above, that the number of the seats on the body which are allocated to each political group bears the same proportion to the number of all the seats on that body as is borne by the number of members of that group to the membership of the authority.

 

27.        The Council is statutorily obliged to make appointments to committees, advisory committees, sub-committees, and certain other prescribed bodies in accordance with these political balance rules.  These rules may only be waived where no Member votes against the proposal. As with previous years, it is suggested that the rules be waived in relation to appointments to the Joint Standards Committee, in the interests of fairness, independence and equality on this Committee.

 

28.        A failure to meet the above legal requirements brings with it a risk of the Council operating with no agreed political management arrangements (in the form of a decision making and scrutiny structure) should Annual Council fail to make any such arrangements.

 

Crime and Disorder, Information Technology and Property

 

29.        Not applicable to this report.

 

Recommendations

 

30.      Members are asked to consider the recommendations and annexes attached to this report and:

 

(i)             Agree the allocation of seats in accordance with the arrangements set out in Annex A;

 

(ii)            Agree the delegation of approval of future changes to group allocations to the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer;

 

(iii)           Note the Leader of the Council has been elected for a term of four years from 2023 to 2027;

 

(iv)          Note the Executive appointments and respective portfolios;

 

(v)            Note the group nominations to Committees and other bodies, as well as appointments to Chairs and Vice-Chairs, as set out in this report and its annexes, together with details of any nominations and appointments which may be circulated prior to the meeting, in light of the Council’s duty to give effect to group nominations;

 

(vi)          Waive political balance requirements in respect of the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation place; and

 

(vii)         Note the allocation of motions for consideration at Ordinary Full Council meetings for the period 2026-2027 as set out in Annex C.

 

Reason:    To fulfil the Council’s statutory and constitutional requirements.

 

Contact details:

 

Author:

Chief Officer Responsible for the report:

 

 

Julie Gallagher,

Head of Democratic Services

 

julie.gallagher@york.gov.uk

 

Janie Berry

Bryn Roberts,

Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer

 

 

 

Report Approved

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Date

13 May 2026

 

 

Specialist Implications Officer(s): None

 

 

Wards Affected:

 

All

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For further information please contact the author of the report

 

 

Annexes:

 

·        Annex A – Allocation of seats 2026/2027

·        Annex B1 – Executive Members and Portfolios 2026/2027

·        Annex B2 – Appointments to Committees, Sub Committees and Working Groups 2026/2027

·        Annex B3 – Chairs and Vice Chairs 2026/2027

·        Annex B4 – Appointments to Outside Bodies 2026/2027

·        Annex B5 – Appointments to Ward Committees 2026/2027

·        Annex C – Allocation of Motions 2026/2027