The Governance Committee of the Council of the Isles of Scilly were scheduled to meet on 17 June 2025 to elect a chair and vice-chair, and to consider the Council's Annual Governance Statement.

Annual Governance Statement

The committee was scheduled to consider the Council of the Isles of Scilly Annual Governance Statement (AGS). The AGS is an annual report that assesses the effectiveness of the council's governance arrangements¹. The report pack included a draft of the AGS report, and the final AGS for 2024-25.

Prior Meeting Minutes

The committee was scheduled to review the minutes of their previous meeting held on 29 April 2025. During that meeting, the following topics were scheduled for discussion:

Capital and Properties Board Terms of Reference

The Strategic Director for Place Economy and Environment presented a report regarding the Capital and Properties Board Terms of Reference. Councillor J Williams supported quarterly meetings with the option to call further meetings if necessary. He was concerned that discussions at the board were behind closed doors, but acknowledged the board's usefulness for longer and wider debates. The Vice-Chairman encouraged members to attend the board meetings. The Monitoring Officer suggested amending the terms of reference to allow the board to make direct recommendations to persons other than the Council. The committee resolved to recommend that the Council approve the terms of reference of the Capital and Properties Board, including amendments regarding the frequency of meetings and who it reports to.

Health and Wellbeing Board and Integrated Care Partnership

The Monitoring Officer presented a report on the Council of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board and the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Partnership (CIOSICP). The recommendation was to decouple the board and return to a standalone Health and Wellbeing Board for the Council of the Isles of Scilly, due to concerns that local health issues were being overshadowed by Cornwall-centric work. A key issue was quoracy for the Board, especially with mainland attendees and potential adverse weather limiting their ability to attend and vote.

Councillor J Williams felt that the original issues of quoracy and mainland attendee availability remained unsolved. He wanted a wider interpretation of wellbeing to include children, suggesting the inclusion of the Lead Member for Children as a position of equal importance to the Lead Member for Adults. He also felt that the membership of the CIOSICP as a committee-in-common was weighted too heavily in favour of Cornwall.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed the imbalance in membership numbers in Cornwall Council's favour but said this was reasonable as the CIOSICP also served as the Cornwall Council Health and Wellbeing Board. She noted that the CIOSICP terms of reference recommend that the Lead Member for Adults be the chairman of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board to provide a link between the two bodies.

Councillor J Williams questioned why Cornwall Council could have both their Lead Member for Children and their Lead Member for Adults on the CIOSICP, but Scilly could not. The Chief Executive said that he attended the workshops and the events were officer-driven.

The Monitoring Officer said that voting protocols for the CIOSICP dictate that consensus is the default position to pass recommendations and that where consensus could not be obtained each member had a vote which gave the islands a vote on the Cornwall Health and Wellbeing Board matters as well as ICP matters which was unusual and quite unique.

She suggested that representations be made to the CIoS ICB² and Cornwall Council to include the Lead Member for Children in addition to the Lead Member for Adults.

Councillor J Peacock suggested amending the quoracy of the meeting of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board to establish that it be 1 elected member of the council, plus any 2 other members, and any 1 of the officers stated in 18.3.

The Monitoring Officer asked that a further proposal be considered to permit either the Lead Member for Children or the Lead Member for Adults to be the Chairman of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board, and that the Board make representations to the CIoS ICB and Cornwall Council to increase the membership of the Council of the Isles of Scilly on the aligned Cornwall Council Health and Wellbeing Board and CIoS Integrated Care Partnership to also include the Lead Member for Children.

The committee resolved that:

• The quoracy of the meeting of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board be amended to establish that it be 1 elected member of the council, plus any 2 other members, plus any 1 of the officers stated in 18.3.
• Either the Lead Member for Children or the Lead Member for Adults be the Chairman of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board, and that the Board make representations to the CIoS ICB and Cornwall Council to increase the membership of the Council of the Isles of Scilly on the aligned Cornwall Council Health and Wellbeing Board and CIoS Integrated Care Partnership to also include the Lead Member for Children.
• With the above amendment the proposed Terms of Reference for both the Council of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board and the Cornwall Health and Wellbeing Board and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Partnership (as a Committee in Common) be recommended to Full Council to approve them for inclusion in the Council's Standing Orders to come into effect from 20 May 2025.
• Delegated authority be provided to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Director for Adult Social Services, to make any final minor amendments to the Terms of Reference for the Cornwall Health and Wellbeing Board and the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Partnership (as a Committee in Common) including accommodating minor changes as necessary received from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board and Cornwall Council resulting from their own governance approval processes.

Member Training 2025

The Officer: Member Liaison presented a report on Member Training for 2025. The Chief Executive explained that he had drafted a training schedule for the new administration, noting that one event would be led by the Local Government Association and other sessions by local officers. Councillor J Williams said the schedule looked good and he was looking forward to attending as many events as he could. The Chief Executive said that the IT department were being consulted and that there was a need for training to be hybrid in addition to face-to-face meetings. The committee noted the overview of councillor training legal requirements and the intended training schedule for members in 2025.

Review of Standing Orders and Constitutional Overview 2025

The Monitoring Officer presented a report on the Review of Standing Orders and Constitutional Overview 2025. She said that the procedural standing orders, the Terms of Reference for Council and its Committees, the Lead Member Role Profiles and the Members' Scheme of Allowances were reviewed and amendments suggested, whereas the other constitutional documents would be reviewed throughout the coming 12-18 months. The Vice-Chairman requested that the Member Handbook be updated and reinstated. Councillor S Watt noted that there was no role profile for all the chairman roles, only some.

Councillor J Williams wanted to broaden out Standing Order 20 to give respect to all persons speaking, not just the chairman of the meeting. He also asked for clarification around the provision for Standing Order 20.4 that enables a councillor who has lost their seat at an election to remain as Chairman of Council until the next chairman is elected. He also added that the role profile for Lead Member for Adults should be broadened to be more inclusive of wellbeing as it relates to children, and that the Lead Member for Children role be more inclusive of public health as it relates to children. He also added that mention of 'One Vision' be removed as it was defunct.

The Monitoring Officer explained that Standing Order 20.4 was still correct and was provided for in the Local Government Act 1972³ to ensure there remained leadership of a Council until a new Chair was elected and was a common standing order across all local authorities constitutions.

Councillor Williams expressed the view that the Lead Member for Adults and Public Health be changed to the Lead Member for Adults and that the responsibility for public health be reflected in both role profiles for the Lead Member for Children and the Lead Member for Adults.

The Chairman felt that the Lead Member for Finance role should be distinct from the Vice-Chairman of Council role as the de-facto qualification consideration. The Chief Executive remarked that it was common practice for the vicechairman or deputy leader of a local authority to hold that position or a similar position relating to finances or resources. The Vice-Chairman agreed that the relationships built during the course of business attended by the Vice-Chairman of Council usually involved broad economic discussions held in different forums and so the role was useful in that regard.

Councillor H Legg said that the role be elected in its own right and that the role profile of the Vice-Chairman of Council be amended to remove the Lead Member for Finance role, and that a bepoke role profile be set for it.

Councillor Mrs A Mumford proposed this and Councillor H Legg seconded this, and the vote was passed.

Councillor J Peacock remarked that the provision for off-island membership on the Governance Committee terms of reference may lead to difficulties in forming a quorum. Councillor H Legg agreed that it should be removed.

Councillor Mrs A Mumford proposed that the quoracy for Council meetings should be reduced from the 50% held at 8 members, down to 7 members. This was proposed by Councillor Mrs A Mumford and seconded by the Vice-Chairman, and the vote was lost.

Councillor J Williams noted that during the 2020 pandemic rules were relaxed on virtual voting, and he asked where the rules were with regard to that in legislation currently. The Monitoring Officer replied that such considerations were with government currently, following a public consultation which this Council had responded to, but no further update had been received.

The Chairman felt that the quoracy for the Governance Committee be reduced to 4 members, so as to bring it in line with the Scrutiny Committee, and also that the terms of reference of the Governance Committee be amended to remove the need for an off-island member at each meeting. This was proposed by Councillor H Legg and seconded by the Vice-Chairman, and the vote was passed.

Councillor Mrs A Mumford also requested that mention of the Community Safety Partnership be amended to say 'Safer Scilly'.

The Vice-Chairman noted that the increased activity around the role of the Isles of Scilly Health and Wellbeing Board should be considered for a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA). The Monitoring Officer pointed out that the recommendations of the review into Members Allowances had only very recently been implemented and there was no consideration given to the chairmanship of the Health and Wellbeing Board as it didn't exist at the time of the review.

She also said that she would undertake a review of the terms of references of committees to remove any defunct names or organisations listed.

The Monitoring Officer also reminded Members that from the previous agenda item that the Chair for the Health and Wellbeing Board be changed to read that it either be the Lead Member for Adults or the Lead Member for Children.

The committee resolved that:

• Following consideration of the report and its appendices the recommended changes to the Council's Standing Orders highlighted in the report and shown by way of tracked changes in the appendices, subject to the proposed amendments made by the Committee and highlighted in the minutes, and it be recommended to Council that the aforementioned changes be approved.
• That, for clarity, the approach of combining all of the listed documents contained at paragraph 6 of the report into a single document called the Standing Orders of the Isles of Scilly be endorsed and it be recommended to Council that this approach is approved.