Issue - meetings

On a motion from Councillor Grant Johnson, seconded by Councillor Robin Moss, it was

RESOLVED that

Council notes:

1.  That analysis of the 2019 Local Election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 35% of councillors in England are women, up 1% since 2018.  Of the seats that were up for election in 2019, 35% went to women, up just 3 percentage points on 2015 when these seats were last contested.

2.  As of October 2019, 27 councils have passed the LGA Labour Group’s Parental Leave policy, and an additional 9 councils have their own parental leave policy in place.

3.  In 2019, the LGA co-produced the 21st Century Councils Equalities Toolkit with MHCLG. The toolkit recommends that councils adopt a parental leave policy, and they link to the LGA Labour’s Parental Leave policy as a model to adopt.

Council believes:

4.  That the role of a councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy is a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become councillors, and is also a step to encourage existing councillors who may want to start a family to remain as councillors.

5.  That parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender, and that it should also cover adoption leave to support those parents who choose to adopt.

Council therefore resolves:

6.  To adopt the parental leave policy (attached) to give all councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting.

7.  To ensure that councillors with children and other caring commitments are supported as appropriate.

8.  To provide the leadership to support town and parish councils to adopt a similar approach.

9.  To request that the Constitution Working Group consider the matter of proxy voting or another form of remote voting for councillors who are on parental leave, and whether that should be extended to councillors absent for other reasons (e.g. long-term sickness), and to report back to Council by the next Annual Meeting with proposals, or reasons for not bringing proposals, to allow councillors to fulfil their voting rights while absent.

10.To request that the Corporate Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel consider the matter of how the role of casework could be undertaken while a councillor is on parental leave or absent for other reasons (e.g. long-term sickness), and to report back to Council by the next Annual Meeting with proposals, or reasons for not bringing proposals.

[Notes;

1.  The above resolution was carried with 44 Councillors voting in favour and 12 Councillors abstaining.]