To note the appointment of Councillor Dann as Chair of the Lord Mayor Selection and Advisory Committee for municipal year 2025/26.

The Committee agreed to note the appointment of Councillor Dann as Chair for municipal year 2025/26.

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2025.

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 13 February 2025 as an accurate record.

The Chair explained:

a)    The meeting had been called following discussions during Committee meetings in the 2024/25 municipal year around Lord Mayor nominations, and to consider the topic ahead of the upcoming Local Government reorganisation (LGR) changes.

During the discussion, the following concerns were raised;

b)    The importance of all political parties being permitted to submit nominations each year;

c)    The need to respect the process and the Lord Mayor’s Selection and Advisory Committee’s recommendation to Council;

d)    The importance of the Committee remaining politically proportionate;

e)    The pressure on Council officers of having a Lord Mayor designate who is up for election, fail to get re-elected, and another nomination needing to be sought;

f)     If all-out elections were introduced, every year the nomination would be of a Councillor who was up for re-election;

g)    Possibility of deputy Lord Mayor designates being prepared to be nominated for Lord Mayor, should the original nominee be unsuccessful at the election that year;

h)    Importance of clarification on the process before LGR.

The following was clarified during the discussion:

i)     If a second Lord Mayor Selection and Advisory Committee had to be held after an election, but before the AGM, the proportionality of membership would remain unchanged;

j)     If a second Lord Mayor Selection and Advisory Committee had to be held after an election, all political groups would be able to submit a nomination;

k)    Once a nomination had been agreed at Council, this could not be changed through another meeting of the Lord Mayor Selection and Advisory Committee;

l)     The Lord Mayor had to be a Councillor;

m)  The Deputy Lord Mayor could be of a different political party to the Lord Mayor.

The Committee discussed the following suggestions to political groups around nominations:

n)    Be mindful that it was preferable that nominations were of Councillors who were not up for election that year;

o)    Within political groups, a second nomination could be made to put forward should the Lord Mayor designate be from that party, and be unsuccessful at that years’ election;

p)    Be mindful that nominees were Councillors who had served at least 24 months as a Councillor by the time they would take the office of the Lord Mayor and also apply this to the Deputy Lord Mayor;

q)    Nominees should have undertaken all mandatory training.

The Committee agreed to:

1. Ask officers to research nomination guidance of other Councils;
   
   
2. Ask officers to research any nomination guidance of NACO (National Association of Civic Officers);
   
   
3. Ask the Chair to write a letter to the leaders of political groups to ask them to be mindful of those who were up for election and length of service when putting forward nominations which would be sent before 05 December 2025.