Vacant Scrutiny Chair position to go to Plaid Cymru

Wrexham Council have said Plaid Cymru will get the vacant Chair position on a council Scrutiny committee.

Last week we reported how a second meeting to sort out various roles at Wrexham Council ended with one key vacancy still open.

The report from officers to councillors indicated that there is no rush for a nomination, as: “The remaining chair has to be appointed by the relevant scrutiny committee from either the Plaid Cymru or Liberal Democrat group members on that committee as neither of these groups has an automatic entitlement to that chair when the Guidance is applied”.

As we noted Section 67 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 explains if the committee should make the appointment or not, as the various criteria for that route appearing not to be applicable in Wrexham, raising the question of if a third meeting would be required.

We asked Wrexham Council what procedure would be used, if the report itself was correct putting it to committee, or if a ‘write in’ is possible up to today as per membership deadlines, or as above, would a third meeting would be required.

Wrexham Council told us that the reason no third meeting was required, and also why the bump back to committee was apparently valid, was because ‘political allocation of seats was agreed in principle at the meeting on 22 May’ and this included the allocation of Chairs of Scrutiny Committees one of which was to be an appointment by the Scrutiny Committee but allocated to either a Plaid Cymru or Liberal Democrat Member.

Pointing to Appendix 2 to the report considered by councillors, the council noted the appointment of Chair to the only vacant Scrutiny Chair role will be determined at the first meeting of that Committee.

It was explained that in practice the Plaid Cymru nominee will be the only qualifying candidate under the allocation as there is no Liberal Democrat member appointed to that Committee.

The council says this reflects the practice adopted in previous years.

We asked if that determination at committee would require ratification at a future council meeting, and was told no further ratification would be required.