The New Chairs and Vice Chairs for 2012/13

I have just come straight from the Council’s Annual Meeting where the new overview and scrutiny chairs have been elected for the next 12 months.   You can find the terms of reference of the new boards in the agenda pack.

The chairs and vice chairs for 2012/13 are:

 People Overview & Scrutiny Board 

Chair:  Councillor Mike Day

Vice Chair: Councillor Jennifer Raynor

Places Overview & Scrutiny Board

Chair: Councillor John Newbury

Vice Chair: Councillor Ann Cook

 Stronger and Safer Communities Overview & Scrutiny Board

Chair: Councillor Uta Clay

Vice Chair: Councillor Clive Lloyd

The Overview and Scrutiny Programme Board will be chaired by the Chair of Council who is Councillor Des Thomas.

When I blogged the new chairs and vice chairs for the first time two years ago I said a little bit about what their roles were.  Here is what I said:

…. both the chairs and vice chairs have role descriptions which are part of the council’s rule book (a.k.a. the constitution). Here is the short version:

Chairs

• Provide leadership and direction – They promote a team approach, promote O&S more generally, develop the work programme and ensure that their board base their conclusions and recommendations on sound evidence
• Manage the work programme – They ensure that the work programme is delivered and report to Council and other meetings as required
• Effectively manage meetings– Set agendas, prepare for meetings and manage business during meetings
• Provide community leadership – Liaise with community groups and other agencies, identify community based issues and involve as wide a range of people as possible in the overview and scrutiny process
• Involve and develop board / committee members – To encourage high performance and lead training and development where needed

Vice Chairs

• Support the leadership role of the chair – They work in partnership with the chair and provide ongoing support and advice on all aspects of the work of the board
• Cover the role of the chair in the chair’s absence – If the chair is away or unavailable the vice chair has to be able to do all of the things that the chair does
• Lead specific activities – This can include leading a specific review or chairing task and finish groups and reporting back to the board

If you have anything you want to feed into the work of a particular board or if you have any ideas about issues they should be looking at, you can contact the chairs and let them know.

If you want to contact a chair or vice chair we will be updating the details on our web pages shortly.  In the meantime you can email scrutiny@swansea.gov.uk.

Phot credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/waleedalzuhair/4164311620/