The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority Regulations 2025

Regulation 4

SCHEDULE 1 Constitution

Membership

1.—(1) Each constituent council must appoint three of its elected members to be members of the Combined County Authority.

(2) Each constituent council must appoint one of the persons appointed under paragraph (1) to be the lead member for that council.

(3) Each constituent council must appoint another three of its elected members who may act as members of the Combined County Authority in the absence of any of the members they appointed under sub-paragraph (1) (“substitute member”).

(4) Only one substitute member may act as a member of the Combined County Authority in the absence of each absent member appointed under sub-paragraph (1) at any time.

(5) A person ceases to be a member or substitute member of the Combined County Authority if they cease to be a member of the constituent council that appointed them.

(6) A person may resign as a member or substitute member of the Combined County Authority by written notice served on the proper officer of the constituent council that appointed them, and the resignation takes effect on receipt of the notice by the proper officer of the council.

(7) Where the appointment of a member or substitute member of the Combined County Authority ceases by virtue of sub-paragraph (5) or (6) the constituent council that made the appointment must, as soon as practicable, give written notice of that fact to the Combined County Authority and appoint another of its elected members in that person’s place.

(8) A constituent council may at any time terminate the appointment of a member or substitute member appointed by it to the Combined County Authority and appoint another one of its elected members in that person’s place.

(9) Where a constituent council exercises its power under sub-paragraph (8), it must give written notice of the new appointment and the termination of the previous appointment to the Combined County Authority and the new appointment takes effect and the previous appointment terminates at the end of one week from the date on which the notice is given or such longer period not exceeding one month as is specified in the notice.

(10) The term “proper officer” in this paragraph is to be construed as a reference to an officer appointed by the relevant constituent council for that purpose.

Non-constituent and associate members

2.—(1) The Combined County Authority must have no more than six (in total) non-constituent members and associate members.

(2) Each nominating body of the Combined County Authority must nominate another person to act as the member of the Combined County Authority in the absence of the member appointed under section 11(3) of the 2023 Act (non-constituent members of a CCA).

(3) An associate member appointed under section 12(1) of the 2023 Act (associate members of a CCA) must nominate another person to act as a member of the Combined County Authority in their absence.

Chair and vice-chair

3.—(1) The Combined County Authority must in its first year and in each alternate year thereafter, appoint a chair and a vice-chair from among its constituent members(1) and the appointments are to be the first business transacted after the appointment of members of the Combined County Authority, at the first meeting of the Combined County Authority, and in subsequent years at a biennial meeting of the Combined County Authority.

(2) An appointment under paragraph (1) may include a reappointment.

(3) The chair and vice-chair must not have been appointed by the same constituent council.

(4) A person ceases to be chair or vice-chair of the Combined County Authority if they cease to be a member of the Combined County Authority.

(5) If a vacancy arises in the office of chair or vice-chair, an appointment to fill the vacancy is to be made at the next ordinary meeting of the Combined County Authority, or, if that meeting is to be held within 14 days of the vacancy arising, at the meeting following that meeting.

Proceedings

4.—(1) Subject to the following sub-paragraphs, any question to be decided by the Combined County Authority is to be decided by a majority of the members and substitute members, acting in place of members, present and voting on that question at a meeting of the Combined County Authority.

(2) No business shall be transacted at a meeting of the Combined County Authority unless at least four members or substitute members acting in a member’s place are present at the meeting.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), one of the members present must be the chair or vice chair.

(4) Each member, or substitute member acting in a member’s place, is to have one vote and no member or substitute member is to have a casting vote.

(5) If a vote is tied on any matter it shall be deemed not to have been carried.

(6) Questions relating to the following matters require that both the members appointed under paragraph 1(2) are in the majority, to be carried—

(a) approval or amendment of the Combined County Authority’s budget;

(b) appointment of the Combined County Authority’s chief executive;

(c) adoption of any local transport plan under section 108(3) of the Transport Act 2000(2);

(d) approval or amendment of the Combined County Authority’s constitution or standing orders;

(e) approval or amendment of such other plans and strategies as may be determined by the Combined County Authority and set out in its constitution or standing orders.

(7) For questions relating to the following matters, the majority under sub-paragraph (1) must include the member appointed under paragraph 1(2), or where any substitute member is acting in place of that member, that substitute member, of the constituent council in whose area the function is to be exercised—

(a) any exercise by the Combined County Authority of any of its functions in a way which could result in a financial liability falling on a constituent council;

(b) approval of such other plans and strategies as may be determined by the Combined County Authority and set out in its constitution or standing orders.

(8) The proceedings of the Combined County Authority are not invalidated by any vacancy among its members or substitute members or by any defect in the appointment or qualifications of any member or substitute member.

Remuneration

5.  Except as provided by paragraphs 6, 7 and 8, no remuneration or allowances are to be payable by the Combined County Authority to its members, other than allowances for travel and subsistence paid in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Combined County Authority.

6.  The Combined County Authority may pay an allowance to—

(a) members of the overview and scrutiny committee and any sub-committee of that committee;

(b) members of the audit committee.

7.—(1) The Combined County Authority may only pay an allowance to the people listed in paragraph 6 if—

(a) the Combined County Authority has—

(i) established an independent remuneration panel under article 16 of the Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017(3), and

(ii) considered a report published by the independent remuneration panel established under sub-paragraph (a) which contains recommendations for such an allowance, and

(b) the allowance paid does not exceed the amount specified in the recommendation made by the independent remuneration panel.

(2) Article 16(2)(a) of the Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017 applies in relation to the Combined County Authority as if after “sub-committee of that authority” there were inserted “or a member of a constituent council or a member of a district council”.

8.  A constituent council may, in accordance with its own scheme of allowances, pay a special responsibility allowance to any constituent member appointed by it to the Combined County Authority in respect of duties and responsibilities undertaken as a member of the Combined County Authority.

9.  The Combined County Authority must appoint an independent person(4) to be the chair of the overview and scrutiny committee appointed by the Combined County Authority.

Records

10.—(1) The Combined County Authority must make arrangements for the names of members and substitute members present at any meeting of the Combined County Authority to be recorded.

(2) Minutes of the proceedings of a meeting of the Combined County Authority, or any committee or sub-committee of the Combined County Authority, are to be kept in such form as the Combined County Authority may determine.

(3) Any such minutes are to be signed at the same or next suitable meeting of the Combined County Authority, committee or sub-committee as the case may be, by the person presiding at that meeting.

(4) Any minute purporting to be signed as mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) is to be received in evidence without further proof.

(5) Until the contrary is proved, a meeting of the Combined County Authority, committee or sub-committee, a minute of whose proceedings has been signed in accordance with this paragraph, is deemed to have been duly convened and held, and all the members and substitute members present at the meeting are deemed to have been duly qualified.

(6) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) the next suitable meeting is the next following meeting or, where standing orders made by the Combined County Authority provide for another meeting of the authority, committee or sub-committee to be regarded as suitable, either the next following meeting or that other meeting.

Standing orders

11.  The Combined County Authority may make standing orders for the regulation of its proceedings and business and may vary or revoke any such orders.

(1)

The term “constituent member” is defined in section 13(4) of the 2023 Act.

(2)

2000 c. 38. Section 108(3) was substituted by section 9 of the Local Transport Act 2008 (c. 26).

(3)

S.I. 2017/68. Article 16 was inserted by S.I. 2024/430.

(4)

Conditions to be satisfied to be an “independent person” are set out in article 5 of the Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2017.