Co-opted members of Shropshire County Council
Co-opted members (or 'co-optees') are people who are not Shropshire County Councillors who have been invited to sit on a Shropshire County Council committee. In February 2005, Council agreed that permanent co-optees should be recruited to all scrutiny panels as an area of good practice identified by the Centre for Public Scrutiny. The Local Government Act also takes account of the role that co-optees can play in scrutiny.
Co-optees are invited to sit on committees for a number of reasons:
- they may provide an independent, non-political voice;
- they may possess particular skills or experience which will broaden the knowledge base of the committee;
- they may represent hard to reach, under-represented groups, specific communities of interest or service users who would otherwise not be able to influence decision making.
Co-optees play an important role in the work of scrutiny panels and other committees, providing external challenge and adding value through their skills and experiences. Their roles and responsibilities are as follows:
- to attend scheduled meetings and other meetings as required;
- play an active role in contributing to the discussion of topics and issues;
- to listen to other points of view, being non-judgemental and respecting confidentiality;
- consult with any relevant groups in order to ensure that proposed policies reflect their views.
Please follow the links on this page for details of co-optees sitting on each committee.
