Commentary on Sections Part 4: Local Authority Executives, Members, Officers And Committees Section 60 - Job-sharing: non-executive offices in principal councils
330.Section 60 provides the Welsh Ministers with a power to make regulations for the purpose of facilitating or enabling job-sharing in a “principal council office”.
331.Subsection (2) lists the principal council offices in respect of which regulations may be made, and they include the key offices provided for in Part 2 of the 1972 Act (such as chair, presiding member etc.), chair or vice-chair etc. of a committee or sub-committee, or deputy mayor. This means the provision does not apply to any office to which a person is elected by the public.
332.The Welsh Ministers’ power under this new section is not limited to enabling job-sharing in those offices. Regulations may also include provision regarding how job-sharing arrangements in those offices are to operate, including how certain functions may be exercised in a shared office. The Welsh Ministers may also, in regulations, require principal councils to facilitate job-sharing by removing any barriers contained in, for example, the authority’s standing orders.
333.Subsection (5) requires principal councils to have regard to any guidance issued by the Welsh Ministers to support regulations made under this section.