Commentary on Sections Section 12 – Composition of transition committees
25.Section 12 makes provision for the composition of the transition committees. A transition committee is to be made up of representatives of the merging authorities. There must be an equal number of members from each merging authority on the committee, with a minimum number of 5 members per authority. The total number of members must be agreed by the merging authorities, but where an agreement cannot be reached, the Welsh Ministers will determine the size of the committee. The executive leader of each of the merging authorities must be a member of the transition committee; and where the executive leader of an authority does not have executive responsibility for finance, both the executive member responsible for finance and the executive leader must be appointed to the transition committee by the merging authority in question. A transition committee may co-opt additional persons to serve as members on the committee, but without voting rights. A merging authority’s membership of a transition committee must reflect the political balance of the merging authority, in accordance with the requirements set out in Schedule 1 to the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.