[Liz Finnigan]

Hi Alexandra,

Here in Durham County Council we have 29 co-optees, who have recently been recruited for a period of 2 years. We used a process of recruitment which existing co-optees fed into, resulting in the development of a protocol for the appointment of non-voting co-optees. Each applicant was required to complete an application form, supply references, and attend an interview.

We have 6 non-voting co-optees per committee (excepting Corporate Issues Scrutiny Committee.) In additon we have voting co-optees - Faith representatives and Parent Governor reps, who serve on the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, and the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Committee.

They are public reps, but often have specialist knowledge and experience which is used in the criteria of who to appoint to which committee.

We have only recently changed our recruitment procedure and found it very successful, both the process and the appointments. If you'd like a copy of our protocol, please get in touch and we can email.