1.    that a Torbay Council Holding Company Shareholder Panel be established with Membership and Terms of Reference as set out in Appendix 1 to the submitted report; and

2.    that the Chief Executive (Anne-Marie Bond) be appointed as the Council’s Shareholder Designated Representative.

The Torbay Council Holding Company Shareholder Panel was required to set the objectives of the Board and ensure the performance of the company and safeguard the Council’s investment.

To retain the existing SWISCo Shareholder Panel, due to the scale of the work covered by the Panel.  This option was not recommended as it would add another meeting/Panel and may lose consistency of having a single Panel providing oversight of all the Wholly Owned Companies and their subsidiaries. 

This decision will come into force and may be implemented on 28 September 2026 unless the call-in procedure is triggered (as set out in the Standing Orders in relation to Overview and Scrutiny).

Following the transfer of Torbay Economic Development Company (known as TDA) to Torbay Council, the Council had established Torbay Council Holding Company Limited to manage all the Council’s companies and their subsidiaries.  A Board had been established in accordance with the Local Operating Policy for Governance of Council Wholly Owned Companies.  There was a requirement for the Cabinet to appoint a Torbay Council Holding Company Shareholder Panel and Designated Representative as part of the governance arrangements.  This also aligned with the Local Government Association guidance and the Local Partnerships Local Authority Trading Companies (LATCo) Guidance (2023) ensuring appropriate governance of Wholly Owned Companies and clear separation of roles between the Board and the Shareholder Panel.

At the meeting Councillor David Thomas proposed and Councillor Tyerman seconded the motion that was agreed unanimously by the Cabinet, as set out above.

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