Agenda item

The Chairman of the Constitution Committee to submit recommendations from the committee arising from its meeting held on 20 February 2009.

                                                                (To Follow)

 

DECISION:

 

(1)  Officer Delegation

 

Part 3 of the Constitution (Delegated Authority) in relation to the Corporate Head of Finance and Customer Services (S151 Officer) be amended to read:

 

“to take the appropriate action in respect of forfeiting, terminating or repossessing a lease between the Council and any tenant as the final part of debt recovery and breach of tenancy process where rent remains outstanding or there has been some other breach of the terms of the lease which would require the Council to obtain vacant possession of the leased premises.”

 

 

(2)  Terms of Reference of the Governance and Audit Committee

 

Article 12, page 54.1 of the Constitution under part (b) Regulatory Framework be amended to include the wording:

 

“to monitor, review and amend as appropriate the thresholds and limits contained in the Financial Regulations Guidance notes.”

 

(3)  Pubic Right to Speak at Development Control Committee meetings

 

Part 4, Council procedure rule 24.7 of the Constitution be amended to read:

 

“Any person wishing to include photographs or any other information within the committee presentation, as part of their three minute address to the committee, shall ensure that this information is received if possible in an electronic format (e-mail with an attachment, memory stick, or disc) by the relevant case officer at least one working day prior to the meeting; and/or written material and/or photographs should be submitted to the relevant case officer at least two working days prior to the meeting.  Material presented after these deadlines will be accepted at the discretion of the Chairman of the Development Control Committee.

 

(4)  Public Speaking at Full Council

 

Part 4, Council procedure rule 10 of the Constitution be amended to read:

 

“10.  PUBLIC OPEN FORUM

 

10.1     General

 

Residents of the District or any non-domestic ratepayer may ask questions of any members of the Council and speak on any item on the agenda of any ordinary meeting of the Council during a period of 30 minutes set aside at the start of the meeting.

 

10.2  Notice of intention to speak or ask questions

         

Notice of any question to be asked or of any intention to speak on an item on the agenda must be given by delivering it in writing or by electronic mail to the Chief Executive at least 3 working days before the day of the meeting.  Each notice must give the name and address of the speaker or questioner and must name the member of the Council to whom a question is to be put or the item on the agenda to be addressed.  The Chairman may direct a question to another member if more appropriate and they agree to accept it.

 

10.3  Order of speakers and questions

 

          Questions will be asked and speeches made in the order in which notice of them was received, except that the Chairman may group together similar questions or items to be spoken on.  Each question and answer or speech will be subject to a total time limit of 5 minutes.

 

10.4  Number of questions

 

          At any one meeting no person or organisation may submit more than two questions or speak on more than two items on the agenda of the relevant meeting and no more than six such questions or speeches will be tabled or delivered at any one meeting.  If more than six notices of intention to speak are received, the first six received will be invited to attend to speak on the agenda item.  Any questions tabled for that same meeting will be dealt with by way of written response or held over until the next meeting at the request of the questioner.

 

10.5  Scope of questions or items on which speeches are to be made

 

          The Chief Executive may reject a question or prevent the right to speak if it:

 

·         Is not about a matter for which the local authority has a responsibility or which directly affects the district or is not an item on the agenda of the relevant meeting;

·         Is or becomes defamatory, frivolous, objectionable, improper, or offensive;

·         In respect of questions, if it is substantially the same as a question which has been put at a meeting of the Council in the past six months; or

·         Requires disclosure of confidential or exempt information.

 

10.6  Record of questions and requests to speak

 

The Chief Executive will make a record of questions and requests to speak submitted correctly in accordance with this clause 10.  The record will be open to public inspection.  He will immediately send a copy of any question to the member to whom it is to be put.  Rejected questions and requests to speak will include reasons for rejection.  Any questions which are deemed by the Chief Executive to be defamatory will not be so recorded or open for public inspection.  Copies of all questions and requests to speak will be circulated to all members and will be made available to the public attending the meeting.

 

10.7  Asking a question or speaking at the meeting

 

          The Chairman will invite the questioner to put the question to the member named in the notice.  If the questioner who has submitted a written question is unable to be present, they may ask the Chairman to put the question on their behalf.  The Chairman may ask the question on the questioner’s behalf, indicate that a written reply will be given or decide, in the absence of the questioner that the question will not be dealt with.

 

10.8  Supplemental question

 

          A questioner who has put a question in person may also put one supplementary question without notice to the member who has replied to his or her original question.  A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or the reply.  The Chairman may reject a supplementary question on any of the grounds in Rule 10.5 above or if the time limit in rule 10.3 has expired.

 

10.9     Written answers

 

Any question which cannot be dealt with during public question time, either because of lack of time or because of the non-attendance of the member, to whom it was to be put, will be dealt with by a written answer within 7 working days of the meeting.

 

10.10                        Reference of question or speech to the cabinet or a Committee

 

Unless the Chairman decides otherwise, no discussion will take place on any question or speech, but any member may move that a matter raised by a question or speech be referred to the Cabinet or the appropriate Committee, Suc-Committee or Policy Development Group.  Once seconded, such a motion will be voted on without discussion.”

 

Consequent to the above amendments to council procedure rule 10, to make corresponding amendments in the Constitution at:

 

• Page 34 – second paragraph – delete “question time” and add “public open forum in accordance with clause 10 of the council procedure rules set out in part 4 of this Constitution”;
• Page 40 – add after “public open forum” – as detailed under council procedure rule 10.

 

 

(5)           The Constitution Committee is asked to consider extending the same public speaking mechanism for the Development Control Committee to all quasi judicial committees.

 

The recommendations contained at minutes 30(1) and 30(2) of the Constitution Committee were moved and seconded and carried following a vote.

 

In relation to minute 30(3), Public Right to Speak at Development Control Committee meetings, the Chairman of the Constitution Committee advised that he had been requested to make a few small amendments to the wording of the recommendation as contained in the minutes.  The Chairman of the Development Control Committee stated the minor amendments and, in seconding the recommendation (as amended) explained that the purpose of the recommendation was to provide clear guidance in the Constitution as to what a Chairman of the Development Control Committee could and could not accept in terms of public submissions.

 

A member suggested that this mechanism should be extended to all quasi judicial committees.  The Chief Executive advised this would need referral back to the Constitution Committee.  The Chairman of the Constitution Committee undertook to accept this item on the next agenda.  A vote on the recommendation as amended was subsequently taken and carried.

 

In relation to minute 30(4), the Vice-Chairman of the Council moved an amendment to replace reference to “72 hours” with “3 clear working days” relating to the period of notice for questions or intention to speak at the public open forum.  This would, he suggested, provide clarity particularly when there were Bank Holiday periods in between.  The Chairman of the Constitution Committee indicated he accepted this amendment and following a vote, the recommendation (as amended) was carried.