Agenda item

• Contract Procedure Rules
• Reporting of non key decisions
• Termination of the Planning Panel
• Amendments to the Scheme of Delegation

The Chairman of the Constitution & Accounts Committee to submit the recommendations of the committee as contained in the minutes of the meetings held on 20^th September 2006 and 16^th October 2006.    (Enclosure)

                                                                               (16.10.06 minutes – to follow)

[Note: the background reports to these recommendations can be found with the agendas for these meetings on modern.gov via the Local Democracy link on the Council’s website:

www.southkesteven.gov.uk

Alternatively, hard copies can be provided on request to staff in the member services team.]

DECISION:

1        The action notes from the Resources DSP and recommendations from the contract and tendering report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers be accepted.

2        The revised contract procedure rules be adopted and incorporated within the Councils Constitution.

3        That the requirements for non key decisions taken by individual Portfolio Holders under delegated powers to be reported to the next available Cabinet meeting be deleted from the Constitution.

  4        The planning panel pilot be terminated.

 5      That the scheme of delegation to the Development Control Services Manager as set-out in pages 81 - 83 of the constitution be amended, the existing paragraphs numbered 1 and 2 (a) to (j) of  the Constitution shall be replaced with the following wording:

        All decisions, responses or determinations arising in relation to applications, approval of reserved matters, prior approvals, consents and consultations, submitted to or received by the Council in accordance with all Town and Country Planning, Listed Building and related or associated legislation (including subordinate legislation and any consolidation, re-enactment or amendment thereto) shall be delegated to the Development Control Services Manager, except in the following situations:

1.      Any application for planning permission which, in the opinion of the Authorised Officer is a departure form the Development Plan or an emerging replacement plan, and where the intended officer decision is permission/consent.

2.      Any application for planning permission, approval of reserved matters, conservation area consent or listed building consent where a Member of the Council has requested in writing to the Development Control Manager that the application be considered by Committee.  All requests shall be on the appropriate pro-forma and shall be submitted within three weeks of the circulation of details of the application.

                  The request shall include a statement outlining material planning reasons why the proposal needs to be considered by Committee, The Development Control Manager shall have the power to decline the request if in their opinion the reasons do not constitute material planning reasons.

                  All requests will be acknowledged in writing, and the reasons for the application being referred will be included in the officer report to the Development Control Committee.

3.      Any application or consultation or like matter where the Authorised Officer considers a decision should be taken by Committee.

4.            Any application submitted by or on behalf of a Councillor of the authority (or their spouse or partner) or by or on behalf of a member of the Council’s staff) or their spouse or partner).

5.      Any application submitted by or on behalf of the Council for its own developments, except for the approval of routine minor developments to which no objection has been received.

6.      In those cases where statutory time limits are involved for making decisions or taking action, for example in cases if agricultural buildings, demolitions, telecommunications determinations and notifications of works to trees in Conservation Areas, where non determination within a set period automatically gives consent; any objections received will be considered by the Authorised Officer and at their discretion efforts will be made to resolve the objection before the expiry period.  However, the existence of the objection will not alter their authority in these instances to make a decision.

6       The provisions of the constitution are clarified to ensure that no Committee established by the Council has the power to establish a panel for the purpose of advising officers on the exercise of authority delegated to them by Council.

7.That the amendments set out in the appendix attached in report DLS084 to the Constitution and Accounts Committee on the 26^th October 2006 be approved for inclusion in the Constitution subject to the following amendments:

·                    Any reference to the Head of Environmental Health and Licensing to be changed to the Corporate Head of Healthy Environment;

·                    Environmental Health Practitioners should read Environmental Health Officers;

·                    That page 21  3. Should read The Corporate Head of Healthy Environment;

·                    Page 26 Member Services Manager should read Service Manager Democracy;

·                    Page 25 under AUTHORISED OFFICERS it should read The Corporate Head of Sustainable Communities and the Corporate Head of Healthy Environment and officers designated in writing…….

·                    The bottom paragraph on page 25 should read the Corporate Head of Sustainable Communities and the Corporate Head of Healthy Environment and officers designated in writing by them are……….

8          That minor amendments required to update the officer designations throughout the Constitution, which follow from the amendments detailed in the appendix attached to report DLS084 are carried out forthwith.

The Council had before them the minutes of the Constitution and Accounts Committee meetings held on the 20^th September and the 26^th October 2006.  Contained within the minutes were a number of recommendations to Council on constitutional issues.  In particular the Committee had recommended the termination of the Planning Panel as its legality was open to question. 

There was considerable discussion on whether or not the Panel waslawful, its status as a panel and whether it actually took decisions or simply made recommendations to the officers, many Members were of the opinion that the Panel had been a very useful mechanism for expediting the planning process.  Concern was expressed that under what was proposed officers would be making decision without the recourse to elected members.  Councillor Kirkman  moved as an amendment that this be referred back to the Constitution and Accounts Committee for further consideration when they had received reports for the Development Control Committee.  Following further clarification and discussion, the amendment was withdrawn before being put to the vote.  The recommendations were duly moved, seconded and carried.