Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Democratic Services
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Apologies for absence
Minutes: All Members of the Committee were present. |
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Disclosure of interests
Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting. Minutes: None disclosed. |
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Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2021
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 8 November 2021 were proposed, seconded and AGREED.
A comment was made about the question asked by the Vice-Chairman at the last meeting in relation to signing up to the new Model Code of Conduct. Reference was made to the Council meeting held on 25 November 2021 and the explanation given there. There was not an expectation or requirement for Members to sign up to the new Code of Conduct, by signing the acceptance of office when they were elected that covered Members in relation to the new Model Code. |
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Updates on Actions from the previous meeting
To consider updates on actions from the previous meeting.
Minutes: The Chairman noted that the actions listed had been actioned or were being discussed at the meeting.
One Member asked for confirmation of the number of Lincolnshire Authorities that had adopted the new Model Code of Conduct. The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer stated that he had sent an email to Members. Lincolnshire County Council had not adopted the new Model Code as it was felt that the code that they currently had was in-line with the new Model Code. The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer would confirm numbers to Members outside of the meeting.
ACTION:
The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer to circulate to Committee Members the figures of those Lincolnshire Authorities who had adopted the new Model Code of Conduct. |
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Review of the Council's Constitution - Part 3 - Responsibility for Functions
The report provides an update on the review of the Council’s Constitution and an opportunity for the Committee to recommend to Council a new Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions section of the Constitution. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman read out the three recommendations as contained within the report and stated that he proposed to deal with each recommendation separately.
The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer began by thanking Members for their participation in the engagement sessions that had been arranged in relation to the work done on the Responsibility for Functions document. He referred to the list of Officers and Members who had attended meetings in relation to the revised document and had helped develop it into the document before Members. Reference was also made to the Member workshops where explanations were given in relation to the different documents and which provided an opportunity for Members to feedback on the documents. A summary of the feedback received from the workshops was listed within the report and the Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer highlighted various areas including:
· Positive comments about the process that had been undertaken and the presentation of the documents to help Members to navigate the changes made to the document in an open and transparent way. · Questions about including a provision within the Officer delegations to ensure that Ward Members were informed of decisions made by officers exercising delegated powers which affected their ward.
The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that if a provision was included, it would mean that all decisions made by officers would be notified to the Ward Member. Officers made a lot of operational decisions during the day which would entail a lot of email traffic to the Ward Member. It was noted that if an Officer was making a significant decision within a particular ward, then they should be having a dialogue with the Ward Member about that decision and this was something that would be followed up through CMT and the Senior Management Team.
· Questions were raised in relation to the delegation of powers to Police Community Support Officers regarding the enforcement of littering, waste and dog fouling and the issuing of fixed penalty notices.
The Head of Democratic Services and Deputy Monitoring Officer confirmed that it was within the Scheme of Delegation, although it was not currently authorised but it was there to provide flexibility if required.
During the workshops feedback had been given in relation to formatting, page numbering and referencing and these had been addressed, although it was noted that the page numbering would be done once the whole document was complete. Going forward it was anticipated that single pages would be able to be amended, without the need to print the whole document.
· Suggested amendments had been made in relation to the Executive functions section and two areas had been amalgamated into one and the table reformatted. Clarity had also been given to the wording in relation to individual Cabinet Members delegated authority and the difference between revenue and capital funding delegations had been emphasised and cross referenced with the Financial Procedure Rules.
· Questions had also been raised regarding the removal of enforcement action ... view the full minutes text for item 31. |
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Any other business which the Chairman, by reasons of special circumstances, decides is urgent
Minutes: None. |
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Close of Meeting
Minutes: The meeting closed at 12 noon. |