Agenda item

This report provides Full Council with an opportunity to consider recommendations from the Constitution Committee meeting held on 14 February 2023.

 

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing introduced a range of proposed amendments to the Constitution.

 

The report set out several proposed constitutional amendments, some of which were a consequence of the Scrutiny Review Action Plan endorsed by the Governance and Audit Committee and others reflected proposals submitted to the Constitution Committee for consideration.

 

Those recommendations relating to the Scrutiny Review had already been discussed and considered at a public scrutiny review workshop, the Governance and Audit Committee and the Constitution Committee prior to Full Council.

 

All the recommendations included in the report were agreed by the Constitution Committee at their meeting held on 14 February 2023, apart from recommendation 2 which achieved a tied vote. It was therefore agreed that this particular recommendation be referred to Full Council without a recommendation by the Committee.

 

One minor amendment was moved regarding recommendation 7 which was to replace the words ‘in consultation’ with ‘in conjunction’ as set out in the table under ‘Officers Granted Delegation’ at paragraph 3.7 of the report. It was appropriate for the introduction of a new fee or charge to be made in conjunction with the Section 151 Officer as opposed to in consultation with them.

 

There were ten recommendations within the report, and the first four were proposed, seconded and debated individually. Recommendations 5-10 were proposed and seconded en bloc.

 

Note:   Councillors Ian Stokes and Sue Woolley left the Chamber and did not return.

 

On recommendation 1, it was noted that the requirement to submit alternative budgets to the Chief Finance Officer 5 working days prior to the Council meeting was a recommendation from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.

 

Having previously been moved and seconded, following a vote it was AGREED:

 

DECISION:

 

1.    That Full Council approves the addition of a new paragraph under the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules in Part 4 (Rules of Procedure) of the Constitution regarding proposed amendments to the budget or proposed alternative budgets, as set out in paragraph 3.3 of the report.

 

The following information was raised during the debate on recommendation 2 – the proposal to reduce the number of Overview and Scrutiny Committees from four to three from 4 May 2023:

 

·         The recommendation from the Scrutiny Review sought to reduce the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny committees down from four to two, but it was felt that this would be a step too far. Therefore three Overview and Scrutiny Committees was proposed.

·         There was no recommendation from the Constitution Committee here as the vote at the meeting was a tie; the Chairman of the Constitution Committee at the time felt that it would be unfair to use his casting vote, and would rather let Full Council make the final decision.

·         The responsibilities of the new Finance, Economic and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee looked on paper to be wider ranging than those of the Culture and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee, for example. It was pointed out, for information, that the new terms of reference for the Finance, Economic and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee included the current terms of reference for the Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee in full. Some of the headings within the Culture and Leisure Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Communities and Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee were quite generic and could be broken down further.

·         It would be within the gift of each new committee to determine how often they would wish to meet, and whether they wanted to review their terms of reference.

 

Note:   Council voted to further extend the meeting until 5:30pm under Council Procedure Rule 14.20 (g) due to the initial extension of time being about to expire.

 

Having earlier been moved by Councillor Ashley Baxter, the following motion to amend recommendation 2 was seconded by Councillor Richard Cleaver:

 

·         A decision on the reduction of four Overview and Scrutiny Committees to three Overview and Scrutiny Committees and adoption of the revised version of ‘Article 6 – Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ set out in Appendix A, to be deferred subject to a referral to the relevant committee.

 

Debate on the amendment ensued:

 

·         The reduction in number of Overview and Scrutiny Committees was endorsed at Governance and Audit Committee on 30 January 2023 and subsequently discussed at Constitution Committee on 14 February 2023. Previously, the Council had operated with one Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

Note:   Councillor Amanda Wheeler left the Chamber and did not return.

 

·         The newly formed UK Shared Prosperity Fund Board was not included on the list of responsibilities of the new Overview and Scrutiny Committees, but it may be that it would report into the Finance, Economic and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·         The increasing role of any Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee in climate change was something all Councillors should be aware of.

 

Note:   Councillor Virginia Moran returned to the Chamber.

 

·         One member disagreed with the notion that Finance and Environment were two subjects that could not be under the remit of the same committee.

 

Having previously been moved and seconded, upon being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

 

The substantive recommendation 2 had previously been moved and seconded, and following a vote it was AGREED:

 

DECISION:

 

2.    That Full Council approves the reduction of four Overview and Scrutiny Committees to three Overview Scrutiny Committees and adoption of the revised version of ‘Article 6 – Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ set out in Appendix A, with effect from 4 May 2023.

 

The following information was raised during the debate on recommendation 3 – the proposal to abolish Companies Committee with effect from 4 May 2023, with appointments to company Boards falling within the remit of the Governance and Audit Committee:

 

Note:   Councillor Judy Stevens left the Chamber and did not return.

 

·         This proposal was made further to the Scrutiny Review where recommendations were made regarding scrutiny of the Council’s companies. It was deemed appropriate that the scrutiny of a Council company should fall under the remit of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee. As appointment to Boards were considered a decision-making function, it was proposed that this particular responsibility sat under the Governance and Audit Committee.

·         All but one of the companies previously set up by the Council was no longer in operation. Gravitas Housing had failed to disrupt the market by delivering an adequate number of houses. Environment:SK had been created, and then closed within the last four years when the grounds maintenance service had returned to being an in-house provision.

 

Having previously been moved and seconded, following a vote it was AGREED:

 

DECISION:

 

3.    That Full Council approves the abolition of the Companies Committee, with oversight of the Council’s companies falling within the remit of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee, with appointments to company Boards falling within the remit of the Governance and Audit Committee, with effect from 4 May 2023.

 

The following information was raised during the debate on recommendation 4 – the abolition of the Constitution Committee from 4 May 2023, with its roles and responsibilities moving to Governance and Audit Committee:

 

·         The review of the Constitution was now complete, so a core aspect of the Committee’s work had been undertaken. It was proposed that future amendments to the Council’s Constitution could be considered by the Governance and Audit Committee.

·         All members of the Constitution Committee, along with the Monitoring Officer and other officers, were thanked for their input into the new iteration of the Constitution from 25 July 2022. The Constitution should be reviewed annually, with any amendments to be heard at Governance and Audit Committee.

·         One member expressed their concerns that an overhaul was required to look at issues such as how the Chairmen of Committees were arrived at. Therefore, there was still a role for the Constitution Committee.

 

Having previously been moved and seconded, following a vote it was AGREED:

 

DECISION:

 

4.    That Full Council approves the abolition of the Constitution Committee with the role and responsibilities being added to the remit of the Governance and Audit Committee, and adoption of the revised version of ‘Article 10 – Governance and Audit Committee’ set out at Appendix B, with effect from 4 May 2023.

 

Note:   Council voted to further extend the meeting until 5:45pm under Council Procedure Rule 14.20 (g) due to the previous extension of time being about to expire.

 

The following points were raised during the debate over recommendations 5-10:

 

·         If a Standards Committee was created, then the adoption of Local Government Authority (LGA) guidance on handling breaches of the Code of Conduct should follow suit. The Monitoring Officer, whilst highlighting the proposed articles for the Standards Committee, highlighted that one of the responsibilities of the Committee to consider procedures for dealing with breaches associated with the Code of Conduct, including the procedure to be followed at Hearings. A recent Code of Conduct Hearing Review Panel and subsequent notice of motion submitted by Councillor Dilks had highlighted the important role that a Standards Committee could play as a recognised body in the Council’s committee structure in promoting high levels of conduct and greater liaison with the Council’s Independent Person.

·         An apology to the complainants involved with the Code of Conduct Review Hearing from 12 December 2022 was offered by the subject Councillor.

·         Those members of the Code of Conduct Review Panel from 12 December 2022 were in support of the creation of a Standards Committee, as it would be a more effective way of dealing with any potential Code of Conduct breaches.

·         There was a risk that prolonged use of vacancies as opposed to allocating Members seats on Committees resulted in a lack of clarity regarding the actual membership of Committees.

 

Note:   Council voted to further extend the meeting until 5:50pm under Council Procedure Rule 14.20 (g) due to the previous extension of time being about to expire.

 

Having previously been moved and seconded, following a vote it was AGREED:

 

DECISION:

 

That Full Council approves:

 

5.    The creation of a Standards Committee and adoption of a new Article entitled ‘Standards Committee’, which sets out its terms of reference, with effect from 4 May 2023.

 

6.    The renumbering of Articles under Part 2 of the Council’s Constitution to facilitate recommendations 1 to 4 above, with effect from 4 May 2023.

 

7.    The addition of a delegation under the Officer Scheme of Delegation in Part 3 (Responsibility for Functions) of the Council’s Constitution regarding the introduction of new fees and charges, as set out in paragraph 3.7 of the report.

 

8.    The addition of a definition regarding the duration of a short-term lease in respect of an existing delegation within the Officer Scheme of Delegation in Part 3 (Responsibility for Functions) and further clarification in respect of the delegation, as set out paragraphs 3.8 to 3.11 of the report.

 

9.    The addition of an existing delegation within the Officer Scheme of Delegation in Part 3 (Responsibility for Functions) granted by Cabinet on 7 December 2021 with a variation in respect of the disposal of assets, as set out in paragraphs 3.12 to 3.14 of the report.

 

The addition of a rule in Part 4 (Procedure Rules) in the Council Procedure Rules regarding the appointment of Members to fill vacancies on Committees, as set out in paragraph 3.17 of the report.