Agenda item

To consider an amendment to the Council's Constitution regarding the method used for casting votes at public meetings of the Council.

Before presenting the report, the Committee adjourned at 14:55 to allow the electronic voting system within the Council Chamber to be demonstrated to the Committee ahead of a proposal to consider reintroducing its use.

The Committee resumed at 15:03.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Governance and Licensing presented the report outlining a proposed amendment to the current constitution with a view to allowing voting to be undertaking using the electronic voting system in the Council Chamber.

Following the above demonstration and introduction of the report, Members commented on the following:

-       Whether any new system should allow for the public to see how the individual Members of the Committee vote on issues. The IT Manager confirmed that the system being proposed would show the collective votes on screen but not the individual breakdown of how each Member voted. Furthermore, the current system of Members raising their hands was usually not seen by those watching via the livestream as the camera was often on the Chairman during these exchanges. 

-       The Leader of the Council exclaimed that the proposed system would give definitive results, and the breakdown of an individual Member’s vote could be published retrospectively.

-       One Member suggested consideration of making all votes recorded. 

-       Were the proposed system to be implemented, it was noted that Members would have to be disciplined in remaining in the seating plan allocated at the start of the meeting as moving their seats could mean that they vote under the name of a different Member. Comment was also passed that steps needed to be taken to disable other empty seats from voting in the Chamber to prevent any Members from voting from additional seats to their own.

-       A Member queried how long it would take to set up the new system in the Chamber for it to be used for each meeting. The IT Manager said that coordinating the seating plan to the Councillor was fairly quick, however, disabling desks would take longer.

-       A Member queried whether this proposed voting system would only be used during Full Council or in all Committees. In light of this, the Leader of the Council suggested an amendment to the wording of the original amendment so it would apply to any meeting of ‘the Council’ rather than ‘Full Council’. Therefore, the recommendation to Full Council should be that the relevant section of Council Procedure Rules should read, as follows:

“Unless otherwise provided by legislation or in these Council Procedure Rules, the vote on any motion or amendment proposed at any meeting of the Council shall be taken by means of a show of hands for, against and abstention or by using the electronic voting system in the Council Chamber. The person presiding the meeting will determine the most appropriate means of facilitating votes”.

-       The Leader of the Council also stated that the proposed voting system would allow for recorded votes to be held more efficiently. However, whilst wishing for transparency, he made the point that there were some circumstances whereby a secret ballot would be appropriate. These included the election of the Chairman of the Council, which should be on an apolitical basis, and sensitive or controversial issues whereby the way in which a Member casts their vote could result in threats to their personal safety. An example on the latter was a vote held a few years ago in relation to fox hunting. A Member queried how it would be decided if an issue was particularly contentious. It was suggested that this responsibility would sit with the person presiding the meeting.

-       Some Members expressed that they would be uncomfortable with giving greater power to the role of Chairman over political matters. They stated that under the current system Members could already speak to the Chairman should they feel uncomfortable about an issue. 

-       The Leader of the Council suggested trusting the judgement and integrity of the person that was presiding over the meeting to ‘read the room.’ This sentiment was backed by some Members in attendance.

It was proposed by a Member to incorporate the Leader of the Council’s amendment to the original proposal and recommend this to Full Council. This proposal was seconded and the outcome of the vote was a tie. In using his casting vote, the Chairman voted in favour of the proposal and the recommendation to Full Council was APPROVED.

Following this approval, the Chairman raised the matter of the voting rights of Co-opted Members on the Governance and Audit Committee as outlined in Article 9 of the Council’s Constitution. It was explained, due to the functions discharged by the Committee, that this was inconsistent with the Local Governance and Housing Act 1989 and that externally appointed Co-opted Members should not have voting rights. It was therefore proposed, seconded and APPROVED, that Full Council be recommended to correct this aspect of Article 9 of the Constitution and reflect that Co-opted Members on the Governance and Audit Committee do not have voting rights.