Agenda item

The report updates Members on a review of the Council’s constitution and a number of proposed revisions are set out.

Due to their size Annexes 2 – 7 (the Constitution Parts 1 to 6) will be circulated as hard copy to Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee only and will be available online as supplemental papers for all other Members.

The Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer presented the outcome of a detailed review of the operation of the Council’s adopted Constitution and outlined a number of proposed revisions which aimed to ensure that all parts of the constitution were up-to-date and ‘fit for purpose’.  It was noted that the review had provided an opportunity to re-examine the format of the Constitution in order to avoid duplication and to present its contents in a more usable and understandable way. Members’ attention was drawn to the revised Parts of the Constitution, set out at Annexes 2 to 7 of the report, and to the summary of key changes to the current constitution.  Particular attention was drawn to ‘Part 3 – Responsibility for Functions’ which had been extensively reviewed and updated to provide greater clarity, avoid duplication and simplify references to generic powers rather than specifying particular sections of legislation.  Members noted that further amendments to the formatting of the document would be required prior to production of the final version. 

Members acknowledged that the proposed changes would make the document more accessible to all users and would allow decisions to be made more efficiently.  The comprehensive discussion of the report centred on two particular issues, firstly the addition of a provision requiring the agreement of the Chairman of an Area Planning Committee to a request from a Ward member that a Planning Application be ‘called in’ for consideration by the committee (Part 3: Responsibilities, Section 6 Functions Delegated to Officers, DPHEH 100(iv)(c) refers) and, secondly, the fifteen minute time limit on Member discussions at Council following the receipt of a petition (Part 4: Rules, Section 1 Council and Committee Procedure Rules, 5.17.6).  In response to the concerns raised by Members in relation to the call-in of applications to the Area Planning Committee the Director of Central Services confirmed that further information on the rationale for the proposed changes would be included in the supporting papers when this matter was reported to Cabinet. 

RECOMMENDED:  That 

(1)  subject to further consideration of the points raised by Members, Cabinet be invited to approve (and thereafter recommend that Council adopt) the amended constitution as set out at Annexes 2 to 7 of the report; and

(2)  authority be delegated to the Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer to make any further changes to the formatting of the constitution as considered appropriate.