Agenda item

The report updates Members on a review of the Council’s constitution.

Due to their size Annexes 1 – 6 (the Constitution Parts 1 to 6) will be circulated as hard copy to Members of the Cabinet only and will also be available online as supplements to the agenda.

The report of the Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer provided an update on the review of the Council’s Constitution and addressed specific questions raised at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 19 April 2018.

Particular reference was made to concerns expressed about arrangements for call-in of planning applications by ward Members.  In response, the specific delegation DPHEH 100 had been amended so that the relevant Area Planning Committee Chairman would be a consultee to any determination by the Director of Planning, Housing and Environmental Health as to whether the request for call-in was supported with a reasoned justification on planning grounds.  It was also noted that the time limit for making a request for call-in had been amended to 21 days commencing on the date of notification of the application via List B.  Members welcomed the changes and the opportunity for dialogue with the planning officers prior to any request for call-in although it was noted that the onus was on Members to trigger such dialogue. 

At the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee the Leader had given an undertaking to allow further consideration of the question of removing the 15 minute time limit on debating petitions at Council meetings and for petitions to be debated in the first instance elsewhere than at full Council.  Since the process for receiving and considering petitions was at the discretion of the Council, the draft petition scheme had been amended to allow for petitions with over 1500 signatures to be considered by either Council or Cabinet depending on whether the subject matter was an executive or Council function.  Members endorsed this course of action and agreed that there should be no time limit on the overall debate of petitions, subject to a five minute limit on speeches by individual Members and the two petitioners whether at Council or Cabinet, with specific permission for non-executive Members to speak at Cabinet meetings during the debate on petitions.

RECOMMENDED:  That

(1)             the overall time limit for debate of petitions be removed, subject to a five minute limit on speeches by individual Members and two petitioners, and specific reference be made to the ability of both executive and non-executive Members to speak at Cabinet meetings when petitions are debated;

(2)             the proposed revisions to the Constitution arising from the questions raised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as set out in section 1.6 of the report, be approved;

(3)             subject to (1) above, the amended Constitution at Annexes 1 to 6 of the report be adopted; and

(4)             authority be delegated to the Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer to make any further changes to the formatting of the Constitution as he considers appropriate.

*Referred to Council