Agenda and minutes

The minutes of the meeting on 14 October 2021 were agreed as a correct record and by the Deputy Chair.

None.

To consider Cllr Swain Notice of Motion referred to Procedures Committee by Full Council on 30 November 2021.

The following motion on the Constitution has been presented by Cllr Swain and supported by Cllrs Dewhirst, G Hook, J Hook, Keeling, Nutley and Wrigley – background information attached.

At the last council meeting this council affirmed the constitution as set out on our website.  It was suggested that there were material changes in the document when compared to the previous version, and in some cases there are.

There are 2 points where clear material changes have occurred and these should be reversed.

4.3.2(e): Previously the public could ask questions relevant to “the business of the council”. This has been changed to “the business of the meeting”. This is a significant material change.

Section 6, Schedule 2 row 2B3: Group Leaders never had the power to veto a change to the constitution because they didn’t like it, however wording has been removed “If group leaders agree a change is minor, It can be done by democratic services manager” The power is lost, for a Group leader to insist that a change is major if others claim it is minor.

In tidying up the constitution, it was not been modified to use gender neutral language throughout. We should replace references to chairman with chair, and he/his with they/their. These are simple changes that encourage wider participation in democracy, and there is no justification for not making them.

I propose that the monitoring officer be asked to produce a form of words that restores the meaning of these two paragraphs and substitutes gender neutral language throughout. The revisions be approved by Full Council.

Cllr Swain presented his Notice of Motion regarding proposed amendments to the Constitution. Members discussed the suggestions put forward.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council that:-

(1)            4.3.2(e): public questions - “the business of the meeting” be amended to read to “the business of the council”;

(2)            Section 6, Schedule 2 row 2B3: minor amendments to the constitution, to add in after minor changes “i.e. change which no Group Leader feels is significant in that it fundamentally changes existing provisions”; and

(3)            To modified the constitution to use gender neutral language throughout to replace references to chairman with chair and he/his with they/their.

Cllr Parker to present his item on the time line for public and members questions to committees.

The Leader presented the item on behalf of Cllr Parker on the time line for public and members questions to committees.

Members discussed the need to have clear timelines for member and public questions and to have the responses circulated in adequate time to enable those submitting questions to be able to form their supplementary questions. Members asked officers to prepare a paper for the next meeting on the resource implications for the questions and responses timelines. 

Members requested that an item on a council petition scheme be considered at the next meeting.

RECOMMENDED to Full Council that the time lines for submitting public and member questions to committee be three clear working days before the meeting i.e should the meeting be on a Thursday the deadline would be the Friday before at 5pm.

Cllr Macgregor has asked that ‘Matters Arising’ to be added to the agenda of full council as an item immediately after the minutes of the previous meeting to be considered.

Cllr Macgregor presented his agenda item to propose that “Matters Arising from the minutes” be added to the Full Council agenda following the item to agree the minutes.

The Head of Legal Services & Monitoring Officer to the Council clarified that council minutes were a record of the decisions made and were not a verbatim record of the meeting.

Members discussed the option of Overview and Scrutiny Committees following up matter arising from Council minutes.  

The recommendation was proposed, seconded, put to the vote and lost. 

Members noted the Training and Development Programme.