Agenda item

4.00 p.m.

Report by the Director of Law and Governance.

Under the Constitution, the Monitoring Officer is required to monitor and review the Constitution and to make or recommend any necessary changes.  While the Monitoring Officer can make administrative changes for accuracy and clarification, it is for Full Council to make any substantive amendments.  This report sets out one substantive change for potential consideration by Full Council. It also outlines administrative changes to be made in-year by the Monitoring Officer. It also looks ahead to a potential way forward with reviewing the Constitution following the County Council elections in May.  This Committee is asked to note and comment upon these matters.  

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)  Endorse the proposed amendment to review and bring the definition of a Key Decision into the main body of the text with the addition of consultation arrangements for Key Decisions taken by officers;

(b)  Note the administrative changes that the Monitoring Officer intends to make to update the Constitution to bring clarity and correction to it;

(c)  Endorse the proposal that the Monitoring Officer should bring forward proposals to this Committee after the May 2021 County Council elections in the 3rd cycle of meetings for this Committee, for achieving a full review of the structure and content of the Constitution.

Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance presented the report which set out one substantive change for potential consideration by Full Council and outlined the administrative changes to be made in-year by the Monitoring Officer.  The Committee was asked to note and comment upon these matters.

Anita Bradley also highlighted the third recommendation which asked the Committee to endorse the proposal that the Monitoring Officer should bring forward proposals to this Committee after the May 2021 County Council elections in the 3^rd cycle of meetings for this Committee, for achieving a full review of the structure and content of the Constitution.

Councillor Jane Hanna spoke to the Committee and expressed her concerns around the timetabling of this review, stating that the intention of the administration throughout 2020 was that a review would be undertaken by January 2021 by this administration, the urgency of which was demonstrated by Item 15 on the agenda for this Committee.  She highlighted that following requests from herself, the Deputy Leader of the Council had agreed to take on her points made in relation to ensuring that the COVID-19 response and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 19(a) was addressed in the upcoming review of the Constitution to ensure that the Council was fit for the future in relation to COVID-19 planning for Restart, Recovery, and Renew.  She emphasised that there was a huge amount of experience within the County Council, who have been Councillors throughout the pandemic so far, who could contribute most effectively to this review.

Councillor Hanna provisionally welcomed the proposed amendment to the key decision which defined the meaning of a significant sum, however expressed concerns regarding the lack of transparency as to how the procurement settlement detailed in Item 15 came about or under what powers of the Constitution the settlement payment was made without the involvement of Cabinet or Full Council. 

Councillor Hanna also spoke to the new rules made last year on Part 3.1A – Virtual Meeting Procedure rules, which leaves little time for full scrutiny of the Committee papers if they are tabled late, however welcomed the clarification that these had been requested due to the temporary virtual working arrangements as a back-up if technology should fail.

In relation to the change to how a key decision is defined within the Constitution, she welcomed further comment from the Monitoring Officer that would explain this amendment.  She would also welcome an extension to the review period, enabling a full review which should be all-member led.

Councillor Nick Carter, Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee thanked Councillor Hanna for her comments.  He stated that he had hoped Councillor Hanna had been assured that the issues regarding the timetable had been satisfied, and welcomed her comments regarding an all-member led review, which should be taken following the elections to enable the new Council to push this forward.

Anita Bradley responded to the above and other Members’ queries as follows:

·         The first recommendation proposed increased transparency to key decision making within the Council, especially for those key decisions taken by Officers ensuring there is full consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

·         It would be the responsibility of the Monitoring Officer to ensure that Officers are made aware of and trained in the process of democratic decision making in the Constitution. 

·         The Constitution currently sets out the description of a Key Decision in a footnote in Article 14 (Decision Making).  The proposal is that this be moved into the main body of Article 14 and ensure that decisions can only be taken following consultation with the relevant Cabinet Member and Section 151 Officer.  The definition of ‘significant’ will be clearly defined within the document.

The Committee expressed concerns to the timescale detailed in recommendation (c), and requested that this be extended to allow the new Council adequate time to undertake a full all-member led review and was amended so that the Monitoring Officer bring forward proposals to this committee in the 4^th cycle of meeting for this Committee.

RESOLVED to

(a)  Endorse the proposed amendment to review and bring the definition of a Key Decision into the main body of the text with the addition of consultation arrangements for Key Decisions taken by Officers;

(b)  Note the administration changes that the Monitoring Officer intends to make to update the Constitution to bring clarity and correction to it;

(c)  Endorse the proposal that the Monitoring Officer should bring forward proposals to this Committee after the May 2021 County Council elections in the 4^th cycle of meetings for this Committee, for achieving a full review of the structure and content of the Constitution.