Agenda and minutes

To appoint the Chairman of the Committee for the Council year 2019/20.

After being nominated by Cllr Paul Follows, and seconded by Cllr Michael Goodridge, it was RESOLVED that Cllr John Robini be appointed as Chairman of the Committee for the Council year 2019/20.

To appoint the Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Council year 2019/20.

After being nominated by Cllr Robert Knowles, and seconded by Cllr John Gray, it was RESOLVED that Cllr Michael Goodridge be appointed as Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Council year 2019/20.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting which took place on 12 March 2019 (to be laid on the table 30 minutes before the meeting commences).

The Minutes of the meeting held on 12 March 2019 were agreed as a correct record of the meeting.

To receive from Members, declarations of interests in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting in accordance with the Waverley Code of Local Government Conduct.

There were no disclosures of interests in relation to items on the agenda.

The Chairman to respond to any written questions received from Members of the public in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.

The deadline for receipt of questions is Monday 24 June 2019.

There were no questions from members of the public.

The Chairman to respond to any written questions received from Members in accordance with Procedure Rule 11.

The deadline for receipt of questions is The deadline for receipt of questions is Monday 24 June 2019.

There were no questions from Members.

Background Papers

Unless specified under an individual item, there are no background papers (as defined by Section 100D(5) of the Local Government Act 1972) relating to the reports in Part I of these minutes.

The Council’s Constitution, including the Scheme of Delegation to Officers, sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent, and accountable to local people. The proposed amendments to the Constitution and Scheme of Delegation address specific issues that have arisen and which need to be effected immediately, and in advance of any changes that may be required as an outcome of the forthcoming governance review.

Recommendation

That the proposed amendments to the Constitution and Scheme of Delegation are endorsed and recommended to Council for approval.

7.1       Robin Taylor, Head of Policy & Governance, introduced the report setting out proposed changes to the Constitution and Scheme of Delegation. The Leader and Executive had made a commitment to developing a more collaborative form of governance at Waverley, and increasing the level of engagement with residents. Whilst a governance review of the Council’s decision-making and procedure arrangements had been initiated, a number of specific issues had arisen that it was preferable to address immediately.

7.2       With regards to the definition of the Principal Opposition Group which was proposed to be added to the Constitution, Cllr Goodridge advised that he had worked with Robin Taylor to draft the wording set out on Annexe 1 to the report. The Committee agreed that the wording provided helpful clarification of political positions and roles within the Council, and agreed to recommend the necessary amendments to the Constitution to Council for approval.

7.3       Cllr Knowles queried the reasoning for the proposed amendment to the Overview & Scrutiny committee remits. Robin Taylor advised that this was to align the committee remits better with the responsibilities of Heads of Service. The Committee had no particular view on the proposed change, and were content to put the recommendation to Council.

7.4       As a demonstration of the new Executive’s intent to engage with residents, they had asked officers to draw up amendments to the Constitution to reinstate informal questions before meetings of the Executive. The proposed amendments to Council Procedure Rule 10 and Executive Procedure Rule 2.9 were set out on Annexe 1. The Committee had no objection to the proposed amendments, which they noted would not extend to any committees other than the Executive without further amendments to the Constitution.

7.5       The Committee discussed its role in the Governance Review. Cllr Follows explained that this would be undertaken by a cross-party working group of Members, supported by officers. Any proposals to make changes to the Constitution would be submitted to the Standards Committee for consideration. The Committee agreed that it would be practical for recommendations on changes to the governance arrangements  of the Council to be submitted to Full Council via the Executive in the first place. If the recommendations on the principles were agreed, then the Standards Committee’s role would be to oversee the process of translating these in the Constitution. Since Cllr Follows would be leading the Governance Review, he would be able to update the Committee on progress of the review.

7.6       With regard to the proposed change to the arrangements for Members to call-in a planning application to a Planning Committee, the Committee noted that the proposed amendment addressed the ambiguity raised by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, and brought the Scheme of Delegation into line with working practice. The Committee had no objection to the proposed amendment, and were content to put the recommendation to Council.

7.7       The Committee discussed a point raised by Cllr Adams in relation to the complaint that had been investigated by the Ombudsman, and the way  ...  view the full minutes text for item STD 7/19

There were no matters of report.