Agenda and minutes

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting which took place on 25 April 2022 (to be laid on the table 30 minutes before the meeting commences).

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2022 were confirmed 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 interest 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 26 September 2022.

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 Monday 26 September 2022.

There were no questions on notice from councillors.

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.

This report proposes a revised Waverley’s Constitution (Parts 1 to 4) which the Standards & General Purposes Committee is asked to consider and recommend to Full Council for approval.

Recommendation

That the Standards & General Purposes Committee recommends to Council that the revised Waverley Constitution (Parts 1 to 4) are approved.

The Monitoring Officer, Robin Taylor, introduced the report proposing revisions to Parts 1 to 4 of Waverley’s Constitution.

The requirement for local councils to have a constitution was introduced in the Local Government Act 2000. Waverley adopted its first constitution in 2001, and like most councils this had been based on a ‘model constitution’ and set out in a number of Parts. The current review focused on Parts 1 to 4, the Explanation and Summary, Articles, Responsibility for Functions, and Procedure Rules. The structure of the model constitution lent itself to some duplication between the different Parts, and piecemeal amendments over the years had led to some internal inconsistencies, and errors and omissions reflecting changes in law and regulations over the last 20 years. Overall the document had become difficult to navigate, and therefore not as useful as it should be.

Officers had carried out a thorough review of the Constitution including a cross-check against all elements required to be included under statute and regulations. The aim of the review and proposed revisions had been to:

·         update the constitution for errors and omissions, internal inconsistencies, and outdated references.

·         reduce repetition between the different Parts.

·         improve navigation and usability for all audiences.

·         improve accessibility and inclusion, including updated formatting to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and gender neutral language.

Most of the revisions were relatively minor in that they did not change the substance of the constitution but improved readability and the level of information included. Among the more substantial changes proposed, and set out in Annexe 1 to the report, were:

·         removal of the requirement to present committee minutes to Council as Part I and Part II. Recommendations to Full Council would be included on the Council agenda as standalone items.

·         the Policy Framework had been streamlined to define the legal requirements, with Council able to add any other policy document to it.

·         Article 12 (Decision-making) introduced the requirement for mandatory training for councillors sitting on certain committees (planning, licensing, standards, audit).

·         committee terms of reference had been moved to Part 3 (Responsibility for Functions) rather than spread across Parts 2 and 3. Terms of reference for Audit Committee had been updated in line with discussions held previously with the Audit Committee. The “general purposes” functions of the Standards and General Purposes Committee had been expanded. Executive responsibilities had been set out in line with legislation as being everything not defined as being a Council function.

·         Defining the Budget Council meeting as a separate type, to reflect the importance of this meeting.

·         Budget & Policy Framework and Officer Employment Procedure Rules previously omitted were now included. The Officer Employment Procedure Rules related to the arrangements for employment of the council’s chief officers. These were now joint posts with Guildford Borough Council the arrangements would be aligned with equivalent arrangements set out in the Guildford Constitution.

Cllr Hyman had registered to speak on this item: whilst he welcomed the comprehensive review of the constitution, he felt that it was important that councillors  ...  view the full minutes text for item STD 5/22

Officers have proposed some revisions to the Scheme of Delegation, based on their experience of using the Scheme since it was last reviewed. The Standards and General Purposes Committee is asked to consider the proposed amendments and make recommendations to Council to approve the revised Scheme of Delegation.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Standards and General Purposes Committee endorses the proposed revisions to the Scheme of Delegation and recommends that Version 7.1 of the Scheme of Delegation be approved by Council.

The Monitoring Officer, Robin Taylor, introduced the report proposing some revisions to the Scheme of Delegation to Officers.

The Scheme of Delegation to Officers allowed the Council to operate on a day to day basis without recourse to the Council and its Committees for decision-making. As set out in the covering report, the Monitoring Officer had used his delegated authority to amend the Scheme of Delegation to reflect the new post titles in the new Joint Management Team.

In addition to those amendments, Officers had requested a number of substantive changes to the Scheme of Delegation to the Joint Executive Head of Planning Development which would streamline and speed up decision-making in relation to planning applications, and tidy-up the Scheme of Delegation.

Cllr Hyman had registered to speak on this item in accordance with Procedure Rule 23.1. In relation to the delegated authority reference O.1 to the Joint Executive Head of Planning Development, he queried who determined that the SPA reasons referred to had been resolved, and referred to his concerns regarding the council’s approach to the Habitats Regulations.

With regard to the proposed change in the arrangements for calling an application into one of the Planning Committees, Cllr Knowles opposed the suggestion that the threshold for officers referring the application to the ward councillors be raised from 5 letters of objection to 10 letters. Other councillors agreed and felt the higher threshold would unfairly impact the rural areas rather than more urban settlements. Officers advised that ward councillors would still have the opportunity to call-in any application appearing on the weekly list, and the proposed amendment related to the ‘safety-net’ provision. However, councillors felt that the trigger for officers to alert the ward members should remain at 5 letters.

Cllr Knowles proposed that this revision be rejected, and this was seconded by Cllr Goodridge, and the Committee RESOLVED to reject the proposed revision with 7 votes in favour, none against, and 1 abstention.

Cllr Knowles noted that in O.5 (a3) the reference should be to the Chairman OR the Vice-Chairman, rather than AND.

With regard to the proposed revision to O.5(H) regarding applications with a connection to a councillor or officer, councillors noted that there was a balance to be struck between efficiency and transparency in determining these applications, and generally they did not generate a lot of discussion at the Planning Committees.

The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the revised Scheme of Delegation to Officers, as amended by the Committee, to Council for approval.

There are no matters for report.