Agenda item

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to seek the Standard Panel’s views on some further revisions to the Constitution based on areas where further work was requested at its last meeting which relate to a number of issues around the appointment of substitute members.  Since the last meeting, the Standards Panel is also requested to consider the size of the Audit Committee.

Decision

It is recommended that the Standards Panel

1.         agrees an appropriate deadline for the appointment of substitute members to a Committee or Sub-Committee;

2.         considers the revised wording of the Substitution Rules set out in Annexe 1;

3.         determines the best option for the way forward for the membership of the Audit Committee, as set out in paragraph 13 of the report; and

4.         makes the appropriate recommendations to the Council for amending            the constitution.

8.1       The Panel was reminded that, at its last meeting, Members had reviewed the Scheme of Delegation and revisions to the constitution. At that meeting, it was recommended that further work be undertaken on the following three areas:

1.    The deadlines for giving apologies for meetings and calling substitutes

2.    The application of political proportionality rules for committee members and substitutes at quasi-judicial meetings; and

3.    The formatting/numbering of substitution rules in the Constitution.

8.2       The Panel received a report detailing proposals for the above areas. They were also asked to review the size of the Audit Committee because it only consisted of 7 members and as it did not allow for substitutes, occasionally it had been close to being inquorate. The Panel was also asked to consider revisions to the Overview and Scrutiny Informal Working Group protocol, a copy of which was tabled at the meeting.

8.3       The Panel first considered the deadlines for giving apologies for meetings and calling substitutes. This was particularly pertinent to Joint Planning Committees and other regulatory meetings where reports were detailed and lengthy, and site visits took place. It was important that substitutes were called with sufficient time to read the reports and attend the site visits. The current policy was that Members needed to call by 12noon on the day of the meeting and a member of the Democratic Services Team would try to arrange for a substitute to be arranged.

8.4       The Panel agreed that this was not sufficient notice and should be changed. It was recommended that a Member should give a minimum of 4 clear working days notice if they could not attend a meeting in order to enable substitutes to be arranged, if applicable (i.e. if the meeting was on a Wednesday, the apologies should be received by the end of the Wednesday before this). After this time, late apologies could still be given as it was inevitable that an urgent matter might arise or because of illness but a substitute would not be called.  It was agreed that an example should be included within the constitution of how and when apologies should be given, and that on agendas, the exact deadline for giving apologies to enable a substitute to be arranged, would be stated.

8.5       The Panel also considered the timing of site visits and suggested that these take place 1 clear working day before a meeting (i.e. the Monday if the meeting was on a Wednesday) which would allow the Members, including any substitutes, to have read the agenda report and enough time for officers to look into any matters raised during the visit.

8.6       During discussion, Members expressed their frustrations with Joint Planning Committee meetings being rearranged or cancelled at short notice. They expressed a preference for them to take place on a regular evening, preferably, on a Wednesday, as this had become the evening that was always generally used for all planning meetings. Members were advised that there had recently been a high number of major planning applications which needed to be determined and that it was an exceptional period which required the Committee to be convened on other days of the week.

8.7       It was agreed that the above change to the giving of apologies and arranging a substitute should apply to all quasi-judicial meetings and the constitution be amended to reflect this.

8.8       The Panel moved on to consider the application of political proportionality rules for committee members and substitutes at quasi-judicial meetings. The current constitution stated:

“PR 4.2 For each Committee, the Council will appoint the agreed number of substitutes in respect of each political group in proportion to the number of ordinary seats as that group holds on that Committee, Sub-Committee or Panel”.

8.9       They were advised that legal advice had been obtained and this interpretation was consistent with legislation under which the committees were appointed, namely Section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Consequently, the Panel noted that no changes were required to the Constitution in relation to this.

8.10    The Panel moved on to consider the changes proposed to the Substitutions section of the Constitution. It was suggested that the two separate elements within the section would be better combined as one so that the rules were consistent to all Committees operating a substitute scheme. Members agreed with this proposal. The revised wording is set out at Annexe 1.

8.11    Moving on to the proposal to change the membership arrangements of the Audit Committee, the Panel was advised that the Committee consisted of seven councillors with no ability to appoint substitutes. Due to its size, occasionally the Committee was close to being inquorate and the Panel was asked whether the size of the committee should be increased and/or they allowed for substitutes. Members agreed that the Audit Committee needed consistent attendance because there was a lot of knowledge and understanding required and that many of the matters considered at the Committee were ongoing and cyclical. The use of substitutes would limit the ability of those members to obtain and build up the basic knowledge of the role of the Committee and the topics being discussed. Consequently, Members felt that there should continue to be a fixed membership without substitutions and recommended that the Committee be increased to eight members. They noted that this would not change the current political proportionality of the Committee.

8.12    The last issue for the Panel to consider was changes to the Informal Working Group Protocol. Informal Working Groups were established by the new Overview and Scrutiny Committees to look into and make recommendations on particular subject areas. Since these had been established, it had been recognised by the Coordinating Board that there was a misalignment between how members wished to operate the Informal Working Groups and how this was set out within the constitution. The Panel considered whether the meetings should be held in open or closed session. Officers tabled a revised protocol for Members to consider, a copy of which is attached as Annexe 2.  Members agreed that the meetings should be confidential and closed to the press and public. In terms of membership, the Panel agreed that those who attended an Informal Working Group should be those with the best skills and knowledge of the subject matter. Therefore, on occasions this might mean members from another O&S Committee should be permitted to attend, as well as a member of the Audit Committee. Members also agreed that the suggested wording for the Chairman inviting other members to attend a meeting should be inserted, and, therefore, the wording about giving notice to speak could be deleted. It was agreed that the Protocol should specify that there should be no more than 6 Members on the Informal Working Group. The proposed amendments to the wording are shown as tracked changes in Annexe 2.

8.13    The Chairman thanked Members for their contributions to the meeting and accordingly the Panel

RECOMMENDS that:

4.         the Constitution be amended to specify that apologies for all Committees with a substitute scheme in place be submitted at least 4 clear working days before a meeting takes place in order to facilitate a substitute being arranged;

5.         the Audit Committee be increased in size from seven to eight Members;

6.         the Constitution be amended to reflect the decisions above, as attached at Annexe 1; and

7.         the revised Informal Working Group protocol be amended as attached at Annexe 2.