Agenda item

The report (to follow) provides an update on the status and progress of the Guildford & Waverley Joint Constitutions Review Group (JCRG) since the last Standards & General Purposes Committee meeting.

The purpose of the report is to ensure the Standards and General Purposes Committee is updated and informed of the progress of the GBC & WBC Joint Constitutions Review Group. And, to ensure work on the review of Waverley Borough Council’s Constitution, in collaboration with partners from Guildford Borough Council, is meeting the overall objective of aligning key parts thereof, where appropriate to do so.

It was noted in the report, that the Joint Constitutions Review Group (JCRG) had been set up and the ToR had been agreed; confirming that the Review Group will meet on a quarterly basis, with the first meeting scheduled for 30^th November 2023 at WBC. Susan Sale, Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services, noted that some of the work that will be brought forward to the meeting will be around Officer Employment Procedure Rules, proposed changes to the Tor of the WBC Employment Committee and a review of both Councils’ Joint Appointments Committee. A draft work programme will also be set up for their approval. Any work made by the JCRG will be referred back to this Committee.

i.                 Cllr Hyman registered to speak;

Cllr Hyman proposed that Cllrs should be given transparency about which elements of the Constitution are being changed, given that the Constitution had recently been re-written the year before. He noted there was not a track changes version at that time and we need to learn lessons from this to highlight what has been changed and how the changes will achieve the Council’s Corporate Plan objectives. He suggested that the Councils should look at aligning with Surrey County Council and other neighbouring councils, and queried if there was any plans for unitary? He suggested that all Members should be able to attend or see recordings of the meetings for Members to track the discussions. He also suggested that the typo ‘construction’ is amended on page 6 of the supplementary report. He asked for clarity that the Duty of Candor will be built into the constitution.

Susan Sale, Executive Head of Legal and Democratic Services, confirmed that the typo will be amended. She noted that there is currently no dedicated resource for this and while the Review Group has been established for a year there may be a recommendation to continue its work if further work is required. She further expressed that the Constitution is not to be kept on the shelf, but it a live document that should be kept under constant review. In terms of transparency, Susan reiterated that Members have been appointed from both Local Authorities for full transparency and the recommendations from the Review group will be brought to this meeting, which is an open meeting.

Cllr Macleod, Chair of the Committee, further clarified that, as a Surrey County Councillor there were no plans or prospects for unitary at SCC; rather efforts were being made to ensure a Level 2 County Deal. The Chair used his discretion to allow Cllr Follows, Leader of the Council, to make any comments on the issues raised by Cllr Hyman.

Cllr Follows reiterated that SCC had no immediate plans to unify the Councils and therefore conversing with other neighbouring authorities would be of no use. He clarified that the current Constitution would remain in effect until any changes had been passed through the Democratic process (Standards and General Purposes Committee to Full Council). He highlighted that his preferred approach would be to revert to the LGA Model Code as a base and then build the Constitutions from there rather than reverting to the SCC Constitution or adding to the existing constitutions. He further recommended that Members should be allowed to observe the meetings, but this would be subject to approval of the Committee.