Report to:			COUNCIL
Date:			16 February 2023
Title:			Calendar of Meetings 2023/24
Portfolio Area:			Council – Cllr Pearce, Leader
Wards Affected:			All
Urgent Decision:		N		Approval and clearance obtained:			Y
Date next steps can be taken: Immediately following this meeting
Author:	Darryl White				Role:	Democratic Services Manager
Contact:	Email: darryl.white@swdevon.gov.uk

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council be RECOMMENDED to approve the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2023/24 (as presented at Appendix A).

1. Executive summary

1.1 Each year, the Council is required to approve a Calendar of formal decision-making Meetings for the forthcoming year.

2. Background

2.1 The Constitution sets out requirements relating to the number and frequency of meetings of Council Bodies.  In setting the Calendar of Meetings each year, the Council can ensure that these requirements are met.  Adoption of a twelve-month Calendar also enables for forward planning and avoids potential meeting clashes.

3. Outcomes/outputs

3.1 Set out at Appendix A is the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2023/24.

3.2 In drawing up the calendar of meetings, a number of parameters have been taken into account.  These include:

3.2.1  Constitutional requirements which, for some Bodies, sets the number and frequency of meetings that are to be held annually;

3.2.2  The wishes of Members that Thursdays are seen as ‘Member Days’ and therefore as many meetings as possible are arranged to take place on this day; and

3.2.3  The wishes of Members, wherever possible, to avoid formal meetings being held during school holidays;

4. Options available and consideration of risk

4.1     By approving the Calendar of Meetings each year, the Council will avoid potential Member meeting clashes and ensure that its Constitutional requirements are provided for with the wishes of Members, wherever possible, being taken into account.

5.  Proposed Way Forward

5.1     Approval of the Calendar of Meetings will support the organisation in its corporate work programming for the 2023/24 Municipal Year and will enable potential candidates who are considering standing for Council in the May 2023 local elections to ba aware of formal meeting date commitments.

6. Implications

Implications	Relevant to proposals Y/N	Details and proposed measures to address
Legal/Governance	Y	Statutory Powers – Local Government Act 1972
Financial implications to include reference to value for money	N	There are no direct financial implications
Risk	N	These are addressed in the report
Supporting Corporate Strategy		Efficient and Effective Council
Climate Change - Carbon / Biodiversity Impact		Attendance at formal Member meetings is required for voting Members, however car sharing is actively encouraged.  The use of Microsoft Teams is also now actively encouraged for all informal Member Briefing sessions and Workshops
Comprehensive Impact Assessment Implications
Equality and Diversity		Not applicable
Safeguarding		Not applicable
Community Safety, Crime and Disorder		Not applicable
Health, Safety and Wellbeing		Not applicable
Other implications		Not applicable

Supporting Information

Appendices:

Calendar of Meetings 2023/24 – Appendix A

Background Papers:

None