Report to:			COUNCIL
Date:			21 March 2024
Title:			Calendar of Meetings 2024/25
Portfolio Area:			Council – Cllr Brazil, 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:	Head of Democratic Services
Contact:	Email: darryl.white@swdevon.gov.uk

RECOMMENDATION:

That Council be RECOMMENDED to approve the draft Calendar of Meetings for 2024/25 (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 2024/25.

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.  To this end, Members will note that the draft Calendar now includes provision for Development Management Committee meetings to be moved from Wednesdays to Thursdays, with site inspections remaining on the Monday of the Committee week.  For absolute clarity, this change will take effect from the date of the Annual Council meeting (23 May 2024) and Committee meetings will, in accordance with the adopted Calendar for 2023/24, remain on Wednesdays until this date;

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

3.3 In response to a Member request, all Members have been canvassed for their views on the start time of Full Council (excluding the Annual and Budget Council) meetings to gauge their preferences for either a 2.00pm, 4.00pm or 7.00pm start time.  The results of this survey will be reported to Members in advance of this Council meeting.

3.4 Once the Calendar of Meetings for 2024/25 has been approved, officers will then populate the Member Learning and Development Plan for the upcoming twelve month period.   

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 2024/25 Municipal Year.

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:

A: Draft Calendar of Meetings 2024/25

Background Papers:

None