Agenda item

08/22    

The Council considered a report that proposed changes to the content and format of the Council Constitution, so that it reflected proposals to improve the clarity, efficiency and accountability of decision-making and that ultimately would result in a more user-friendly document. 

 

In introducing the report, the Leader stated:

               

i)          that the background to why the Council needed a Constitution and what it should contain was set out in the presented agenda report;

 

ii)      Members had been dissatisfied with the current document for quite some time and that work to update and modernise it had commenced in July 2021;

 

ii)         a full suite of documents had now been drafted but that during the recent consultation, Members had requested additional time to fully consider these, so as a result, only Chapters 1 (Introduction), 2 (Scheme of Delegation) and 3 ( Meeting Procedures Rules) were to be considered at this meeting for approval;

 

The Leader proceeded to outline and explain the proposed changes that were contained within the document.

 

At this point, the Monitoring Officer provided an update to the meeting on corrections made to the text since publication of the report and responded to questions from Members on points of clarity.

 

In the ensuing debate, particular reference was made to:-

 

(a)    an amendment to recommendation (1) (that subject to (2) the Council adopts the following documents as set out at Appendix A as a part of its Constitution and the Constitution is amended with immediate effect) was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

 

‘that subject to (2) the Council adopts the following documents as set out at Appendix A as part of its Constitution and the Constitution, ‘upon Council adopting the Complete Constitution, including the documents that contain hyperlinks’

 

In support of the amendment, the proposer felt that delaying the adoption of the Constitution until the document was fully complete would permit all Members to propose and discuss potential amendments and concerns with the Monitoring Officer and other Officers to ensure that the document was approved in its entirety rather than piecemeal.

 

In discussion the following points were raised:

 

i)       Some Members expressed the view that all Members had already been given the opportunity to review and discuss each aspect of the Constitution prior to this meeting;

 

ii)      It was noted that Chapters 1 and 3 had previously been approved at the Council meeting held on 15 July 2021 (Minute 36/21 refers);

 

iii)     In support of the amendment, a Member stated that all Members should have been made fully aware of all proposed key changes to the existing document prior to its presentation for approval.

 

When put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST;

 

 

(b)   a further amendment to the recommendations was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows

 

‘Chapter 2 (page 38) Table 1 (part 1.3) Overview and Scrutiny add:

 

‘That no Member of the Executive or Development Management (DM) Committee appointed at the Annual Council meeting can be appointed to be Members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’

 

In support of the amendment, the proposer felt it right and proper that all Members were given an equal opportunity to serve on a formal Committee of the Council and that no Members should be prohibited from serving on one of either: the Executive; DM Committee; or the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

 

During the ensuing discussion, the following points were raised:-

 

i)       In opposing the amendment, a Member suggested that not all Members wished to serve on one of these three Committees and it was therefore in fact restricting Members to be forced to have to sit on one of the Committees named in the amendment;

 

ii)      A Member highlighted that the changes proposed in the Constitution meant that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee should now be politically balanced and the consequence of the amendment would mean that it would conflict with this requirement;

 

iii)     Since the introduction of this local convention, a Member reminded the meeting that provision was now in place for Committee Substitutes to serve on both the DM and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.  As a consequence, the convention had indirectly been superseded since it was possible (albeit in a substitute capacity) for Members to be able to now serve on both the DM and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

 

When put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST;

 

c)      a third amendment to the recommendations was then PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

 

Page 104 and 120 to add: ‘The Special Council/Committee meeting shall be held with 14 days of the meeting being called’

 

Speaking in support of the amendment, the proposer felt that, in the event that a Special meeting had been called, then the matter to be considered was deemed to be urgent and, as such, the meeting should therefore be held at the earliest opportunity but certainly within 14 days.

 

In debate, the point was made that adequate time needed to be given for the necessary reports and other material to be prepared before a meeting could be called.  However, this did not preclude the meeting from taking place well within 14 days should it be possible and deemed necessary.

 

When put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST;

 

d)     a fourth amendment to the recommendations was then PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

 

“That the proposal to delete the ability for Question and Motions on Notice to be put forward by Members to the Annual Council meeting be reinstated”

 

In introducing the amendment, the proposer felt that it was an erosion of democracy to remove this facility from any Council meeting.

 

In debate, the following views were expressed:

 

i)       Since the Annual Council meeting was very much a ceremonial meeting at most local authorities, a number had already adopted the approach whereby Questions and Motions on Notice were prohibited from this meeting;

 

ii)      In support of transparency and democracy a Member supported the re-instatement of the facility and echoed the comments of the proposer whereby removal of Questions and Motions on Notice from the Annual Council agenda represented the erosion of democracy;

 

iii)     It was noted that a further two Council Meetings (from four to six meetings) had been added to recent adopted Calendar of Meetings.  Since this enabled for greater opportunities to submit Questions and Motions on Notice, this was felt to counter the concerns raised over the erosion of democracy.

 

When put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST;

 

e)     a fifth amendment to the recommendation was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:

 

d) Ref Table 5 (Page 57) 5.2: Consider proposals for hamlets and similar locations for new Conservation Area Assessments to ensure the future protection of special heritage and historic locations in the district that could be vulnerable to inappropriate new development or deterioration.

 

In debate, there was some sympathy for the sentiment of the amendment but it was felt that the Council’s Constitution was not the correct place for this issue and that it was more suited to the Plymouth and South Devon Joint Local Plan (JLP) and should be considered at the forefront of the JLP review.

               

When put to the vote, the amendment was declared LOST.

 

The substantive motion was then put to the vote and it was subsequently:

 

RESOLVED

 

1.         That, subject to resolution part 2 (below), the Council adopts with the following amendments:

 

-        Chapter 2, Table 1, paragraph 1.3, the addition of the words ‘No Member of the Executive can be a Member of the Committee’ after ’13 Councillors’;

-        Chapter 2, Table 1, paragraph 1.12 amend ‘4 co-opted Members’ to ‘6 co-opted Members’; and

-        Chapter 2, Table 3A insert new paragraph after paragraph 3.18: ‘Executive – Making Neighbourhood Plans and Neighbourhood Development Orders – see Tables 5 and 6’ to replace paragraph 3.3.  Paragraphs in Table 3A to be renumbered accordingly;

 

the following documents (as set out at Appendix A of the published agenda report) as a part of its Constitution and that the Council be amended with immediate effect:

 

a.       Chapter 1 – Introduction;

b.      Chapter 2 – Scheme of Delegation; and

c.       Chapter 3 – Meeting Procedure Rules;

 

2.         That Paragraph B1 of Appendix B and Paragraph C1 of Appendix C to the Meeting Procedure Rules (insofar as they exclude the Annual Meeting of Council) will apply from the next Annual Meeting of the Council; and

 

3.         That a further report covering the revised Chapters 4, 5 and 6 of the Council Constitution be considered at the Council meeting to be held on 14 July 2022.