to consider the following motions received (if any) in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1
a) From Cllr Pearce and Cllr Hawkins
“South Hams District Council is immensely troubled by the horrific devastation in Ukraine, and the escalating terrible humanitarian crisis facing the country. In light of this, and as a way of expressing support for members of our communities* who have ties with Ukraine:
This Council:
a) Condemns the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their families and friends, including those local to the South Hams.
b) Stands ready to provide support to those affected by this War and will open our arms to people displaced and affected.
c) Will work with and support the efforts of our local communities to provide help and comfort to those in need.
*We understand that there are no Ukrainian nationals living in the South Hams, but there are 29 in Torbay and 27 in Plymouth City Council areas. Anecdotally we believe a few at least may work in the South Hams or have very close relations who do. What the figures do not tell us is how many naturalised Ukrainians there may be in any of these areas and therefore how many family relations from the Ukraine may be joining them.”
b) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises the fundamental importance of its Constitution to its governance and to the residents it serves and that the Constitution should provide a clear and concise account of its rules and procedures so that all (Members, officers and the public) are able to understand them and to hold the Council to account where necessary.
This Council therefore resolves that:
1. In recognition of its importance, no changes to the constitution should be made without full consultation with all members and approved by Full Council. Minor changes may be made but only where they are limited to correcting or improving layout, spelling or grammar and have regard to 2 below;
2. All changes, including minor changes, are logged and a version history and change-log is maintained and published on the Council’s website;
3. The Constitution on the Council’s website is always the latest approved version and marked as such, and there is access to archived versions;
4. The Constitution is made available for download as a single pdf file;
5. The website provides a means of searching the whole of the currently approved constitution, as published on its website;
and that the Constitution is updated to reflect this resolution.’
c) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises the importance of considering motions put to full council by Members in a fair and orderly way and resolves that any motions that are not heard, due to the 45 minute rule, or for any other reason that is time related, are automatically carried over to the next meeting and that the running order is preserved, and that the Constitution is updated to reflect this resolution.’
d) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises that its Constitution needs to provide the flexibility to allow officers to take swift action in the case of an emergency. However, it further recognises that at a time of emergency this Council needs to be kept informed and able to guide the response, and that any emergency powers taken must be ratified by Full Council within 14 days and every 30 day thereafter to ensure the Council is able to exercise proper democratic control over how it manages an emergency.
It is therefore resolved that Part 3a, section 7 should be modified so that any emergency powers taken by officers are time-limited as previously described.’
Minutes:
84/21
It was noted that four Motions on Notice had been received in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.1:
a) From Cllr Pearce and Cllr Hawkins
“South Hams District Council is immensely troubled by the horrific devastation in Ukraine, and the escalating terrible humanitarian crisis facing the country. In light of this, and as a way of expressing support for members of our communities* who have ties with Ukraine:
This Council:
a) Condemns the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their families and friends, including those local to the South Hams.
b) Stands ready to provide support to those affected by this War and will open our arms to people displaced and affected.
c) Will work with and support the efforts of our local communities to provide help and comfort to those in need.
*We understand that there are no Ukrainian nationals living in the South Hams, but there are 29 in Torbay and 27 in Plymouth City Council areas. Anecdotally we believe a few at least may work in the South Hams or have very close relations who do. What the figures do not tell us is how many naturalised Ukrainians there may be in any of these areas and therefore how many family relations from the Ukraine may be joining them.”
In her introduction, the proposer highlighted the relevance of the debate earlier in the meeting (Minute 80/21 above refers).
During the ensuing debate, the following points were raised:
(a) Some Members felt that Central Government could be acting more proactively to help the people of the Ukraine. As a result, the following amendment was PROPOSED and SECONDED as an additional point to the motion:
‘d) Calls upon our MPs to lobby Government to relax its visa criteria and encourage greater access for Ukrainian refugees who wish to come to the UK.’
In discussion, there was widespread support expressed for this amendment and, when put to the vote, it was declared CARRIED;
(b) A Member took issue with the word ‘unprovoked’ being included in the motion. However, in discussion, a number of Members stated their disagreement with this viewpoint and felt that the word should be retained in the motion.
It was then:
RESOLVED
“South Hams District Council is immensely troubled by the horrific devastation in Ukraine, and the escalating terrible humanitarian crisis facing the country. In light of this, and as a way of expressing support for members of our communities* who have ties with Ukraine:
This Council:
a) Condemns the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their families and friends, including those local to the South Hams.
b) Stands ready to provide support to those affected by this War and will open our arms to people displaced and affected.
c) Will work with and support the efforts of our local communities to provide help and comfort to those in need.
d) Calls upon our MPs to lobby Government to relax its visa criteria and encourage greater access for Ukrainian refugees who wish to come to the UK.
*We understand that there are no Ukrainian nationals living in the South Hams, but there are 29 in Torbay and 27 in Plymouth City Council areas. Anecdotally we believe a few at least may work in the South Hams or have very close relations who do. What the figures do not tell us is how many naturalised Ukrainians there may be in any of these areas and therefore how many family relations from the Ukraine may be joining them.”
b) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises the fundamental importance of its Constitution to its governance and to the residents it serves and that the Constitution should provide a clear and concise account of its rules and procedures so that all (Members, officers and the public) are able to understand them and to hold the Council to account where necessary.
This Council therefore resolves that:
1. In recognition of its importance, no changes to the constitution should be made without full consultation with all members and approved by Full Council. Minor changes may be made but only where they are limited to correcting or improving layout, spelling or grammar and have regard to 2 below;
2. All changes, including minor changes, are logged and a version history and change-log is maintained and published on the Council’s website;
3. The Constitution on the Council’s website is always the latest approved version and marked as such, and there is access to archived versions;
4. The Constitution is made available for download as a single pdf file;
5. The website provides a means of searching the whole of the currently approved constitution, as published on its website;
and that the Constitution is updated to reflect this resolution.’
In their introductions, the proposer and seconder highlighted the current state of the Council Constitution and the commitment of the 15 July 2021 Council meeting for further progress reports to be presented (36/21 below refers). In particular, the Members highlighted the importance of point 4 of their motion.
During debate, there was support expressed for the thrust of the motion. However, the Leader informed that the work into the Constitution Review was already well underway by the Monitoring Officer. Furthermore, there was a commitment given for Member Briefings to be arranged on the proposals before the item was considered at the Annual Council meeting to be held on 19 May 2022. As a consequence, the majority of Members felt that circumstances were such that the motion was not necessary.
When put to the vote the Motion was declared LOST.
c) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises the importance of considering motions put to full council by Members in a fair and orderly way and resolves that any motions that are not heard, due to the 45 minute rule, or for any other reason that is time related, are automatically carried over to the next meeting and that the running order is preserved, and that the Constitution is updated to reflect this resolution.’
In his introduction, the proposer felt that, as a matter of principle, motions should be rolled over to the next scheduled Council meeting.
In discussion, other Members felt that the 45 minute rule was appropriate and felt that, should the need arise, there was always the provision for the Chairman of Council to exercise their discretion to extend this time limit. Moreover, the point was made that rolling over motions to the next meeting was likely to result in motions being stockpiled thereby preventing any other motions from being considered in a reasonable time.
When put to the vote the Motion was therefore declared LOST
d) From Cllr McKay and Cllr Birch
‘This Council recognises that its Constitution needs to provide the flexibility to allow officers to take swift action in the case of an emergency. However, it further recognises that at a time of emergency this Council needs to be kept informed and able to guide the response, and that any emergency powers taken must be ratified by Full Council within 14 days and every 30 day thereafter to ensure the Council is able to exercise proper democratic control over how it manages an emergency.
It is therefore resolved that Part 3a, section 7 should be modified so that any emergency powers taken by officers are time-limited as previously described.’
In light of the previous discussions in relation to the Council Constitution (Notice of Motions (c) and (d) above), the proposer, in accordance with Meeting Procedure Rule 15.8, sought the consent of the meeting to withdraw the motion. However, when put to the vote, this procedural motion was declared LOST.
In the subsequent discussion, the proposer emphasised the fundamental principle of democracy being elected Member involvement. However, it was felt that, since the Emergency Powers provision had only been used once during this Council administration, then this motion was unnecessary and disproportionate.
When put to the vote the Motion was declared LOST