Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from any members of the Committee.

Councillors Fish and Pearson gave apologies. Councillors Jason Cummings and Ian Parker attended in their absence.

Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that, in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, they are required to consider in advance of each meeting whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI), another registrable interest (ORI) or a non-registrable interest (NRI) in relation to any matter on the agenda. If advice is needed, Members should contact the Monitoring Officer in good time before the meeting.

If any Member or co-opted Member of the Council identifies a DPI or ORI which they have not already registered on the Council’s register of interests or which requires updating, they should complete the disclosure form which can be obtained from Democratic Services at any time, copies of which will be available at the meeting for return to the Monitoring Officer.

Members and co-opted Members are required to disclose any DPIs and ORIs at the meeting.

·        Where the matter relates to a DPI they may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not stay in the meeting unless granted a dispensation.

·        Where the matter relates to an ORI they may not vote on the matter unless granted a dispensation.

·        Where a Member or co-opted Member has an NRI which directly relates to their financial interest or wellbeing, or that of a relative or close associate, they must disclose the interest at the meeting, may not take part in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not stay in the meeting unless granted a dispensation. Where a matter affects the NRI of a Member or co-opted Member, section 9 of Appendix B of the Code of Conduct sets out the test which must be applied by the Member to decide whether disclosure is required.

The Chair will invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3, to be recorded in the minutes.

There were no disclosures of interest for any item on the evening’s agenda.

To discuss any urgent business if any.

There were no items of Urgent Business.

This report sets out proposals for the Committee to agree a review of the Constitution and to establish a Constitution Working Group.

Looqman Desai, Deputy Monitoring Officer, explained that a review of the Constitution was needed and so a Constitution Working Group of members should be set up. The Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that it would not be a formal committee or a decision-making body, but that recommendations arising from the work it did with officers on amendments to the Constitution would be brought to the General Purposes Committee for decision before being ratified at Council.

In response to members’ queries, it was stated that the arrangements for the working group would be flexible, and member led. It was also stated that the Council Procedure Rules had been identified as a priority area, and the rest of the prioritising exercise could be done by the working group itself with guidance from officers.

Members requested that some information on the work done by the previous Constitution Working Group be taken to the first meeting. Members agreed to allocate seats on the working group to three Labour members, three Conservative members, and one Green member, with the opportunity to consult with the Liberal Democrat member and other members/committees from time to time. The Chair of the General Purposes Committee would also chair the Constitution Working Group.

RESOLVED, to:

1.     Agree a review of the Constitution covering the issues set out in Appendix 1 of the reportand any other matters the Committee may decide; and

2.  Establish a Constitution Working Group to keep the Constitution under review and inform proposals for any changes to the Constitution having regard to the issues set out in paragraphs 2.3 to 2.5.

3.   Agree that the Constitution Working Group will:

3.1       comprise of seven members with seats allocated as follows: three Labour members; three Conservative members and one Green member;

3.2       have the power to invite the Liberal Democrat member and other members/committees to participate in the review from time to time; and

 3.3      be chaired by the Chair of the General Purposes Committee current at the time. 

This report fulfils the Committee’s duty to review political balance, allocate seats and make appointments, in accordance with the wishes of the political groups, in respect of the General Purposes Urgency Sub-Committee.

Presenting the report, the Deputy Monitoring Officer explained that a politically proportional sub-committee was needed to decide matters of urgency, and that members should be drawn from the parent committee.

In response to members questions it was stated that it would not be appropriate to have an Independent Member on the sub-committee, that the Terms of Reference for the sub-committee would be the same as those for the parent committee, and that the Committee could only appoint two reserves for each political group.

RESOLVED, to:

1.     Review the representation of different political groups on the General Purposes Urgency Sub-Committee.

2.     Agree to increase the size of the General Purposes Urgency Sub-Committee from 3 to 4 seats.

3.     Agree the allocation of seats on the General Purposes Urgency Sub-Committee, by applying the political balance rules, to the Conservative and Labour groups as set out in paragraph 2.10 of this report.

4.     Appoint to the General Purposes Urgency Sub-Committee, in accordance with the wishes of the relevant political group, the 4 Members and 4 reserves as set out in paragraph 2.13.