To consider and agree amendments to the Council’s Constitution.  

79.1           The report of the Head of Democratic Services, circulated at Pages No. 32-479, sought to agree a revised Constitution which took account of Council decisions, new/revised legislation, operational changes, current Council practice and the simplification of wording. The report drew attention to the main changes as well as a number of additions to the Scheme of Delegation.

79.2           The Head of Democratic Services explained that the Council’s Constitution was a very important document in terms of the way the Council conducted its business. All Constitutions were based on statutory guidance contained within the Local Government Act 2000 and the last major update of the Council’s Constitution had been in 2009 so a review was needed. The Democratic Services Team had worked together to review the document page by page and there were several items highlighted within the report for amendment/deletion.

79.3           Particular attention was drawn to the Housing Allocation and Homelessness Review Committee which it was considered was no longer required. The Committee had been set up before the current statutory process was put into place and was now an unnecessary secondary review which was time consuming for both Members and Officers. The Standards Committee was likely to change in the future following the results of the recent consultation undertaken by the Committee for Standards in Public Life but, for now, it was suggested that the membership be amended to require one non-voting Parish representative rather than two. In terms of the Tree Panel, the current arrangements were not open and accountable and, since the Planning Scheme of Delegation had been amended and the Planning Committee no longer made the decisions on Tree Preservation Orders, it was felt that the appeal mechanism should rest with the Planning Committee rather than with a Tree Panel. In recent years, the Audit Committee had taken on more of a governance role and the name of the Committee and Terms of Reference had been amended to reflect the importance of that role – it was also suggested that an increase in the membership from seven to nine would be helpful. The Terms of Reference of the Employee Appointments Committee had been amended to take account of new legislation and it had been renamed the Employee Appointments/Disciplinary Committee.

79.4           There was a decision to be made in respect of the Petitions Scheme; as the legislation that had introduced it had now been abolished, and there was therefore no requirement for the Council to have one, it was suggested that the thresholds for requiring a Council debate or a Senior Officer giving evidence at a public meeting be increased from 100 to 800 and 400 respectively in line with the initial guidance. It was felt that the Petitions Scheme was a good tool for gaining peoples’ views and, as such, it should remain in place but, as any petitions of under 800 signatories could still be submitted for consideration by Officers and put through the Committee cycle as appropriate, it was suggested that an increase  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79