Agenda item - 12-Month Review of the Constitution

Report of the Director of Strategy & Governance, together with an extract from the proceedings of the Cabinet and Governance Committee meetings held on the 14^th and 12^th January respectively (copies attached).

51.1       Councillor Oxley introduced the report which detailed the outcome of the 12-month review of the Constitution and put forward proposals for amendments to the Constitution.  Councillor Oxley wished to place on record his thanks to the officers involved in the review process and for putting together the various amendments resulting from the consultation exercise.  He noted that both the Governance Committee and the Cabinet had agreed the respective recommendations that fell under their responsibilities and that the intention would be for all the changes to come into effect on the day after the Annual Council Meeting in May.

51.2       Councillor Oxley also noted that there was a Green amendment to the recommendations and stated that he could not accept them.  Whilst the transition from the committee system to the Leader and Cabinet model had been a complex one, he believed it had retained the aims of openness and transparency and therefore should be maintained as far as possible, whilst taking into account the proposed amendments.

51.3       Councillor Taylor stated that the Green Group welcomed the report and the changes being proposed, but felt that they did not necessarily go far enough and the amendment sought to go a step further.  It was felt that the number of Cabinet Member Meetings could be reduced with the loss of the Enterprise, Employment & Major Projects and Culture, Recreation & Tourism CMM’s.  In the long-term the CMM’s for Environment and Housing would also be cut and all business transacted at Cabinet meetings.  It was also felt that the Environment & Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee should be split into two, with a separate Community Safety Overview & Scrutiny Committee created.  The current remit of the committee was too large and this change would enable a more effective overview & scrutiny process to be established.  He therefore formerly moved the amendment.

51.4       Councillor Randall formerly seconded the amendment.

51.5       Councillor Elgood welcomed the report and stated that he fully supported the proposed amendments and hoped that further consideration would be given to enabling neighbourhood decision-making to become a reality.  He also suggested that consideration should be given to the re-establishment of an Equalities Forum, which had been successful in the past and would compliment the Community Safety Forum.

51.6       Councillor Mitchell welcomed the report and stated that she felt the consultation exercise had been very constructive and the proposed amendments would provide benefits for those involved in the democratic processes of the council.  However, she could not support the Green amendment which did not appear to have provided for the resource implications if were to be approved and therefore it would be better to consider the proposals as part of another review.

51.7       Councillor Simson stated that she was surprised by the Green amendment and queried how the Community Safety Form (CSF), was expected to operate if a Community Overview & Scrutiny Committee was established.  She believed the CSF provided an excellent means of engaging with groups and partners and a means of reviewing issues etc.  She also noted that the City Inclusion Forum had been established and suggested that it held a wider remit than an Equalities Forum and therefore there was not a need to have a separate Equalities Forum.

51.8       Councillor Oxley noted the comments and stated that he believed it was important to maintain a process that was open and transparent.  The CMM’s were part of that process and as such should be retained as they offered the public the opportunity to see how and when decisions were being made and to hold those decisions to account.  He felt that the Green amendment had not been thought through and failed to account for the resource implications and therefore should not be accepted.  The proposed amalgamation of the Central Services and Finance CMM’s into the Cabinet was a logical one in view of the corporate nature of the business they were responsible for.  However, the remaining CMM’s were necessary and should remain.  He was unclear as to why there was a need for an extra overview & scrutiny committee and what the role of the CSF would be under such a structure.  He therefore wished to move the recommendations of the report and to oppose the Green amendment.

51.9       The Mayor noted that an amendment had been moved and put it to the vote which was lost.

51.10    The Mayor then put the recommendations to the vote which were carried.

51.11    RESOLVED:

(1)       That the proposals for amendments to the Constitution to be effective from the day after the Annual Council Meeting in May 2010, as set out in recommendations 8 and 13 in the body of the report be approved; and

(2)       That the Head of Law be authorised to make any necessary amendments to the Constitution to reflect the above recommendations and those of the Cabinet and Governance Committee.