Agenda and minutes

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2025.

The minutes of the special meeting held on 17 April 2025 were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chair as correct.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare any discloseable pecuniary interests that relate to business on the agenda and which have not already been included in the register of interests, before any discussion takes place on the item. Unless the interest is sensitive, you must also disclosure the nature of the interest.  In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, you must then leave the room and must not participate in any further discussion on the item.  Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made.

To receive the report of the Strategic Director for People and Communities.

The Monitoring Officer presented the report making the following points:

·         the Unison branch officer had input into the amendments to the Terms of Reference;

·         the previous meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee had sought clarification on consultation with all unions which had now been undertaken with no response;

·         the Strategic Director for People and Communities had clarified the that the wording in points 1 and 6 remained as ‘Consultation’ as this described the joint decision-making and consensual approach taken in the group; and

·         the rationale for the removal of reference to ‘terms of service’ was that those documents still applied but the Terms of Reference recognised the wide range of issues over and above pay which were considered.

The Monitoring Officer responded to a question from a Member stating that as with any other committee should there not be a majority decision the Chair would cast the deciding vote.

Councillor Atkinson proposed, seconded by Councillor Knott, that given there had been full discussion on the matter at the previous meeting the committee move to the vote.

The Chair moved the recommendations as set out in the report which following a unanimous vote were CARRIED.

To receive the report of the Monitoring Officer.

The Monitoring Officer introduced the report making the following points:

·         the Governance Sounding Board had been set up by this committee and Members had considered the City Development functions which had subsequently been approved by Council;

·         the Governance Sounding Board played an important role in scrutinising amendments to the constitution;

·         he drew attention to the reduction in the size of committees to 11 councillors and the move to allow substitute members; and

·         the Solicitor would present the report in further detail.

The Chair invited Councillor Wright to speak as she had registered under Standing Order No. 44.

Councillor Wright, as Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services, Community Safety and City Centre made the following points:

·         thanked everyone on the sounding board as this had been a cross-party endeavour with good input and some political questions raised;

·         she drew attention to the closure motion at full council to avoid going beyond 3 hours to ensure more efficient work, especially as many councillors cross-party had raised the length of meetings over the last year as an issue;

·         thanked the officers for their hard work in re-formatting, adding digital links and making the constitution more understandable and easier to navigate;

·         there was nothing currently in the constitution regarding numbers of councillors on a committee and she believed these had increased over time with some councillors sitting on more than one committee meaning a lot of strenuous work whereas 11 retained political balance and the introduction of substitutes would ensure sufficient members are present which was important having been asked about sharing committees for health or caring reasons; and

·         these changes would brings the Council in line with employment conditions where work continued if people are unable to attend and would support equality and allow councillors to take on the role and know they could have a substitute if they had a health condition.

The Solicitor presented the report making the following points:

·         the constitution was the legal framework which underpinned everything we do: Members, officers and citizens;

·         there had been piecemeal updates over the last 20 years but under the new Monitoring Officer this governance review would be carried out in two stages, this being the first;

·         there would be a built-in an annual review to reflect it would be a living document and there may be other elements which required amendment;

·         the Monitoring Officer would lead the ongoing reviews;

·         there would be a key change to the Standing Orders which were difficult to follow currently and not logically set out;

·         Existing Standing Orders had been transposed into a modern format making them easier to read and use and more helpful to councillors during council meetings;

·         The proposed reduction of committee membership in some cases from 14 to 11 would mean an overall reduction to 55 from 68 which would reduce the burden on Members and allow them to develop a specialism and enhance scrutiny;

·         any concern that the reduction in numbers may impact decision-making due to absences would be offset by the introduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 67.