Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – LEGAL AND COMMUNITY AND MONITORING OFFICER

N.B. This item was deferred from the Council meeting of 28 November 2024.

This report presents a summary of the areas reviewed and any in principle recommendations of the Constitutional & Governance Working Group (‘Working Group’) in relation to the following:

·         The Planning Control Committee meetings and Sub-Committees (including start times/ potential end times).

·         Standards Committee – recommendation to review the Terms of Reference to include other meaningful areas of remit.

·         Council Procedure Rules to be reviewed and amended in respect of Member Motions and Questions, (including agenda management, number, length of time on debate/ remit/ and Member speeches).

The report also covers areas considered but not recommended for change at this stage.

RESOLVED: That Council approves

(1)   The removal of the Planning Control Committee Sub-Committee meetings from the 2025 calendar.

(2)   That Planning Control Committee meetings commence at 7pm, from January 2025.

(3)   A Planning Control Committee Council Procedure Rule, that, any item under the consideration of the Committee, at 10.30 pm, will be the concluding item of the meeting, with any remaining business to be considered at the next available meeting (subject to the discretion of the Chair on a remaining item). Such amendment to take effect from January 2025.

(4)   The Standards Committee’s Terms of Reference be amended to include remit to consider and adopt or recommend adoption to the relevant decision-making body of relevant Ethical Standards Codes, or Protocols; and undertake any annual review of sections 1-18 of the Constitution (with the Monitoring Officer), prior to recommended change to Full Council.

(5)   The proposed amendments to the Council Procedure Rules (‘CPR’) on Member Motions, Member Questions and Rules of Debate, as follows:

i.       CPR 4.8.2 (f) and (g) order of business be move to the end of the meeting.

ii.     CPR 4.8.12(a) Motions on Notice – three Motions per Political Group – LOST.

iii.    CPR 4.8.12 (c) Motions on Notice – Scope, to be amended to areas the Council has responsibility for and are relevant to, or specifically affect the district – LOST.

iv.    CPR 4.8.12 (d) Motions on Notice - Debate to be up to 30 minutes per Motion.

v.     CPR 4.8.12 Motions on Notice – order of Motions shall be debated in rotation commencing with the largest opposition group, followed by the remaining opposition groups in descending order of group size and the administration group ending the round this order would be repeated until all Motions have been considered.

vi.    2.5.6 CPR 4.8.14 (e) Content and Length of Speeches – to be reduced per Councillor to three minutes.

(6)   The delegation to the Monitoring Officer to finalise any amendments relating to recommendations 2.3-2.5, as approved, in consultation with the Constitutional & Governance Working Group, and thereafter to be reported to Councillors via the Member Information Service.

(7)   The increase of the Non-Executive Delegated Decision financial/ contractual threshold reporting limit to £75K (from £50K) and instructs the Service Director Resources and Monitoring Officer to make the necessary amendments to the Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Regulations (and relevant Guidance documentation) accordingly.

(8)   (As the non-Decision-making body by vote of assent), that the Leader will exercise his Executive function, to change the names of the following Community Forums:

(8.1)                Baldock and District – to become Baldock and Villages Community    Forum.

(8.2)                Royston and District – to become Royston and Villages Community    Forum.

(9)   To amend section 14.6.11(b)(iv)A as detailed in paragraph 8.6-8.8 (namely):

“all functions of the Local Planning Authority primarily Planning Policy and Development Control (including enforcement functions, authorising expenditure of planning obligation monies, Biodiversity Net Gain, and Environmental Impact Assessment functions, and Tree Preservation Orders), other than matters reserved to the Planning Control Committee”

(10)  ...  view the full decision text for item 85

Audio recording – 1 hour 41 minutes 53 seconds

The Service Director – Legal and Community presented the report titled ‘Constitutional & Governance Review’ and highlighted the following:

·       Since the original publication of the report in November, recommendations 2.9 to 2.12 had been added to the report with 2.11 and 2.12 included in the supplementary document.

·       Due to the complexities each recommendation had been reviewed individually within the report.

·       The Devolution White Paper required Authorities to have a Standards Committee as covered in recommendation 2.4.

·       Recommendations cover in 2.5 covered the rules of debate, the length of speech, the number of motions and questions which can be submitted by Members and how long is spent on each one.

·       Recommendation 2.6 outlined the delegation for further minor amendments to the Monitoring Officer, in consultation with the Working Group, for practical purposes.

·       The threshold for Non-Executive Delegated Decision was set in 2015 at £50k and recommendation 2.7 sought to increase this to £75K.

·       A minor amendment to the names of the Community Forums for Baldock and Royston were requested as outlined in recommendation 2.8

·       Outlined in 2.9 was the biodiversity Duty and subsequent amendments to section 14 of the constitution.

·       Outlined in 2.10 is the purposed amendments to section 14 of the Constitution relating to the Local Government Ombudsman report.

·       2.11 made recommendations on presentations by the Public.

·       2.12 made recommendations regarding the temporary arrangements for the Service Director - for Housing and Environmental Health  until the end of March 2025.

N.B. Councillor Sadie Billing left the Chamber and returned at 21.44.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor David Barnard

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

The Service Director – Legal and Community gave the following responses:

·       •Debates on Motions had been based, following as suggestion, as per the practice by Hertfordshire County Council.

·       The intention was to create a reasonable cut off period for meetings and therefore the item being considered at 10.30pm would be the last item at that meeting. There was no discretion for the Chair.

Councillor Daniel Allen proposed and Councillor Nigel Mason seconded to approve recommendation 2.1

The following Members took part in the Debate:

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

The following points were raised as part of the debate:

·       If items 2.2 and 2.3 were carried, then Planning Control Committee Sub-Committee meetings would be needed to get through all items.

·       Planning applications could be discussed closer to the area where the site was located, and a Sub-Committee could support this process.

·       The Planning Control Committee was about serving the community and could the lack of Sub-Committees slow this down.

Following a vote it was:

RESOLVED: That Council approved the removal of the Planning Control Committee Sub-Committee meetings from the 2025 calendar.

N.B. Councillor Ruth Clifton left the meeting at 21.37 and did not return.

Councillor Daniel Allen proposed and Councillor Val Bryant seconded to approve recommendation 2.2

The following Members took part in the Debate:

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Emma  ...  view the full minutes text for item 85