Issue - meetings

Attached.

A.   CONSTITUTION REVIEW

Composite amendment on behalf of all Groups AGREED to be submitted without division; procedural motion that composite amendment be dealt with on a vote only basis AGREED by 34 votes to 16 with one abstention; composite amendment on behalf of all Groups AGREED by 47 votes to 0 with seven abstentions.

B.   SCHOOL PERORMANCE

Following debate a amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group AGREED by 34 votes to 14 with three abstentions.  

Motion on behalf of the Residents’ and Upminster and Cranham Residents Associations’ Groups

Democracy, Fairness and the Rule of Law is the backbone of what makes Britain great and the envy of many countries around the world. However, in Havering, under the current Leadership, these principles have been eroded over the past two years to the detriment of this Council.

As a result, this council calls for an urgent review of the relevant parts of the Constitution such as the Council Procedure Rules, Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules and the Committee Procedure Rules to strengthen procedures and bring forward to the Governance Committee appropriate changes to the constitution to bring back democracy, fairness, transparency and adherence to rules and the law.

Amendment on behalf of the Conservative Group

Democracy, Fairness and the Rule of Law is the backbone of what makes Britain Great and the envy of many countries around the world.

As part of this, Council recognises the well-developed system of overview and scrutiny that exists within the London Borough of Havering, empowering all non- Executive Councillors to take part within democratic debate. Furthermore, it notes the approach adopted by the Administration in seeking to keep all members of the council informed and updated during the national lockdown with weekly all member briefs and weekly group leader meetings, going significantly above and beyond what many other authorities did. Whilst recognising that democracy, fairness, transparency and the adherence to the rules of the law are the hallmark of the London Borough of Havering, Council requests that the Monitor Officer examines the constitution and make recommendations to the Governance Committee for any areas that require modernisation.

Replacement Composite Amendment on behalf of all Groups

The Group Leaders have agreed to form a Working Group to meet monthly to review the relevant parts of the Constitution such as the Council Procedure Rules, Overview and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules and the Committee Procedure Rules to further strengthen our governance arrangements. The Working Group will liaise with and report to the Governance Committee to put forward any recommended changes to our Constitution for approval by Council.

Council discussed whether an agreement had been reached that the motion should be dealt with on a vote only basis.

The composite amendment on behalf of all Groups was AGREED to be submitted without division; a procedural motion that the composite amendment be dealt with on a vote only basis was AGREED by 34 votes to 16 with one abstention (see division 1); the composite amendment on behalf of all Groups was AGREED by 44 votes to 0 with seven abstentions (see division 2).