Report and appendices attached.

The Monitoring Officer reported he had reviewed the first 200 pages of the Constitution and had updated the Scheme of Delegation. Proposed changes and comments on these sections were included in the report.

The proposed changes detailed the statutory roles of the Directors of Public Health, Children’s Services and Adult Social Services. It was also proposed to raise the threshold at which contracts were required to go to Cabinet from £1m to £2m. This was however subject to further discussion before finalising.

The surplus property protocol had been revised and shortened but some of the previously minuted actions needed clarifying prior to being taken to full Council. Members expressed support for the proposals that write-offs should be carried out by Cabinet and that there should be an independent member of Audit Committee. It was suggested that contract decisions of £1-2m should be made in consultation with the Director/Leader.

It was agreed that references to Council meetings should say that these are held ‘in public’ rather than being ‘public meetings’. References should be changed from ‘staff’ to read ‘officers’ and section 2.01 should clarify that no by-elections can be held within six months of a scheduled election.

It was also recommended that the relevant section make it clear that changes to the Constitution required a two thirds majority at Council rather than a straight majority. The Monitoring Officer would confirm if the Chief Executive had a nominated deputy. It was noted that this could not be the s. 151 officer. A Member felt that Gold Command procedures should also be reviewed.

The Monitoring Officer would update on the timeframe for introducing Trade Union voting rights. It was noted that a Members’ pension scheme was not allowed under the current law. Waivers to contract procedure rules did not usually sit with Cabinet and the proposal for these to need approval by both legal and finance officers could be considered by the Constitution Working Party. New procurement rules were also expected. Members felt however that Cabinet Members should retain some involvement.

It was noted that references to the former Adjudication and Review Committee should be removed from the Local Choice Functions section. The proposed section on consultations now included an ability to launch a consultation rather than just respond. This clarified the current position that officers could launch consultations. Examples of consultations could be included in the text. A requirement of officers to discuss consultations with the Lead Member could also be added.

The number of places per Committee could be added in a separate annexe to the Constitution. Only high level delegations were shown in the Constitution but sub-delegations could also be published. The Monitoring Officer would check if National Insurance contributions for Members could be stopped if the Member was past the state retirement age.

It would also be clarified if the power to licence scrapyards sat with the Environment Agency rather than the Council. It was proposed that cases of whistle blowing be moved from Governance Committee to Audit Committee as this reflected current practice. The ‘reasonable fee’ for a copy of the Constitution required defining and it was noted that the Director of Planning was not a statutory officer. It was clarified that the Mayor’s casting vote was not being removed as this was already shown in the existing Council Procedure Rules.

It was AGREED that the Monitoring Officer would make the changes to the Constitution as agreed and then circulate the revised version to the Committee for comment.