Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor S J Jones.

To note appointments of Substitute Members.

There were no substitute members.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the latter case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

To consider the attached report of the Director of Governance.

The Director of Governance presented the Review of the Constitution 2013 undertaken in accordance with Article 15 of the Constitution which provided for a process of annual review.

The Committee was informed that while the Review incorporated a number of changes reflecting legislative and organisational change there were no fundamental changes proposed to the way in which the governance of the Council operated.

(a)                   The Articles of the Constitution

The Localism Act 2011 had necessitated a number of changes to the Articles of the Constitution, particularly in respect of the Code of Conduct. There had also been a recent judicial interpretation (Buck v Doncaster) that had set out what could be considered to be a plan or strategy of the Council.

(b)                   Part 3 Responsibility for Functions – incorporating amendments required as a consequence of legislative and organisational change

The Council had undergone a number of changes to its organisational structure that needed updating in the Constitution to reflect decisions of the Council and Executive. A presentational change had been made to the delegations of the Director of Finance, Housing and Community and it was proposed that this style would be adopted as part of the Review of the Constitution 2014 for other officer delegations.

(c)                   Part 4 – Council Procedure Rules

The Council Procedure Rules had been the subject of a number of incremental changes over recent years and the objective of reviewing the Rules was to ensure that the rules were still fit for purpose and where appropriate to make presentational changes to improve clarity.

(d)                   Part 5 – Codes and Protocols (Arrangements for speaking at Planning Committee)

The review proposed amendments to codify the current situation where the Chairman of the Planning Committee had been exercising his discretion to permit public speaking for a second time in instances where an item had been deferred for consideration at a future meeting.

The Committee was advised that due to the cost of printing 45 copies of the draft Constitution a copy had been placed on the Council’s website that set out in tracked changes the proposed amendments.

RESOLVED:    That it be recommended to Council that the Review of the Constitution 2013 be approved (including those in Part 3 in their entirety (Responsibility for Functions) and the proposed changes be incorporated into the Council’s Constitution.