Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and explained the fire evacuation procedures.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

The minutes of the Constitution and Member’s Development Committee meeting held on 19 December 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record.

The Director of Legal and Governance Services presented a report containing the full draft Constitution for consideration by the Members’ Development and Constitution Committee, which was the body responsible for making recommendations to Council regarding the Constitution.

The Council had recognised that improvements could be made to its governance processes, as set out in the Continuous Improvement Plan, with particular reference to the refresh of the Constitution to ensure that it was accurate and current.

The Constitution was last updated in September 2023. It was a living document that evolved continuously to reflect the ever-changing environment in which the Council operated; nationally, regionally and locally. The Monitoring Officer therefore had ongoing responsibility to ensure that the Constitution remained accurate and lawful, and had delegated authority to make some changes, which were then reported to the next meeting of Council. More fundamental changes were approved by Full Council.

Members were aware that issues of omissions, duplication and inconsistency had been identified, which was not unusual given the dynamic and complex environment in which the Council operated. The whole Constitution had therefore been reviewed as one coherent document with a view to ironing out the issues and ensuring that the Constitution appropriately reflected the Council’s governance and operating arrangements.

Most of the work on the Constitution refresh had been agreed through the Constitution and Member Development Working Group (the ‘Working Group’). The Working Group had included members of the CMDC during the previous and current municipal year; the current membership included members of the CMDC for both municipal years plus group leaders. The Working Group had met 6 times over the course of the Constitution refresh, to discuss in detail the proposed amendments to the Constitution. Additionally, the Monitoring Officer had met with the Labour group members and, separately, with non-Labour group members to engage regarding key questions about the Constitution that required a Member steer. All of those engaged with have had a copy of the working draft of the Constitution document, to comment on.

Following the engagement sessions the Constitution had been drafted with a number of provisions that were outlined within the report and considered by Members at the meeting.  Members were also asked to consider the following tabled items;

·        A revised timetable for Full Council Meetings, moving from a 6 to 8 weekly cycle.

·        Further proposed amendments to the Constitution on Members’ Code of Conduct.

·        Further Proposed Amendments to the Constitution on Members’ Code of Conduct

Consideration was given to the draft Constitution, during which Members raised  several proposed amendments and queries.

ORDERED that, the Constitution and Members Development Committee:

i.                 Considered and discussed the proposed refreshed Constitution at Appendix 1, the tabled further proposed amendments and revised schedule for Full Council meetings.

ii.                Provided comments in respect of the refresh of the Constitution at the meeting.

iii.               Subject to the updates and amendments to the refreshed Constitution agreed at Committee, approved the draft Constitution for recommendation to Full Council.

iv.              Subject to the amendments agreed at Committee,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25/4

None.