Agenda item

The report of the Monitoring Officer is attached.

Pursuant to Cabinet Minute No.43 (2017/18), the Portfolio Holder for Finance presented the report of the Monitoring Officer to provide information on the outcome of the review of, and to seek approval for proposed revisions to the Council’s Constitution. It was noted that Cabinet and Council had approved a full review of the Council’s Constitution that had led to the formation of a Task and Finish Group. The Task and Finish Group in its work had considered all parts of the current Constitution with the objective to making changes that would change the Constitution from being a large static document to one, which would bring relevant material to the immediate attention of Councillors, Officers and members of the public. The Portfolio Holder advised that Cabinet had already approved the Task and Finish Group’s recommended changes to the Constitution in respect of executive matters (Cabinet Minute No.43, 2017/18).

The Portfolio Holder advised that the review of the Constitution had been conducted in a practical manner over a challenging timescale of one year but was pleased to note that the review had been completed on time and had created a document fit for the 21st Century. The Portfolio Holder thanked the Monitoring Officer and the members of the Task and Finish Group for their work in reviewing the Constitution.

In seconding the recommendations Councillor Beardsall, who had been the lead member of the Task and Finish Group, advised that the main changes being proposed to the Constitution included the deletion of the Articles, with relevant information from them being transferred to other parts of the Constitution, and the use of electronic links to make the constitution more accessible on electronic devices. Workshops, which had been open to all Councillors, had also been held where the proposed changes to the Constitution been shared and discussed. It was noted that the feedback received from the workshops had shown broad support for the proposed model for Public Questions at Council and Cabinet, for Opposition Groups to ask questions at Cabinet and for a definition of the leader of the opposition to be included in a revised Constitution. Councillor Beardsall noted the contribution of Councillors and Officers in the review and thanked them for their hard work and cooperation in assisting with the production of the revised Constitution.

Councillor MacInnes was pleased to report that the review of the constitution had been completed on time and thanked the Monitoring Officer for his effort in helping to produce the revised document. Councillors Davidson, R Mallender and Jones noted their full support for the recommendations contained within the report on the changes to update the Constitution that would make it a more user-friendly document and welcomed the implementation of public and opposition questions at Cabinet and Council. 

It was RESOLVED that:

a)    the proposed revisions to the Council’s Constitution be approved.

b)    the model scheme for public questions at Council, as set out at Appendix A of the officer’s report, be approved for an initial twelve month trial period.

c)     the model scheme for Opposition Groups’ questions at Cabinet, as set out at Appendix B of the officer’s report, be adopted for use by the Cabinet, for an initial twelve-month trial period.

d)    a definition of the leader of the main opposition group, as detailed Appendix C of the officer’s  report, be inserted into the proposed revisions of the Constitution, and that the other references to that role in the proposed revisions be adopted with the exception of the rights to ask questions contained within the proposed revised standing orders for Overview and Scrutiny and for Cabinet.