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Agenda item

Amendments to the Constitution

Minutes:

Mr Sam Bailey, Democratic and Administration Services Manager, introduced the report which set out three main areas for amendments to the Constitution:

 

·  Questions by Members of the Public – to improve upon the efficiency of minute taking at Council meetings;

 

·  Health and Safety – following a review of the current Health and Safety arrangements; and

 

·  Outside Bodies – following a request from the Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Transport Committee.

 

During discussion of the amendments to Questions by Members of the Public, it was noted that a contingency option was still required should webcasting not be available. A verbatim record of the meeting was difficult to produce if the webcast was not available, so a summary of the answer would be more appropriate in this circumstance. Therefore additional wording was suggested for insertion into section 13.10 reading:

 

“If the webcast has failed prior to the start of the meeting, a summary of the answer will be included in the minutes.”

 

Mr Bailey updated the Committee that after publication of the agenda, feedback on the report had been received.  As a result of the feedback the following amendments were made to the Health and Safety section of the constitution cited in the report:

 

·  Appendix 2, page 25, bullet point five, an additional bullet point inserted to read: “Act as Councillor Health & Safety at Work Champion and attend Corporate Health and Safety Committee meetings.”

 

In addition to these amendments the Committee stated that the provision of training was important to enable the Councillor Health and Safety at Work Champion to perform their role effectively.  It was also crucial that the Leader attended the Corporate Health and Safety Committee meetings.

 

Mr Bailey informed the Committee that following feedback the amendments on the papers should be further changed to:

 

·  Appendix 3, page 26, bullet point three to read: “To take the lead role in this Committee of fostering close links with key stakeholders including Parish Councils, the Developers Forum, English Heritage and transport interest groups.”

 

Following a debate on the changes presented on outside bodies, the Committee concluded that the amendments relating to Outside Bodies were sensible in ensuring that the role of the Chairman was clear compared to the role of the Council’s appointed representative on the Outside Body.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1)  That Council is recommended to agree the amendments to the Constitution relating to Questions by Members of the Public (Appendix 1), with the following amendment:

 

An additional sentence at the end of paragraph 13.10 stating “If the webcast has failed prior to the start of the meeting, a summary of the answer will be included in the minutes.”

 

Voting: Unanimous

 

2)  That Council is recommended to agree the amendments to the Constitution relating to Health and Safety (Appendix 2), with the following amendment:

 

Specific reference to “Corporate Health and Safety Committee” in Appendix 2, page 25, bullet point six.

 

Voting: Unanimous

 

3)  That Council is recommended to agree the amendments to the Constitution relating to Outside Bodies (Appendix 3).

 

Voting: Unanimous

 

Supporting documents: