Agenda item

The Committee considered the report of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee asking that it evaluate proposed changes to the Constitution arising from the major review which had been undertaken of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny function.  It was noted that:-

• The Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee had carried out interviews with Councillors, sent a questionnaire to Officers, held a workshop and considered desktop research to identify alternative ways of carrying out the Overview and Scrutiny process.

• Having considered the evidence, the Committee had made a number of recommendations, including proposed amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny and Council Procedure Rules as follows:-

  Amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules

  A key issue arising from interviews with Councillors throughout the review was the perceived influence of party politics on the Overview and Scrutiny process.  The Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered that ensuring that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of each Overview and Scrutiny Committee came from a different political group would help to address this.

  The use of call in was another area of some concern for Councillors of all parties.  The Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee felt that those calling in a decision should also be subject to scrutiny to ensure that there was a strong case for call in; background information should be circulated to Committee Members prior to the call in meeting to ensure a well-informed debate; and those calling in the decision should be able to participate in the meeting as non-voting Committee Members to enable them to adequately argue their case.

  In order to address concerns about some Overview and Scrutiny Committees having heavier workloads than others, the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee was proposing changes to the terms of reference of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

  Amendment to the Council Procedure Rules

  One group at the workshop had suggested that, rather than having nominated Substitutes, any non-Executive Member should be allowed to substitute on any Overview and Scrutiny Committee in order to ensure full attendance at Committee meetings.  The Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered that this arrangement should be extended to all Council Committees that did not have training as a pre-requisite for membership.

The Committee supported the proposed amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules as set out in Appendix A to the report of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  However, the Committee felt that the proposed change to the Council Procedure Rules in relation to Substitute Members should be restricted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees given that Executive Members may be appointed as Members/Substitute Members of other Committees and membership of very few other Committees did not require some form of training.  It was pointed out that the Standards Committee itself had a pool of just three Substitute Members who were trained and who could be called upon to substitute when required for any Member who could not attend a meeting of the Committee.  Nevertheless, the Committee recognised that being a Member/Substitute Member of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee provided a good introduction to the work and procedures of the Council and assisted Members in their learning and development.

RESOLVED to RECOMMEND to the COUNCIL:

1.  That the proposed amendments to the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules of the Constitution, as set out in Appendix A to the report of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee, be approved.

2.  That the proposal to allow any non-Executive Member to substitute on any Committee that does not have training as a pre-requisite for membership should be restricted to the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and that the Constitution be amended accordingly.

The Standards Committee has, in accordance with Article 15.02 (a) of the Constitution, evaluated the changes to the Constitution proposed by the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and believes that their implementation, as amended above, will help to ensure that the aims and principles of the Constitution are given full effect by addressing concerns raised in recent years about the operation of the Overview and Scrutiny function.