Agenda item

Report of the Director of Governance, Legal & HR outlining proposed changes to the Constitution.

Councillor Kaur moved the report of the Director Legal, Governance and HR and Monitoring Officer detailing the Annual Review of the Council’s Constitution and Councillor Fielker seconded.

 

Amendment moved by Councillor Moulton and seconded by Councillor P Baillie.

 

The following wording to be “deleted” from the proposals:-

 

Council Procedure Rules – Executive Business Report

 

Paragraph 5. It has been proposed by the Leader of the Council that the written Executive Business Report (EBR) for noting currently tabled at every ordinary meeting of Council is converted to a verbal update comprising the 15 minute period for Cabinet Members to do so and the 15 minute period for members to ask questions on matters raised.

 

Paragraph 6. There is no obligation to present a written, or any, EBR update. Historically it was placed on the agenda some years ago prior to the current live streaming of council meetings and comprehensive use of all forms of “instant” social media, Council communications including the Council’s Twitter account, online mailings etc. By the time the EBR is tabled and considered by Council most matters have already been in the public domain for some weeks or implemented having been previously decided at Cabinet and/or been

publicised widely. It is therefore considered that whilst originally there was

merit in tabling the report that has now passed to a great extent. Additionally,

there is also, of course, an officer resource needed to complete what is often

a very comprehensive noting report and it is considered better use could be

made of this resource.

 

Paragraph 7. One important aspect which holds the Administration to account is the ability for opposition members to ask questions, without notice, on matters contained in the EBR. This will be retained but it is noted that if there is no written report on the agenda if a certain matter is not mentioned verbally by the Cabinet Member the opportunity to ask a question is lost. However, numerous other avenues to hold the Executive/Administration to account are available including tabled Council Questions as below, the well-honed scrutiny function and, of course, the ordinary use of emails etc outside of formal meetings. The exact wording in the Constitution will be revised following the Council resolution.

 

Council Procedure Rules - Questions from Members

 

Paragraph 8. As members will be aware this is a formal opportunity for members to ask written Questions to the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Members, the Lord Mayor and Committee Chairs. The system is comprehensively used but despite revisions to the process and criteria over the years members and officers have never found a system that suits everyone given the divergence of views.

 

Paragraph 9. It is a core tenet of good governance in a democratic organisation that there are adequate opportunities to hold the Administration to account on matters of major policy and significant budget matters and/or projects. Council Questions are one of those opportunities, others include the scrutiny function and ability for Executive decisions to be “called in”.

 

Paragraph 10. The current Council Questions “escalation” criteria and process was adopted by members in 2019 but from experience since that time it has proven rather tortuous and causes tension when Questions are adjudicated upon by the Lord Mayor and Director of Governance, Legal and HR and subsequently ruled out. Judgements are made, most of which are subjective, and members and officers have on numerous occasions interpreted matters differently. The general consensus is that despite revisions to the process it still does not meet everyone’s needs and requires further revision.

 

Paragraph 11. For officers there is a significant resource allocated to this aspect of Council business in the week leading up to Council. Whatever revisions are made or criteria applied going forward there is a place for Questions at Council. To assist, officers are developing a SharePoint site which will mean simpler, easier and quicker access to the process by everyone involved. This will lead to a smoother process and involve less officer time. This should be in place for next ordinary Council meeting in July.

 

Paragraph 12. With regard to the scope and criteria of Council Questions every authority has their own way of doing things. Most of our peer authorities do not have as many formal Questions tabled regularly and therefore have no need for complicated processes. There is no right or wrong way, it is for each Council to decide what suits their business needs best.

 

Paragraph 13. Accordingly, Group Leaders have discussed refinements and proposed a revised and simpler process. Firstly, Questions will be limited in number and the time limited for answering removed; 10 is proposed together with supplementaries as now. The Questions will not be “first come, first served” they will be divided pro rata depending on the political proportionality of the 51 member seats. Questions will be limited to major project or policy items on the following basis and to simplify matters there will be no obligation to ask the Question to the Cabinet Member first before escalating to Council.

 

The Lord Mayor after taking advice from the Director of Legal, Governance &

HR will remain the final arbiter:

 

a)  A Member of the Council may ask: i. the Lord Mayor; ii. Cabinet

Members; or iii. the Chair of any committee or sub-committee a

question on any

·  major policy, project or strategic matter related to their role,

  responsibilities and/or office,

·  which is not similar to any question asked in the preceding

  Council meeting

b)  Questions on matters relating to the day-to-day provision, management and administration of services will not be permitted. This includes any requests for data or any other operational information where Members should seek this information from officers.

 

The Lord Mayor will be the final arbiter on whether any Question is to be tabled after consultation with the Director of Governance, Legal & HR. No Question will be struck out without consultation with the tabler and/or Group Leader.

 

Paragraph 14. In addition, there will be up to 2 supplementary Questions permitted per Question and as now they must strictly relate to the primary tabled Question. In total 30 Questions and supplementaries could therefore be asked at any Council meeting; that is a significant number compared to peer authorities and considered adequate to deal with major matters arising. Importantly, to ensure comprehensive time for responses there will be no time limit on Member Questions as the focus will be on the number tabled. On occasions the current 60 minutes allocated for answers has been insufficient, with some tabled Questions remaining unanswered; under these proposals this will no longer be an issue. The exact wording in the Constitution will be revised following the Council resolution.

 

Paragraph 15. For completeness, although not referred to in the CPRs operationally the Question response process is proposed to be as follows:-

• To ensure a more robust audit trail, the use of email to send and approve member questions between officers and members will no longer be in operation. All approvals and amendments to member questions will be conducted via a central member questions Sharepoint site to ensure the most up to date information is captured and approved. All cabinet members and relevant officers will have access to this area.
• When member questions are first submitted, they will automatically

populate Sharepoint and capture information ready for review by the Lord Mayor and Director of Legal, Governance and HR.

• Cabinet members will then be notified of the questions submitted and will need to indicate (via Sharepoint) whether they require a formal written draft response from officers. This will then create an automated prompt to officers to draft a response.
• Where a draft response is requested this will be uploaded to the member questions Sharepoint site by 5pm on the Friday preceding the meeting. Cabinet members will have access to this area and will be prompted to go into the document and approve any responses.
• Cabinet Members are to submit any amendments or final responses via Sharepoint no later than 12 noon on the Tuesday preceding the Council Meeting.
• Written responses from officers should be no longer than 200 words and uploaded to the member questions Sharepoint site ready for review by members.

 

If the Cabinet Member requires a further briefing to prepare for supplementary or verbal responses they will liaise directly with the Executive Director/other as appropriate.

 

 Civic and Ceremonial Protocol

 

Paragraph 19. On occasions the Mayor has held informal gatherings in the Parlour and awarded a “Mayor’s Award” for citizens who have made valuable contributions to the life of the city but who do not meet the criteria for becoming an Alderman, given Freedom of the City or a City of Southampton award. It is recognised that a Lord Mayor may wish to hold an informal awards celebration within their Lord Mayoral year as part of their programme of events. If such an event is required, it will be funded from the current Lord Mayoralty budget following consultation with the Lord Mayor’s Office.

 

 

To “add” a proposal for Overview and Scrutiny Committee that:-

The Chair & Vice Chair of OSMC should be agreed between the opposition parties and alternate each year between them.

 

UPON BEING PUT TO THE VOTE THE AMENDMENT IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR MOUTLON WAS DECLARED LOST.

Amendment moved by Councillor Kaur and seconded by Councillor Fielker.

Paragraph 13 of the report, line 5 after political proportionality “delete” of the 51 member seats and “add” of the opposition parties.

 

AMENDED PARAGRAPH 13 TO READ:

 

Accordingly, Group Leaders have discussed refinements and proposed a revised and simpler process. Firstly, Questions will be limited in number and the time limited for answering removed; 10 is proposed together with supplementaries as now. The Questions will not be “first come, first served” they will be divided pro rata depending on the political proportionality of the opposition parties. Questions will be limited to major project or policy items on the following basis and to simplify matters there will be no obligation to ask the Question to the Cabinet Member first before escalating to Council.

The Lord Mayor after taking advice from the Director of Legal, Governance &

HR will remain the final arbiter:

 

a)  A Member of the Council may ask: i. the Lord Mayor; ii. Cabinet Members; or iii. the Chair of any committee or sub-committee a question on any

·  major policy, project or strategic matter related to their role,

  responsibilities and/or office,

·  which is not similar to any question asked in the preceding

  Council meeting

 

b)  Questions on matters relating to the day-to-day provision, management and administration of services will not be permitted. This includes any requests for data or any other operational information where Members should seek this information from officers.

The Lord Mayor will be the final arbiter on whether any Question is to be tabled after consultation with the Director of Governance, Legal & HR. No Question will be struck out without consultation with the tabler and/or Group Leader.

UPON BEING PUT TO THE VOTE THE REPORT AS AMENDED IN THE NAME OF COUNCILLOR KAUR WAS DECLARED CARRIED:

RESOLVED:

(i)  That the changes to the Constitution and associated arrangements as set out in this report be agreed;

(ii)  That authority be delegated to the Director of Legal, Governance & HR to finalise the arrangements and wording to any revisions approved by Council and make any further consequential or minor changes arising from the decision; and

(iii)  That the City Council’s Constitution, as amended, including the Officer Scheme of Delegation, for the Municipal Year 2023-24 be approved.