Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that Councillor Hall be elected as Chair and Councillor Bonavia be elected as Vice Chair for the Municipal Year 2015/16.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the Meeting held on 10 February 2015 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Working Party considered a report which proposed the establishment of a time limited, Member led working group to consider the future of the Broadway Theatre.

RESOLVED that the Constitution Working Party recommend to the Council that it establish a time limited member led working group to consider the future of the Broadway Theatre, as set out in the report, subject to the following amendments:

• that the membership should include at least one local ward councillor;
• that membership be extended to include the member outside the majority party if he so wishes; 
• that no more than one executive member should sit on the working group;
• and that the Working Group should be time limited to the Council’s AGM in 2016.

The Head of Law, who was present at the meeting, left the room on consideration of recommendation (b) Employment Procedure Rules.

The Working Party considered a report which set out a number of proposed amendments to the Constitution. They were discussed separately.

(a) Members discussed the proposed amendments to Contract Procedure Rules appearing at Appendix 1 to the report and the Working Party RESOLVED that it recommend to full Council that they be adopted.

(b) Members considered proposals to amend the Employment Procedure Rules as set out at Appendix 2 to the report, relating to the dismissal of the Chief Executive, the Chief Finance Officer, and the Monitoring Officer. The Working Party RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they be adopted. The Chair requested that the report be submitted to Council to clarify the practicalities of appointment of councillors to the Panel referred to in the report.

(c) Members considered the proposed provisions relating to the SACRE at Appendix 3 to the report and RESOLVED that as they reflect current practice, a recommendation be made to Council that they be included in the Constitution as proposed.

(d) The Working Party discussed the proposed establishment of a Public Spending Working Group and RESOLVED to recommend that the Group be established in accordance with the recommendation in the report and Appendix 4, save the reference to the “Labour Group” in paragraph 2 of Appendix 4 should be deleted and the words “majority group” substituted for it.

(e) Members then considered the Scrutiny of cross cutting issues. Following discussion, the Working Party RESOLVED that Article 6 (7) (b) of the Constitution be amended to read as follows:

“where a particular issue would fall within the remit of more than one  overview and scrutiny select committee to decide on the allocation of the issue for consideration. The Business Panel may allocate to a select committee.  Alternatively until the AGM in 2016, it may reserve the matter to itself.” 

The Working Party RESOLVED that a review of this amendment should occur at the AGM 2016.

The Meeting closed at 8.35 p.m.