Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the Meeting held on 17^th November, 2008 (previously circulated). 

The Minutes of the meeting held on 17^th November, 2008 were agreed and signed as a correct record.

There were no items of urgent business authorised by the Chairman.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Principal Democratic Support Officer presented a report to enable the Committee to consider whether each Political Group represented on the Council should have the option to appoint a representative to participate in future Cabinet Liaison Groups.

Members were informed that Cabinet Liaison Groups were purely consultative and not decision-making bodies. Currently, the participants of Liaison Groups were invited to take part by the Chairman.

The Committee felt that the system of appointing Members to Liaison Groups worked well, as participants tended to be invited for their expertise in a particular area. It was thought that smaller groups may not always know when a new Cabinet Liaison Group had been set up as they were not represented on Cabinet. It was therefore requested that the Chief Executive write to all Groups to inform them when a new Cabinet Liaison Group had been set up. This would ensure all Councillors would be able to put themselves forward for a Group they had a particular interest in.

Resolved unanimously:-

(1)               That the existing process of appointing Members to Cabinet Liaison Groups be reaffirmed.

(2)               That the Chief Executive be requested to write to all Political Groups to inform them when a new Cabinet Liaison Group is established.

The Principal Democratic Support Officer presented a report that advised the Committee of opportunities offered by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, and other governance and democracy issues resulting from the Democratic Renewal Audit and how these opportunities might be taken forward.

Members discussed each topic for consideration individually, as follows:

The Constitution

The Committee recognised that the Constitution was a difficult document to understand, however, a huge amount of work would be required to simplify and clarify the whole document as suggested.

Resolved:-

(1)        That Officers be requested to prepare a further report for the Audit Committee detailing the issues and options with regard to the process for amending and updating the Constitution, the Urgent Business procedure and Special Urgency.

(2)        That the Committee notes the need to simplify and clarify the Constitution document, but recognises the amount of work involved and recommends that this be undertaken at a later stage.

Appointment of Leader

It was noted that, as a requirement of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the Council would be required to change its procedure for appointing the Leader to on a 4 yearly basis. This would be effective from the next Council election in 2011.

Byelaws

It was reported that Part 6 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 provided that Local Authorities would be able to make certain byelaws and enforce them with fixed penalty notices without agreement from central Government.

Resolved:-

(3)        That the Monitoring Officer be requested to look into the constitutional amendments that would be required to reflect the changes made regarding byelaws.

Petitions

It was noted that a recent White Paper had introduced a duty for Councils to respond to petitions.

Resolved:-

(4)        To recommend to Council Business Committee that a change in procedure rules be made to state that petitions should be passed to Overview and Scrutiny Committee to consider and carry out any inquiry work, as appropriate, before reporting back to Cabinet or the relevant decision-making body.

Council

Members were requested to consider proposals to streamline Full Council meetings, by introducing limits to Councillor question time and moving it to the end of the Agenda. It was also reported that, currently, questions could be asked of Chairmen, or Cabinet Members, concerning areas outside of their remit.

Members discussed these proposals in detail.

Resolved:-

(5)        That Audit Committee recommends that Council Business Committee consider introducing further restrictions on questions from Councillors at Full Council meetings.

(6)        That Officers be requested to prepare a report for submission to the Audit Committee to consider instigating a ‘filter’ system within the Constitution to allow the Chief Executive to reject questions which fall outside the remit of the Member they are directed to.

Outside Body, Partnerships and Board Appointments

It was noted that outside body representation might benefit from development and active management to improve its effectiveness and that the Council Business Committee would be considering this issue.

Officer Training

It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

Report of Internal Audit Manager.

The Internal Audit Manager presented a report that informed the Committee of the results of the Internal Audit work for the period.

It was noted that the first substantial assurance level had been awarded to Public Health and Safety.

Members were informed that Housing Rents (debit control)had remained at a limited assurance level and it was suggested that if improvements had not been made before the next meeting, based on the actions proposed, that the relevant Officer be invited to attend to explain why the assurance level had not increased. The same was applicable for Income Tax and National Insurance 2007/08 (Expenses and Benefits).

Resolved:-

(1)        That the report be noted.

(2)        That, if the follow up audit to Housing Rents (debit control) and Income Tax and National Insurance 2007/08 (Expenses and Benefits) does not improve the assurance level, the relevant Officers be requested to attend the next meeting of the Audit Committee to explain why.