Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Badger, Buck, Evans and Nelson.

There were no declarations of interest at this meeting.

Executive Director (Strategy and Change)

The Council considered the Minutes of the General Purposes Committee held on Thursday 13^th June 2024 setting out the recommendations concerning the proposed changes to the Constitution relating to the appointment of Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the Scrutiny Committees, in conjunction with the report of the Monitoring Officer presented to the Committee.

Resolved:

That the recommendations of the General Purposes Committee, as set out below, be approved:

1. An amendment to the second sentence in Part 3 Schedule 2 paragraph 5.1(a) of the Constitution to read as follows: “The Chairs and Vice-Chairs shall be drawn from members of the committee”, as set out in paragraph 3.3.1 of the submitted report.

2. An amendment to Part 4(e) Overview & Scrutiny Procedure Rules Rule 5. “Who chairs the Scrutiny Committee?” to read as follows: “Chairs and vice chairs of the scrutiny committees will be drawn from among the Councillors sitting on the committee”, as set out in paragraph 3.3.2 of the report.

3. Authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to make the agreed amendments and to amend any other associated provision in the Constitution to reflect the decision of Council (if made) and to publish a revised version of the Constitution on the Council’s website.

Executive Director (Strategy and Change)

The Council considered the Minutes of the General Purposes Committee held on Thursday 13^th June 2024 setting out the recommendations concerning the proposed review of the Constitution, in conjunction with the report of the Monitoring Officer.

Resolved:

That the recommendations of the General Purposes Committee, as set out below, be approved:

1. That authority be delegated to the Monitoring Officer to commence a review of the whole of the Council’s Constitution and to report on all proposed changes to the Standards Committee for recommendation to Council in a future report or series of reports.

2. That those future amendments and alterations to the Constitution first be considered at the Standards Committee through a report or reports from the Monitoring Officer and that the Standards Committee makes recommendations on the suggested amendments and alterations to Council for decision and eventual adoption of a new Constitution.

3. That the Monitoring Officer be authorised, in consultation with the Leader, to make all necessary amendments to the Responsibility for Functions (Part 3 Schedule 2 paragraph 7), Terms of Reference for Standards Committee and other relevant parts of the constitution to reflect the Council’s decision (if made) in Resolution 2 above.