Agenda item

Report of the Leader

The Leader introduced the report, saying that the constitution is a living, breathing rule book which needs to move with the times and be amended when necessary. She thanked the Constitution Working Group for their support, drive and help with the amendments proposed today.

There are several minor amendments, plus the following:

-       as a result of government revisions to the Procurement Act 2023, the council has more flexibility around the suppliers it uses, allowing it to look to engage local suppliers first; this benefits Cheltenham residents and the local economy;

-       the deadline for public and Member questions is currently seven working days before the date of the meeting, but it is proposed that where there is significant public interest, or a question is particularly urgent, the Leader, relevant Chair or Mayor can accept a question up to 48 hours ahead of the meeting.  This reflects feedback from Members and the public, who are reminded to use the Forward Plan to keep track of upcoming agenda items;

-       Audit, Compliance and Governance Committee will amalgamate with Standards Committee, which hasn’t met for many years, resulting in more streamlined governance.  In addition, there is a recommendation to allow independent persons to sit on the Audit, Compliance and Governance Committee. 

The Leader of the Green Party welcomed the amendment to the public question deadline, but asked whether there was any threshold for what would be defined as public interest and what would count as an urgent question.  The Leader said this would be at the discretion of the Leader or Chair of the meeting, but as a general rule if just one person raised an issue, it could probably wait until the next meeting but if 50 people raised the same issue, it would not be turned down.  Whether or not a late question is permitted will be decided on the basis of the questions that are submitted, and on the understanding that some of these will be genuine while others may be politically motivated.

RESOLVED THAT:

1.    the revised contract rules as set out in Appendix 1 are approved;

2.    the removal of decisions to award contracts made by the Cabinet or Cabinet Members from the call-in process, as set out in Section 3 of this report, is approved;

3.    the inclusion of an urgent question process for member and public questions as set out in Section 4 of this report is approved; 

4.    the responsibilities of the Audit, Compliance and Governance Committee and the Standards Committee are merged with effect from the next Annual Council meeting;

5.    from the next Annual Council meeting, the Audit, Compliance and Governance Committee will comprise of seven Elected Members plus two non-elected independent members

6.    Authority is delegated to the Monitoring Officer

a.    to make the necessary changes to the Constitution to reflect these decisions.

b.    in consultation with the Director: One Legal, to make any necessary changes to the Contract Rules, including any changes required to ensure compliance with guidance, policy, updated or secondary legislation