Issue - meetings

Further to Minute 56 (28 February 2018) and Minute 8 (23 May 2018), the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services introduced a report on the outcome of a review of the new committee structure and governance arrangements that took effect from the start of the 2018/19 municipal year.

The Cabinet Member commented that the new arrangements appeared to be working very well, although the review process had highlighted some aspects that need refinement, such as:

·  A “tidying up exercise” of the terms of reference of the Audit and Standards Committee, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Health Scrutiny Committee, to properly reflect the committees’ areas of responsibility;

·  Adding a July meeting to the Assembly programme, taking the Assembly back to a six-meeting schedule;

·  Increasing the number of Health Scrutiny Committee meetings to six each year, as it became apparent during the first year that the quarterly meeting cycle was not sufficient for the Committee’s work programme; and

·  Reinstating the provision in the Public Participation rules to give the Chair of a meeting some further discretion regarding public speaking at meetings.

The Cabinet Member also referred to the full schedule of changes, attached at Appendix 5 to the report, which included other changes to the Constitution which had been agreed by the Monitoring Officer in line with the review / revision provisions of the Constitution.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Agree the revised Articles of the Audit and Standards Committee, as set out at Appendix 1 to the report;

(ii)  Agree the revised Articles of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as set out at Appendix 2 to the report;

(iii)  Agree the revised Articles of the Health Scrutiny Committee, including an increase to the meeting frequency to six meetings each municipal year, as set out at Appendix 3 to the report;

(iv)  Agree the increase to the meeting frequency of the Assembly to six meetings each municipal year;

(v)  Agree the revised ‘Meeting Rules - General’ Article, as set out at Appendix 4 to the report;

(vi)  Note the full schedule of amendments to the Constitution as set out at Appendix 5 to the report; and

(vii)  Note that the new Council Constitution shall be published on the Council’s website once all the agreed changes had been made.