Agenda item

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services presented a report on amendments to the Council Constitution.

The Cabinet Member advised that the Contract Rules governed and controlled the procurement of goods, services and works by the Council and sat alongside the Financial Rules. Changes were required due to changes in Public Procurement law and therefore required the Constitution to be updated in order to comply with current legislation.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Central Services drew Assembly’s attention to other key updates which included:

·  the revision of the Officer Scheme of Delegation to reflect the new senior management structure;

·  the inclusion of provisions and rules for webcasting of Council meetings, which was due to begin later this year;

·  proposed revisions to the deadline for Questions With Notice and the tightening of arrangements for the submission of Questions With Notice and Motions With Notice;

·  the inclusion of wording to reflect the requirements of the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 in respect of the publication of executive decisions taken by officers under delegated authority; and

·  the inclusion of new requirements relating to Members’ Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

Councillor Mullane requested that it be noted in the minutes that she had raised issues regarding contracts and blacklisting of contractors and had further questions on which she required further clarification.

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Note and approve the proposed revisions to the Contract Rules, as detailed in Appendix A to this report;

(ii)  Approve the delegation of responsibility for appointing Parent Governor representatives from the Assembly to the Corporate Director of Children’s Services and note the other changes to the Officer Scheme of Delegation which reflect the current senior management structure, as detailed in Appendix C to the report;

(iii)  Approve the changes to the Protocol on Filming, Webcasting, Photography and the Use of Social Media at Council Meetings, as detailed in Appendix D to the report;

(iv)  Agree that the deadline for the submission of Questions With Notice be brought forward from midday Friday to midday Wednesday of the week before an Assembly meeting;

(v)  Agree that the processes for submitting Questions With Notice and Motions With Notice at the Assembly be amended and that, in future, any questions and/or motions are submitted either directly by the proposing Councillor or via the Group Secretary;

(vi)  Note the wording inserted in Part 2, Chapter 16 which reflects the Council’s adherence to The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 in respect of the publication of details of all executive decisions taken by officers;

(vii)  Agree that Councillors be required to be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check in accordance with the provisions of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and note the inclusion of wording to that effect in the Councillors’ Code of Conduct; and

(viii)  Note that the Monitoring Officer shall make all necessary procedural and/or incidental amendments to the Contract Rules and the Constitution in order to bring the revised Contract Rules into effect and ensure that they dovetail with the rest of the Constitution.