Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first meeting of the Democratic Services Committee of the new Municipal Year.

Apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillors L Addiscott, R Evans, G Jones and C Preedy.

To receive disclosures of personal interest from Members in accordance with the Code of Conduct

Note:

1.     Members are requested to identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest: and

2.   Where Members withdraw from a meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chairman when they leave.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.

To receive as an accurate record the minutes of the Democratic Services Committee meeting held on 3rd March 2022.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the 3^rd March 2022 an accurate reflection of the meeting.

To receive a brief overview of the Committee’s Terms of Reference from the Head of Democratic Services.

The Head of Democratic Services provided Members with a PowerPoint presentation outlining the terms of reference of the Democratic Services Committee, its functions, its increased membership, which reflects the importance of the committee and also the work to be taken forward over the Municipal Year, to assist new Members, post Local Government Election.

Members were reminded of the statutory responsibilities of the Committee including the appointment of the Head of Democratic Services to ensure the support and advice is provided to all Elected Members. Also, the need to review the support and resources available to non-executive members of the council. The Committee is also responsible for ensuring personal development and training opportunities for Members over the next five years.

The Head of Democratic Services referenced some of the key aspects of work that the Committee has previously been involved with, to champion the needs of all Members and all associated matters such as consideration of the IRP annual report and its focus on diversity and participation. When considering the year ahead, the Head of Democratic Services referred to the sufficiency of resources report and assessing the effectiveness of the Member induction programme and ongoing training arrangements for new and returning Members in addition to phase two of the training provision.

The Chair and Vice Chair both commented on the year ahead and how they intended to work together for the wellbeing of all Elected Members. Many Members praised the support provided by the Council Business Unit particularly during the Member induction period following the Local Government Elections.

The Chair welcomed the overview of the role of the Committee, and it was RESOLVED to acknowledge the contents of the presentation.

To receive a draft work programme for Members consideration and comment.

The Head of Democratic Services presented the draft work programme for the Municipal Year 2022/23 and sought Members’ approval for the items contained within.

Members considered the relevance of the items listed and commented on the importance of assessing the effectiveness of the Fair and Respectful campaign pledge post- election in a subsequent meeting of the Democratic Services Committee. The Head of Democratic Services

Members RESOLVED to approve the work programme for the 2022-23 Municipal Year subject to correcting the spelling mistake ‘draft’ listed in the November 2022 section.

To receive a report from the Head of Democratic Services outlining the Modern.Gov Voting button and its intended roll out across the Council.

The Head of Democratic Services presented his report which provided Members with details of the Modern.Gov in-app voting system and in addition, an update on the intention to roll out the app. Members were advised that as the webcasting and hybrid approach has been successfully embedded into the Council‘s democratic process it is considered timely to roll out the voting app which will enhance the Council’s voting process and ensure that a more sophisticated method of recording votes is established for both virtual and physical attendance.

The Head of Democratic Services emphasised the need to ensure that all Members are confident with the technology before the app is used in a multi meeting environment and advised that an incremental and phased roll out (as detailed within the timeline set out at section 4 of the report) would be undertaken before a review within the next few months by the Democratic Services Committee. He advised that it was important to proceed at the pace of those Members least familiar with digital technology to ensure the smooth running of the process.

The Head of Democratic Services advised that further to inclusion of the in-app voting arrangements in the Council’s Constitution in 2021 housekeeping arrangements would need to be developed for each meeting. For example, in the Senedd, proceedings are paused to undertake the vote and re convened in public session to announce the outcome of the vote which may assist with a clear and definitive process. He added that the Democratic Services Committee would continue to receive updates and progress reports on the webcasting of hybrid meetings as well as the in-app voting system before undertaking the latter at a meeting of full Council.

In conclusion, the Head of Democratic Services commented that the Modern.Gov in-app voting system will enable a clear and concise recording of Members’ voting preferences and support the transparency of the voting process.

Further to Members’ consideration, it was proposed by the Vice Chair that an additional recommendation should be included to reflect that appropriate training and support is provided to all Members (and on a one-to-one basis if needed) during the roll out as appropriate.

It was RESOLVED to:

1.Acknowledge the progress made (following the demonstration to Committee Members);

2. Agree the phased roll out approach to the voting app as detailed within section 4 of the report; and

3. Ensure that appropriate training and support is provided to all Members (and on a one-to-one basis if necessary) during the incremental roll out.

To consider the report of the Head of Democratic Services, providing the Committee with an overview of the Members survey that was conducted during 2022.

To consider any items, which the Chairman, by reason of special circumstances, is of the opinion should be considered at the meeting as a matter of urgency