Agenda item
To consider the joint report of the Director of Legal Services and Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication.
Minutes:
The Service Director, Democratic Services & Communication set out the proposed amendments to the Council’s Constitution together with ancillary matters as outlined in the joint report which also responded to the requirements of the Local Government & Elections Wales Act 2021. He added that the matters were subject to consideration, and supported by, the Constitution Committee.
The Service Director highlighted some of the key proposals which included moving to the default position of an electronic committee summons but added that it will not preclude any Member from requesting a hard copy in advance of a Committee. The introduction of an indicative agenda item time, which supports the virtual arrangements and supports all Members and political groups to plan their representations in advance of a meeting and the inclusion of a comfort break where appropriate, which he advised was particularly important for longer meetings and formalised the request to extend business where required.
The Service Director referred to the development of the Members Portal, which has been overseen by the Democratic Services Committee and the opportunities it provides for Members to undertake a number of democratic processes. The additional guidance in respect of supplementary questions which clarifies that where the 20-minute time duration has expired, amember will not be permitted to ask and have answered their supplementary question.
In conclusion, the Service Director referred to the change in the title of the of name of
the Audit Committee to the Governance & Audit Committee and that of the Corporate
Governance & Constitution Committee to the ‘Constitution Committee”.
Following discussions, it was RESOLVED to agree the proposed amendments and ancillary matters relating to the Council’s Constitution as set out in the report between 2.1 and 2.21 and as follows:
Amendments to the Council Procedure Rules
Time and Place of Meetings
2.1 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.1 – 4.3 of the report amends Council Procedure Rule 4 to include as follows:
4.1 The time and place of meetings will be determined by the Proper Officer and notified to Members in the summons
4.2 For all purposes of the Constitution the term “meeting” is not limited in meaning to a meeting of persons all of whom, or any of whom, are present in the same place. Any reference to “place” is to be interpreted as where a meeting is held, or to be held, includes reference to more than one place including electronic, digital or virtual locations such as internet locations, web addresses or conference call telephone numbers.
Committee Summons
5.1 “The Proper Officer will give notice to the public of the time and place of any meeting, in accordance with the Access to Information Rules. At least three clear days before a meeting, the Proper Officer will send a summons signed by him or her by email to every Member of the Council. The summons will give the date, time and place of each meeting including reference to whether the meeting is to take place virtually or arrangements for a hybrid (physical and virtual) meeting are in place and specify the business to be transacted, and will be accompanied by such reports as are available at that time. The summons will also indicate whether the meeting is to be webcast. Any Member not wishing to receive the summons by email may request (in writing to the Proper Officer) such other reasonable method of delivery as they may wish, with such requests being reviewed periodically by the Proper Officer.
Quorum.
2.3 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.9 – 4.12 of the report amend Council Procedure Rule 7 to include as follows:
Save for meetings of the Planning and Development Control Committee the quorum of a meeting will be one quarter of the whole number of Members.
A Member attending a meeting remotely will be counted for the purpose of establishing a quorum so long as that Member can, when they are speaking, be heard (and seen where possible) and they can hear (and see where possible) the other Members attending the meeting and the Proper Officer, or other officer appointed to act on his/her behalf.
During any meeting if the if the Presiding Officer/Chair counts the number of members present (both virtual attendance and actual attendee) and declares there is not a quorum present, then the meeting will adjourn immediately. If this is caused by technical difficulties experienced by a Members trying to access the meeting, or due to the hosting of a virtual meeting, then a period of 15 minutes shall be allowed to assess if the issue can be resolved. If the meeting remains inquorate, remaining business will be considered at a time and date fixed by the Presiding Officer / Chair. If he/she does not fix a date, the remaining business will be considered at the next ordinary meeting.
Duration of a meeting
2.4 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.13 – 4.17 of the report amend Council Procedure Rule 8 to include as follows:
Duration & Business of Council Meetings
8.1 The Presiding Officer / Chair shall have the discretion to call an adjournment at an appropriate time in order to facilitate a 10-minute comfort break. The Presiding Member may repeat such a break as necessary.
8.2 The agenda and timings for items of business for any Council Meeting shall be agreed in accordance with these Rules by the Presiding Officer (Or deputy Presiding Officer in his / her absence) in consultation with the Proper Officer at least 7 Working Days prior to the date of the Council meeting. Any time limits on agenda items may only be extended at the discretion of the Presiding Officer.
References in Constitution to Presiding Member
2.5 For the reason outlined in paragraph 4.18 it is proposed that all references in the Constitution to “Presiding Member” be replaced with reference to “Presiding Officer/ Llywydd”
Members’ Questions
2.6 For the reasons outlined in paragraph 4.19-4.20 of the report amend Procedure Rule 9.2 and 9.4(d) as follows:
9.2 A maximum of 20 minutes shall be allowed for Questions on Notice at Full Council. A member will not be permitted to ask and have answered their supplementary question if the 20 minute time duration has expired. Any questions that are not dealt with in this time limit shall fall. The order of questions to be asked at each meeting shall be determined by a ballot conducted by the Proper Officer. Any questions on notice not answered will need to be resubmitted to the Proper Officer for the next full Council meeting in accordance with these rules. This rule does not prevent a Member asking an urgent question to which the Presiding Officer has agreed can be put in accordance with Rule 9.4(b). Any such urgent questions shall be put prior to the commencement of the 20 minutes allocated for questions received on notice.
9.4(d) The question must be submitted to the Proper Officer by the Member wishing to ask that question or by the Group Leader on behalf of that Member at the relevant Council/Committee meeting
2.7 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.21 – 4.22 of the report amend Council Procedure Rule 10.1(b), second bullet point as follows:
·
in writing,
by fax , e-mail or via the Member’s Portal (with the names of
the Proposer and Seconder clearly stated) signed by the
Proposer; and
When Motions are submitted under this Rule 10 and more than two members are listed the first two signatures listed shall be deemed to be those of the Proposer and Seconder. A Group Leader may submit a Notice of Motion on behalf of the proposer and seconder of the motion.
2.9 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.24 – 4.26 of the report amend Council Procedure Rule 15.1 as follow
Unless this Constitution provides otherwise, any matter will be decided by a simple majority of those Members voting and present in the room or present at the meeting virtually at the time the question was put.
Photographs and Recording of Meetings
2.10 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.27 – 4.29 of the report amend Council Procedure Rule 23 as follows:
Proceedings at meetings will be tweeted live via the Council’s official twitter account and live streamed via webcasting through the Council’s website. Elected Members and members of the public are also permitted to use social media during Council meetings provided it does not disrupt proceedings (Members must keep their mobile phones (and other similar communication equipment) switched off, or set to silent, during the course of the meeting). Save for these exemptions proceedings may not otherwise be photographed, videoed, sound recorded or transmitted in any way outside the meeting without prior permission of the Presiding Member. Failure to comply with this rule may invoke rule 19.4 (members to leave meeting) and 20.1 (removal of members of the public).
As part of the webcasting, participants images and sound will be captured for the duration of attendance within the meeting. If a participant has any concerns, about such recording they should contact the proper officer in advance of the meeting. If any concerns are received, a decision will be made by the Proper Officer on how best to continue the meeting, which could result in the meeting being rescheduled or postponed. Participants will not be penalised for raising concerns relating to the Video Recording.
Remote Attendance by Members (under the provisions of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011
2.11 Notes that for the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.30 – 4.32 of the report Council Procedure Rule 26.1 and 26.2 below were deleted from the Council Procedure Rules under the delegated powers afforded to the Monitoring Officer (and communicated in advance to the Group Leaders) and replaced with the following:
Multi-Location Meetings
26.1 Multi Location Meetings (Remote attendance) at meetings of the Council will only be permitted where the conditions of section 47(2)(b) of the Local Government & Elections Wales Act 2021 are met which means any Member attending a meeting remotely (the “remote attendee”) must when they are speaking, be able to be seen and heard by the Members who are attending the meeting at the place where the meeting is held (“Members in actual attendance”) and the remote attendee must, in turn, be able to see and hear those in actual attendance. In addition, a remote attendee must be able to be seen and heard by, and in turn see and hear any members of the public entitled to attend the meeting and who exercise a right to speak at the meeting. If there is more than one remote location, all the Members attending remotely must be able to hear, but not necessarily see, the other remote attendees.
26.2 The failure of any technological provision whether that leads to a partial or complete loss of contact between the remote attendees and those Members in actual attendance during the meeting shall not invalidate any part of the deliberations or any vote taken. The Presiding Officer / Chair may postpone the meeting if they deem that appropriate or may adjourn the meeting if they deem that appropriate whilst any technological issues are resolved.
26.3 If there is urgent or time-limited business that must be conducted at a meeting, it should be made clear to Members that the meeting would continue and a vote would be taken without their attendance in the event of a communications/technological failure.
26.4 It will be incumbent on participants attending meetings remotely to ensure the suitability of their location for the meeting and to ensure any confidential items considered at the meeting, as defined in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 are not disclosed to the public.
26.5 Where the Presiding Officer / Chair determines the conditions stipulated in 26.4 above are not being adhered to by a Member they have the discretion to direct that the Member move to a location which would meet the conditions to satisfy 26.4 above.
Signing of Documents
2.12 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.33 of the report amend Council Procedure Rules where the mention of ‘signage’ is advised upon, such as 16.1 (signage of minutes); 17 (record of attendance)
Where Members are present virtually, the Proper Officer will ensure that these details are captured accordingly.
Access to information procedure Rules
2.13 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.34 – 4.36 of the report amend Council Procedure Rules 12.2 to include the following.
…The Cabinet Forward Work Programme will need to ensure it is robust, open and transparent of forthcoming decisions to ensure Overview and Scrutiny are provided with sufficient information to allow them to conduct their role effectively. The work programme will be published at least 14 days before the start of the period covered. The Proper Officer will publish the Forward Work Programme on the Council’s website.
Proposed amendments to Executive Procedure rules
Delegation by the Leader
2.14 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.37 of the report amend Executive Procedure Rules 1.2 as follow
At the annual meeting of the Council, the Leader will present to the Council an electronic record of delegations made by him/her for inclusion in the Council’s scheme of delegation at Part 3 to this Constitution. The document presented by the Leader will contain the following information about executive functions in relation to the coming year:
(i) the names, of the people appointed to the Cabinet by the Leader;…
Cabinet Meetings – When and Where?
2.15 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.38 of the report amends Executive Procedure Rules 1.6 as follow
The Cabinet will meet at least 12 times in each municipal year, at times to be agreed by the Leader. The Cabinet shall meet at the Council’s main offices, through multi locations (hybrid) or at another location to be agreed by the Leader.
Proposed amendments to Overview & Scrutiny Procedure rules
Meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and thematic Scrutiny Committees
2.16 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.39 – 4.40 of the report amend Overview & Scrutiny Rules 5 as follows:
There shall be at least six ordinary meetings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and at least eight ordinary meetings of each of the thematic Scrutiny Committees in each year, subject to business needs. In addition, extraordinary meetings may be called from time to time as and when appropriate. A meeting may be called by the Chair or by the Proper Officer if he/she considers it necessary or appropriate
Call In
2.17 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.41 of the report amend Overview & Scrutiny Rules 17.1 as follow
(I) A request for call in, made in accordance with these Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, can be submitted either by hand to a Democratic Services officer using the designated call-in form (a copy of which is available on request from Democratic Services) or via electronic mail (email), or via completion of the relevant form through the Member’s Portal. Any request submitted electronically must be sent by one of the three signatories to the call-in and in respect of emailed submission emailed to the following email address – scrutiny@rctcbc.gov.uk. For the purposes of checking compliance with these rules the electronic submissions will have been deemed to be received at the time it is received into the Scrutiny mailbox / received via the Members Portal. In order to be a valid call in request any request submitted electronically must include all of the same information and details as is required to be completed in the designated hardcopy call-in form. Attaching a copy of the call-in form to the email or Member’s Portal is acceptable. The three signatories to the call-in request should keep an audit trail of their agreement to collectively submit the call-in request. This will only be requested by the Proper Officer in the event of there being any dispute that a member (or members) did not consent to being a signatory to the call-in request.
Proposed amendments to Part 5 Codes & Protocols - Planning and Development Committee -
The Procedures of a meeting.
2.18 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.42 – 4.44 of the report include and amend ‘Public Speaking at meeting ‘The Procedures’ as follows:
· To allow remote tools (drones) in facilitating site visits although this does not replace the option for physical site visits.
· Details of the Meetings of the Planning and Development Committee are available on the Council website, with meetings occurring every other Thursday (unless the website advises differently.) General enquiries in respect of meetings should be made to the Council’s Business Unit CouncilBusinessUnit@rctcbc.gov.uk
· If members of the public want to know when, or if, a particular planning application is due to be considered by the Planning and Development Committee, they should contact the Planning Section at Sardis House, Pontypridd: planningservices@rctcbc.gov.uk
Changes to Audit Committee Terms of Reference
2.19 For the reasons outlined in paragraphs 4.45 – 4.47 of the report to amend Financial Procedure Rule 4.3 and 4.1 of the Council Constitution (and consequently all references in the Constitution to the same) the change of name of the Audit Committee to the:
· Governance & Audit Committee
2.20 For the reasons outlined in the Audit Committee Report which was presented to Committee on the 26th April, 2021 as detailed in paragraphs 4.41 – 4.43 of this report, to recommend to Council the addition of the following two bullet points in the Committee’s terms of reference:
“
Council Performance Arrangements
(W)
(i) To consider the Council’s draft Annual Performance Self - Assessment report and if deemed necessary may make recommendations for changes to the Council.
(ii)To receive the Council’s finalised Annual Self-Assessment report in respect of a financial year as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of that financial year.
(iii)At least once during the period between two consecutive ordinary elections of councillors to the Council, consider the independent Panel Performance Assessment report into which the Council is meeting its performance requirements.
(iv)To receive and review the Council’s draft response to the report of the independent Panel Performance Assessment and if deemed necessary may make recommendations for changes to the statements made in the draft response to the Council.
Complaints Handling
(X)
(i)To review and assess the Council’s ability to deal with complaints effectively.
(ii)To make reports and recommendations in relation to the Council’s ability to deal with complaints effectively. “
Corporate Governance & Constitution Committee
2.21 For the reasons outlined in paragraph 4.48 of the report to amend the name of the Corporate Governance & Constitution Committee to the ‘Constitution Committee”.
(Note: County Borough Councillor S Belzak wished to have it recorded that he voted against the recommendations set out at 2.1-2.21)
Supporting documents:
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