Constitution and Governance Committee - 10 June 2025

The meeting began with the election of the Committee’s leadership. Councillor Rowse moved, and Councillor Kenny seconded, that Councillor Cole be elected Chairman; a subsequent motion by Councillor Parsonage, seconded by Councillor O’Connor, nominated Councillor Towill for the same post. After a vote, Councillor Cole was elected Chairman. A separate motion, moved by Councillor Jenkin and seconded by Councillor M Thomas, appointed Councillor Rowse as Vice‑Chairman, which was approved by a show of hands. In the Chairman’s absence, the Vice‑Chairman assumed the chair for the remainder of the meeting. No declarations of interest were made.

The Committee then confirmed the minutes of the Constitution and Governance Committee meeting held on 6 March 2025, which were moved by Councillor M Thomas, seconded by Councillor Jenkin, and approved for signing by the Chairman. The Democratic Lead and Statutory Scrutiny Officer presented a report outlining extensive consultation and benchmarking work undertaken to inform forthcoming recommendations.

During the debate, members raised several points. First, questions about the benchmarking process were answered by noting that the Association of Democratic Services Officers (ADSO) provided a consultation community, and that Wiltshire and Durham Councils—both recent unitary authorities—were used as comparative cases, with council type and size also considered. Second, a member queried the review of substitute voting; the Committee explained that the review was prompted by the need to clarify voting rights for members wishing to attend remotely, a practice currently prohibited but anticipated to be enabled by forthcoming legislation. The Government’s indicated stance was that remote and proxy voting would be mandatory for councils, with no opt‑out provision. Third, members commented on the breadth of the work programme, agreeing that gaps were acceptable given the extensive list of items.

The Committee approved the work programme set out in Appendix 1 of the report, moved by Councillor Jenkin and seconded by Councillor Candy. It also resolved that any amendments to the programme would be determined by the Chairman in consultation with the Vice‑Chairman, Monitoring Officer, and Democratic Lead, with changes effected by the Monitoring Officer and the Committee notified promptly.

The Service Director for Legal and Assurance (Monitoring Officer) briefed the Committee on the self‑assessment process and related timelines. He indicated that the self‑assessment would be presented to the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer within two weeks, with completion expected within a month, and that higher‑level recommendations would be forwarded to senior leadership by autumn 2025, ahead of the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge. He also noted his limited experience with Overview and Scrutiny meetings but affirmed the process’s robustness and the role of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny in shaping recommendations. Finally, the Democratic Lead clarified that the Overview and Scrutiny Protocol is reviewed annually by relevant chairpersons, that recent changes to the Cabinet Member template increase reporting flexibility, and that the work‑programming submission form supports consistency across committees, with a further review scheduled for March 2026.