Constitution and Governance Committee - 4 November 2025

The Constitution and Governance Committee began the meeting with a standard declaration that no members had any interest to declare. A motion moved by Councillor Cole and seconded by Councillor Rowse resolved that the minutes of the Committee’s previous meeting on 10 June 2025 were correctly recorded and should be signed by the Chairman.

The Chairman then presented an email from the Chairman of the Corporate Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee (CFPO & SC) summarising four points raised at its 14 October 2025 meeting concerning the protocol for Council‑Owned Entities (COEs). The points related to (1) the wording that all COEs must be “economically successful” – a requirement that does not apply to entities created for public‑value purposes; (2) the description of Scrutiny’s role in the governance process, which was deemed unclear; (3) the criteria for appointing Members and officers to COE boards, with a suggestion that appointments be based on skills rather than status; and (4) a proposal to conduct a review of the protocol within 12‑18 months. The Head of Commercial Assurance confirmed that the Committee would review the protocol to reflect the varied purposes of COEs, clarify Scrutiny’s remit, adopt a flexible, skills‑based approach to board appointments, and support the proposed review timetable.

A separate discussion focused on the use of substitutes and remote attendance at committee meetings. Members debated how voting rights should be allocated when a Member is absent, the need for validated substitutes, and whether a Member who has appointed a substitute may still view the meeting via livestream or Teams recording. The Committee agreed that guidance should be codified to avoid confusion and to align with existing Planning Committee rules. Consequently, a motion moved by Councillor Rowse and seconded by Councillor Kenny was resolved, recommending that Procedure Rule 4.2.2 be amended to allow a Member who cannot attend in person to either appoint a validated substitute (who may vote) or attend remotely without voting rights, with the substitute’s attendance recorded accordingly.

The final agenda item reviewed the latest Member Induction Survey and the status of mandatory e‑learning. The Democratic Lead and Statutory Scrutiny Officer reported that the survey did not indicate a need to change the current Member Development Strategy. Compliance figures were presented for six compulsory modules – Climate Literacy (67 %), Cyber Security (74 %), Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (67 %), Information Governance (75 %), Safeguarding (68 %) and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Human Rights Awareness (46 %) – with completion deadlines of 3 November (all modules except Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and Human Rights Awareness, due 3 March). The Committee noted that failure to complete a module for at least one calendar month would breach the Code of Conduct, and agreed that Group Leaders and the Monitoring Officer would be tasked with informing Members and ensuring compliance. During the debate, members raised concerns about the mandatory nature of certain training, the possibility of sanctions for non‑completion of Cyber Security training, and the distinction between organisational and strategic training categories; the Democratic Services Lead agreed to investigate the feasibility of any proposed sanctions.