Minutes:
The Chairman reported receipt of the above mentioned motion from Councillors Chris Caswill and Chris Hurst. Accordingly, Councillor Chris Caswill moved the following motion which was duly seconded by Councillor Chris Hurst:
“Council notes the extensive powers attributed within the Wiltshire unitary system to the Leader and the Cabinet, and to Officers under Delegated Powers. Council asserts the importance of democratic debate and challenge, and of the active engagement of backbench members and the public in the Council’s work.
It has accordingly proposed detailed measures designed to:
(a) increase the accountability of the executive, in its various forms, and
(b) improve those elements of the system which provide for the contributions of individual elected members, and
(c) Strengthen the participation of , and engagement with, the Wiltshire public, and
(d) Thereby strengthen the democratic legitimacy and contribution of Wiltshire Council
These measures are set out at Annex 1 to this Motion.
Council resolves that :
Annex 1 to Council Motion on Democracy and Accountability
List of proposed changes to current procedures, instruments and practices
Scrutiny
Area Boards
a) Provision will be made for public participation at the beginning of Area Board meetings, similar to that made for Cabinet and other committees
b) Provision will be made for public petitions to be presented and discussed at Area Board meetings (see below)
Planning
i. The right of local residents to call in planning applications for committee decisions in public will be restored, with a threshold of six signatories
ii. Speaking time for members of the public will be increased to a maximum of 5 minutes
iii. All planning meetings will begin in the early evening, preferably at 6 pm, to allow working residents to attend.
iv. It shall be established within Constitution protocols understood that decisions within all Planning Committees are not taken on party political / group lines, without prior group briefing
v. Guidance will be given to planning officers that their reports should explicitly address those residents' objections that relate to planning policies, not simply list them
vi. A user-friendly guide will be provided for residents who wish to make representations on planning applications and the Council web will be restructured to provide well signposted and user-friendly routes for that purpose.
Licensing
1) Local members will be informed of any formal warning notices sent to licensed premises in their areas
2) New user-friendly guidance will be provided for the public on the licensing system and opportunities for the public to engage.
Highways
Democratic opposition
o Direct Democratic Services and research support will be provided to Opposition groups with four or more members, to be determined by discussion between the Leader and Opposition Group Leaders
Engagement of Individual members
Council and committees
Engagement with the Public
· Provision has already been made above for enhanced public engagement with scrutiny, planning and licensing. Additionally, the threshold for petitions which will automatically generate a debate will be reduced to 1000. Petitions achieving this threshold may be discussed at full Council or be referred to the relevant Scrutiny Committee, where the petitioner(s) will have the opportunity to participate in the debate. Presenters of petitions with over 50 proper signatures will have the opportunity to have their petition discussed at the relevant Area Board(s), should they wish, and to have a decision from the Board(s) as to the next steps
· There will be a professional independent review of the Council web site, leading to its replacement or restructuring into a user-friendly format that interactively engages the public”
Following agreement to debate the motion, the Chairman invited Councillor Caswill to speak to his motion.
Following a debate, Councillor Caswill agreed to withdraw the motion to enable the individual Cabinet Members to consider the suggestions put forward.
Motion Withdrawn
Supporting documents: