Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Nigel Carter, Cllr Ernie Clark, Cllr Peter Fuller, Cllr Malcolm Hewson, Mr William Bailey, Mr Craig McCallum,  Mr John Scragg, Miss Pam Turner, Mr Keith Wallace and Mr Gerry Robson OBE.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

To receive any declarations of personal or prejudicial interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting.  Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. The Chairman will, however, exercise her discretion in order to ensure that members of the public have the opportunity to contribute.

Members of the public wishing to ask a question should give written notice (including details of any question) to the officer named above by 12.00 noon on Friday 22^nd October.

There were no members of the public present.

Report of the Monitoring Officer is attached

Consideration was given to a report by the Monitoring Officer on the outcome of the review of the constitution for onward recommendation to Council on 9 November 2010.

The Chairman reminded the Committee that the constitution had last been reviewed in 2009/10 to ensure that it would meet the needs of the new Wiltshire Council when it came into effect as a unitary authority on 1 April 2009. The Council had adopted the new constitution on the basis that a review of the constitution’s effectiveness would be carried in the light of experience after six months of operation.  Council requested this Committee to carry out the review.

Accordingly, this Committee established a cross party Focus Group which included representation from the Standards, Audit and Overview and Scrutiny Committees to undertake the detailed work on the review. The Focus Group chaired by the Chairman of the Standards Committee met on four occasions between March and October 2010 and examined in detail the various Parts and Protocols which made up the constitution. Responses to a questionnaire on the constitution from members of the Council and views from the public in response to an online snap survey were also taken into account. It was noted that town and parish councils had also been given the opportunity to comment on the review.

The Focus Group proposed a number of changes identified as tracked changes in a recommended revised draft of the constitution as presented to the Committee. The Democratic Governance Manager presented and guided the Committee through a summary of the main changes proposed as set out in Appendix 5 of the report presented.

It was noted that the review carried out took into account the outcomes of separate reviews undertaken in respect of Area Boards, Overview and Scrutiny arrangements and Development Control.

Cabinet at its meeting on 19 October 2010 considered a report on the outcome of the review of the Development Control Service. That report included proposals to amend the Scheme of Delegation on Planning and the Planning Code of Practice for Members of Wiltshire Council Protocol.

The Committee noted that Cabinet had resolved to defer consideration of that review until such time as the implications of any changes to the planning system as a result of the Decentralisation and Localism Bill were known.  In the meantime, Cabinet also resolved to establish a Working Group to consider the issue of the 21 day call-in period in more detail.

The Committee noted the proposed inclusion of the following three new Protocols in the constitution for the reasons outlined in the report. The Monitoring Officer explained the main provisions of each Protocol:

• Guidance to Councillors Appointed to Outside Bodies
• Partnership
• Governance Reporting Arrangements

The Chairman drew the Committee’s attention to the following matters which remained outstanding at this stage:

Cabinet member response times

The Member Support in the Locality Task Group had recommended inclusion of a provision in the constitution setting out a specific timescale for Cabinet members to respond to other members of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 87.

Any other items of business, which in the opinion of the Chairman, should be taken as a matter of urgency.  Urgent items of a confidential nature may be considered under Part II of this agenda.

There were no urgent items.