Agenda item - Review of Constitution

Report of the Monitoring Officer (copy attached).

8.1             Councillor Randall introduced the report which set out the proposed new constitution for the council following its decision to move to a committee system.  He noted that the new governance arrangements had taken on board those elements of the Leader and Cabinet model that had worked well and incorporated them into the new committee system.  He wished to thank the Member Working Group and the officers involved in reviewing the constitution and commended it to the council.  He stated that with the introduction of a committee system a number of councillors and officers faced a big learning curve and encouraged them to take advantage of the support and training that was being offered.  He also noted that the Conservative Group wished to propose two amendments and stated that he could not accept either.  The changes proposed in the amendments had been discussed at a number of levels, including the last Governance Committee and were not conducive to the aims and objectives of the new constitution.  With regard to the proposed Transport Committee he believed there was justification for a separate committee but was happy to review its status as part of the yearly review of the constitution.  He therefore moved the recommendations as outlined in the report.

8.2             Councillor Theobald moved two amendments on behalf of the Conservative Group which he believed recognised the political make-up of the council and the benefit of merging two committees into one which could deal with the overall remit of environment, sustainability and transport.

8.3             Councillor Peltzer Dunn formally seconded the amendments and stated that there was a need for the Policy & Resources Committee as the principal decision-making committee to reflect the political balance of the groups represented on the council.  He also believed that one environment committee was sufficient to deal with the various matters that would come before it and thereby generate a saving.

8.4             Councillor Morgan stated that he wished to thank the Monitoring Officer, the Head of Democratic Services and officers who supported the Member Working Group in bringing forward the new decision-making system  in what had been a short space of time.  The Working Group had been clear that there was a need for clear and open decision making without having too many levels and one that was understood by residents.

8.5             Councillor J. Kitcat stated that the aim had been to develop a new modern system, and the new constitution reflected that having been developed by a cross-party approach.  Brighton & Hove was the first council to make the move to new governance arrangements  and he wished to add his thanks to the legal team, Democratic Services and Members of the Working Group.  He believed the new arrangements would be less bureaucratic and would enable greater efficiencies and involvement in the decision-making process.  He stated that the size of the committees at ten meant that Members would not be over-burdened and that they had been apportioned in line with regulations.  He did not accept the Conservative amendment and questioned the reasoning for it.

8.6             Councillor Mitchell stated that the council had resolved to change its governance arrangements in the shortest time possible and she supported the Leader’s analysis for the change to the committee system.  She did not support the amendments and noted that that the residents of the city had given the Green Administration a clear mandate and whilst reservations had been raised over the need for a separate Transport Committee, she was happy to review its role in a year’s time.

8.7             Councillor Cox stated that whilst he understood the decision to move to a committee system he had previously supported the Elected Mayor model and would have done so again.  He agreed with Councillor Morgan that the system needed to be streamlined and able to implement decisions and this would be tested I 2015 when people looked at what had been achieved.

8.8             Councillor Marsh stated that she welcomed the decision to retain the overview & scrutiny process, which had proved to be innovative and well supported by an excellent scrutiny team.  She hoped that the scrutiny role would continue to be used to develop and influence policy.

8.9             Councillor Janio stated that the current proposals were biased and did not reflect the actual council situation and the committee proportions should be reviewed as they would not lead to a true decision-making process.  It was clear that the Administration had wanted to retain control and used the sizes of committees to enable this.  The retention of two scrutiny committees was not a real version and was unlikely to be effective.  He believed that a further review should be undertaken.

8.10         Councillor Fitch stated that he had seen the benefit of having a committee system in the past and believed that the new system would encourage greater debate and allow for lobbying and influence decisions.  The recent elections had put the Green Group in power and they should be able to take decisions and be held accountable for them.

8.11         Councillor Mears stated that the change to a cabinet model had been required by the Labour Government and the Conservative Administration had introduced the most open and transparent model that could have been.  The pressure now was to ensure that the new system enabled decisions to be taken effectively and not get bogged down in bureaucracy for the benefit of the city and that was yet to be determined.

8.12         Councillor Peltzer Dunn stated that he was encouraged by the support for the committee system but noted that the Working Group had not been in agreement in regard to the proposed size of committees and had put forward a view for the Policy & Resources Committee to be increased to twelve.  However, the Leaders Group had decided against that and accepted the size of ten for each of the policy committees.  He questioned whether the overall balance of committees was proportionate and sought the support of the Labour & Co-operative Group for the two amendments that were proposed.

8.13         Councillor Randall stated that he fully supported Councillor Marsh’s comments in regard to overview and scrutiny, which had proved itself and had an excellent team of officers to support it, which was why it had been retained in the new model.  He could not accept the amendments and recommended that the recommendations as listed in the report be approved.

8.14         The Mayor noted that there were no other speakers and stated that she would put each of the Conservative amendments to the vote.  She then put the first amendment to increase the size of the Policy & Resources Committee from 10 to 12 to the vote, which was lost.

8.15         The Mayor then put the second Conservative amendment to merge the Environment & Sustainability and Transport Committees into one committee to the vote, which was lost.

8.16         The Mayor then noted that the report had been moved and put the recommendations to the vote which were carried.

8.17         RESOLVED:

(1)         That the Council resolves, in accordance with section 9KC of the Local Government Act 2000, to change its governance arrangements from Leader and Cabinet to a Committee System;

(2)         That the parts of the constitution set out in Appendix 1 to the report (being the parts where there are substantive changes) be approved;

(3)         That the transitional arrangements in relation to the Audit and Standards Committees, as set out in paragraph 16.3 of the report, be approved and adopted until such time that the relevant Regulations relating to standards are made and come into force;

(4)         That the current scheme of delegations to officers be approved subject to the changes set out at Appendix 5 to the report and any other consequential modifications;

(5)         That the rest of the existing constitution be approved and adopted, subject to such amendments as are necessary to make them fit for a committee system;

(6)         That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the minor and consequential changes refereed to in resolutions (4) and (5) above;

(7)         That the constitution as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, with the addition of the parts referred to in resolution (5) above, be approved and adopted as the Council’s constitution in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2000 and relevant Regulations, Orders and Directions made by the Secretary of State;

(8)         That the new system of governance and the new constitution come into force immediately after the conclusion of Annual Council on 17 May 2012;

(9)         That the Chief Executive be authorised to take all steps necessary or incidental to the implementation of the new governance arrangements, including the power to make such transitional arrangements as are necessary for the orderly implementation of the proposals;

(10)    That officers be instructed to make copies of the Council’s new constitution available at its principal offices and to publish a notice describing the new arrangements, in accordance with s9KC of the Local Government Act 2000; and

(11)    That it be noted that the issue of Member’s Allowances dealt with separately elsewhere on the agenda and that any proposed Code of Conduct be referred to Council as part of the recommendations from the Standards Committee.