Agenda item

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer on proposed changes to the council’s constitution – attached.

 

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer on proposed changes to the council’s constitution.

Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak moved, and Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers seconded the following motion:

 

That Council:

1.    agrees to amend the Summary and Explanation section of the constitution as follows:

(i) to use ‘Chair’ as the default term throughout the constitution,

(ii) to add the following definition of the leader of the opposition:

“The opposition political group which holds the highest number of seats is known as the 'majority opposition group' with its leader known as the leader of the majority opposition group. If there are two or more larger opposition groups of the same size, the right of the title will alternate as agreed between the leaders of the groups or, in the absence of agreement, by Council”.

 

2.    agrees to amend the Council, Cabinet and all committee procedure rules to include:

“The Chair may choose to indicate how they wish to be addressed, according to personal preference.”

 

3.    agrees to amend the Council procedure rules as follows:

(i) procedure rule 4 be amended so that when the budget is discussed at Council meetings, questions and motions from councillors will follow consideration of the budget,

(ii) procedure rule 33 be amended to allow councillors to also ask questions of representatives appointed to outside bodies or joint committees,

(iii) procedure rule 36 be amended to require written answers to councillors’ questions at Council meetings, to be provided to Democratic Services for circulation at least 24 hours before a Council meeting to allow more time for councillors to digest the answer and draft a supplementary question,

(iv) procedure rule 40 be amended to state that motions to Council may not relate to a decision on an individual case, or a decision made on an individual case under planning, licensing or other regulatory legislation;

 

4.    agrees to amend the Joint Audit and Governance Committee procedure rules to clarify that only South Oxfordshire District Council members should vote on matters that solely relate to South Oxfordshire, and Vale of White Horse District Council members should only vote on matters that relate solely to the Vale;

 

5.    agrees to amend the Joint Staff Committee procedure rules terms of reference by replacing “to undertake development and performance reviews for the chief executive and head of paid service (based on the objectives and targets for the chief executive and head of paid service set by the leaders)” with: “To review the objectives and targets set by the leaders for the chief executive and review the formal performance and development reviews undertaken by the leaders.”;

 

6.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the chief executive to add a delegation to allow the authorisation of additional senior officers to sign documents and to attest the affixing of the common seal, if this becomes necessary;

 

7.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the acting deputy chief executive – transformation and operations, to act as the councils’ data protection officer and the senior information risk owner;

 

8.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer as follows (new text in bold type): “1.3 As returning officer, to designate an alternative polling place if the designated polling place becomes unavailable for a particular election, referendum or poll.”

 

9.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of development and regeneration as follows:

(i) add three paragraphs to the section relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy, as set out in paragraph 26 of this report,

(ii) amend paragraph 1.2 (b) regarding the surrender or termination of leases and licences as follows (new text in bold type):

“To approve and accept surrenders or terminations of leases and licences, and any ancillary documents (including deeds of variation), and determine applications for the assignment, sub lettings, and transfer of leases and licences and the granting of sub leases and under leases and other applications for consent required by lessees.”

(iii) add a new paragraph 1.2 (m) as follows: “To grant the consent of the council and agree to release covenants in respect of land and property matters including retrospective consents under restrictive covenants contained in historic conveyances and transfers of former council housing.”

 

10.agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of housing and environment as follows:

(i) delete paragraphs 1,7, 1.10, 1.16, 1.17, 1.20 and 1.21, as set out in paragraph 30 of the report,

(ii) rename the section on ‘refuse and street cleaning’ to ‘waste and street cleaning’,

(iii) add the following paragraph to the section on waste:

“To authorise an exemption for residents who wish to pay their annual subscription to the garden waste service by means other than direct debit.”,

(iv) amend paragraph 16.2 relating to clean neighbourhoods as follows (additional text in bold; deletions shown crossed through):

“To exercise the council’s powers and duties authorise town and parish council officers and staff nominated by the district council’s contractors to implement the fixed penalty provisions of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.”,

(v) amend paragraph 19.1 and delete paragraph 19.2 as follows:

“19.1 To exercise the council’s powers and duties under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, including licensing and registration functions, service of notices, taking of enforcement action, inspections, risk assessing, powers of entry and the appointment of inspectors.

19.2 To exercise the council’s powers and duties under The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, The Pet Animals Act 1951, The Breeding of Dogs Acts 1973 and 1991, The Animal Boarding Establishments Acts 1963 and 1970, The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, and The Riding Establishments Acts 1964 & 1970, and the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, including licensing and registration functions, taking of enforcement action, inspections,  powers of entry and the appointment of inspectors.”

(vi) amend paragraph 22.2 relating to private water supplies as follows:

“To give authority to approved companies or organisations to carry out risk assessment functions and water sampling on behalf of the council under the Water Industry Act 1991.”;

 

11.agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of planning as follows:

(i) that paragraph 1.15 relating to neighbourhood plans also applies to South Oxfordshire:

“1.15 To designate neighbourhood planning areas.” (This delegation is subject to consultation with the Cabinet member for planning.),

(ii) add a paragraph to allow the designation of a neighbourhood plan forum, where there is a parish meeting but no parish council,

(iii) add a paragraph to allow a neighbourhood plan to proceed to referendum;

 

12.adds to the list of Proper Officer and Authorised Officer appointments, as set out in the appendix 1 to the report,

 

13.amends the Financial Procedure Rules as follows:

(i) amend paragraph 61 to require that any sale of property resulting in a significant reduction in income of £100,000 or more, impacting on the current budget and the medium term financial plan, must be referred to full Council for consideration,

(ii) amend paragraphs 74 and 75 to refer to head of development and regeneration following the transfer of responsibility for Community Infrastructure Levy spending from the head of planning under the management restructure;

14.authorises the head of legal and democratic to update the constitution to reflect the agreed amendments with effect from 1 November 2020; and

 

15.authorises the head of legal and democratic to make any minor or consequential amendments to the constitution for consistency.

Amendment

Councillor Ken Arlett moved, and Councillor David Bartholomew seconded an amendment to amend Planning Committee Procedure Rule 4 to allow members of the Planning Committee to participate in the debate and vote on planning applications in their ward.

 

Those councillors who spoke in support of the amendment expressed the view that local ward councillors had the local knowledge and information relating to planning applications in their ward which would benefit the decision making process. Councillors who had predetermined their view should be trusted to step down from the committee on that item. However, other councillors expressed the view that the existing rule served to protect both the council and ward councillors from allegations of bias and predetermination and facilitated ward councillors in their advocacy role.

 

On being put to the vote the amendment was declared carried.

 

A councillor expressed the view that the leader of the opposition group with the largest number of seats should be referred to as the leader of the opposition and not merely as the leader of the majority opposition group as set out in1(ii). 

 

On being put to the vote the motion as amended was declared carried.

 

RESOLVED: That for South Oxfordshire District Council Council:

1.    agrees to amend the Summary and Explanation section of the constitution as follows:

(i) to use ‘Chair’ as the default term throughout the constitution,

(ii) to add the following definition of the leader of the opposition:

“The opposition political group which holds the highest number of seats is known as the 'majority opposition group' with its leader known as the leader of the majority opposition group. If there are two or more larger opposition groups of the same size, the right of the title will alternate as agreed between the leaders of the groups or, in the absence of agreement, by Council”.

 

2.    agrees to amend the Council, Cabinet and all committee procedure rules to include:

“The Chair may choose to indicate how they wish to be addressed, according to personal preference.”

3.    agrees to amend the Council procedure rules as follows:

(i) procedure rule 4 be amended so that when the budget is discussed at Council meetings, questions and motions from councillors will follow consideration of the budget,

(ii) procedure rule 33 be amended to allow councillors to also ask questions of representatives appointed to outside bodies or joint committees,

(iii) procedure rule 36 be amended to require written answers to councillors’ questions at Council meetings, to be provided to Democratic Services for circulation at least 24 hours before a Council meeting to allow more time for councillors to digest the answer and draft a supplementary question,

(iv) procedure rule 40 be amended to state that motions to Council may not relate to a decision on an individual case, or a decision made on an individual case under planning, licensing or other regulatory legislation;

 

4.    agrees to amend the Planning Committee procedure rules to allow members of the Planning Committee to participate in the debate and vote on planning applications in their wards;

5.    agrees to amend the Joint Audit and Governance Committee procedure rules to clarify that only South Oxfordshire District Council members should vote on matters that solely relate to South Oxfordshire, and Vale of White Horse District Council members should only vote on matters that relate solely to the Vale;

6.    agrees to amend the Joint Staff Committee procedure rules terms of reference by replacing “to undertake development and performance reviews for the chief executive and head of paid service (based on the objectives and targets for the chief executive and head of paid service set by the leaders)” with: “To review the objectives and targets set by the leaders for the chief executive and review the formal performance and development reviews undertaken by the leaders.”;

7.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the chief executive to add a delegation to allow the authorisation of additional senior officers to sign documents and to attest the affixing of the common seal, if this becomes necessary;

8.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the acting deputy chief executive – transformation and operations, to act as the councils’ data protection officer and the senior information risk owner;

9.    agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer as follows (new text in bold type): “1.3 As returning officer, to designate an alternative polling place if the designated polling place becomes unavailable for a particular election, referendum or poll.”

10. agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of development and regeneration as follows:

(i) add three paragraphs to the section relating to the Community Infrastructure Levy, as set out in paragraph 26 of the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer to Council on 8 October 2020,

(ii) amend paragraph 1.2 (b) regarding the surrender or termination of leases and licences as follows (new text in bold type):

“To approve and accept surrenders or terminations of leases and licences, and any ancillary documents (including deeds of variation), and determine applications for the assignment, sub lettings, and transfer of leases and licences and the granting of sub leases and under leases and other applications for consent required by lessees.”

(iii) add a new paragraph 1.2 (m) as follows: “To grant the consent of the council and agree to release covenants in respect of land and property matters including retrospective consents under restrictive covenants contained in historic conveyances and transfers of former council housing.”

 

11.agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of housing and environment as follows:

(i) delete paragraphs 1,7, 1.10, 1.16, 1.17, 1.20 and 1.21, as set out in paragraph 30 of this report,

(ii) rename the section on ‘refuse and street cleaning’ to ‘waste and street cleaning’,

(iii) add the following paragraph to the section on waste:

“To authorise an exemption for residents who wish to pay their annual subscription to the garden waste service by means other than direct debit.”,

(iv) amend paragraph 16.2 relating to clean neighbourhoods as follows (additional text in bold; deletions shown crossed through):

“To exercise the council’s powers and duties authorise town and parish council officers and staff nominated by the district council’s contractors to implement the fixed penalty provisions of the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act and the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.”,

(v) amend paragraph 19.1 and delete paragraph 19.2 as follows:

“19.1 To exercise the council’s powers and duties under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, including licensing and registration functions, service of notices, taking of enforcement action, inspections, risk assessing, powers of entry and the appointment of inspectors.

19.2 To exercise the council’s powers and duties under The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, The Pet Animals Act 1951, The Breeding of Dogs Acts 1973 and 1991, The Animal Boarding Establishments Acts 1963 and 1970, The Zoo Licensing Act 1981, and The Riding Establishments Acts 1964 & 1970, and the Breeding and Sale of Dogs (Welfare) Act 1999, including licensing and registration functions, taking of enforcement action, inspections,  powers of entry and the appointment of inspectors.”

(vi) amend paragraph 22.2 relating to private water supplies as follows:

“To give authority to approved companies or organisations to carry out risk assessment functions and water sampling on behalf of the council under the Water Industry Act 1991.”;

 

12.agrees to amend the scheme of delegation to the head of planning as follows:

(i) that paragraph 1.15 relating to neighbourhood plans also applies to South Oxfordshire:

“1.15 To designate neighbourhood planning areas.” (This delegation is subject to consultation with the Cabinet member for planning.),

(ii) add a paragraph to allow the designation of a neighbourhood plan forum, where there is a parish meeting but no parish council,

(iii) add a paragraph to allow a neighbourhood plan to proceed to referendum;

 

13. adds to the list of Proper Officer and Authorised Officer appointments, as set out in the appendix 1 of the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer to Council on 8 October 2020,

14. amends the Financial Procedure Rules as follows:

(i) amend paragraph 61 to require that any sale of property resulting in a significant reduction in income of £100,000 or more, impacting on the current budget and the medium term financial plan, must be referred to full Council for consideration,

(ii) amend paragraphs 74 and 75 to refer to head of development and regeneration following the transfer of responsibility for Community Infrastructure Levy spending from the head of planning under the management restructure;

 

15. authorises the head of legal and democratic to update the constitution to reflect the agreed amendments with effect from 1 November 2020; and

16. authorises the head of legal and democratic to make any minor or consequential amendments to the constitution for consistency.