Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1   There were no apologies for absence.

2.1  There were no declarations of interest.

3.1  Councillors considered the previous minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2022.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Pensions Committee held on 13 July 2022 were approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

1.That the Committee approve the final drafts of Parts One and Two of the Constitution appended to this report as Appendices 2 and 3, noting

that Officers will insert cross-references at a later stage and will

continue to review the documents for typographical errors and plain

English / grammatical improvements.

2. That the Committee consider and provide comments / observations on

the first drafts of those Parts and Sections appended to the report as

Appendices 4 to 9.

3. That the Committee endorse the revised timetable leading to approval

of the Constitution by Full Council in July 2023.

4. That the Committee agree additional meeting dates in April and May.

4  Constitution Review - Parts One and Two

4.1    Deputy Mayor Bramble introduced the report providing an update on progress by the Constitution Officer Working Group (COWG) with the review of the Council’s Constitution and presenting first and final drafts of various sections for review and approval as appropriate and outlined the format of meetings of the Committee going forward.  It was highlighted that the date for the adoption of the new Constitution had been extended to July 2023 to allow the Committee further opportunities to reflect on proposed changes, enable consultation with stakeholders and soft testing around access to the website and feedback from young people in the Hackney Youth Parliament (HYP).

4.2  Deputy Mayor Bramble reported that officers had received comments from Cllr Troughton in relation to Council Procedure Rules and Part Six,  Cllr Gordon in relation to Part Two and Three  and some points from Cllr Binnie-Lubbock concerning certain elements of Parts One and Two.  The comments regarding wording would be considered by the COWG and would be resolved with Councillors or if further clarity was needed it would be brought to a future Committee meeting, or could be considered by a smaller working group if required.

4.3  The Head of Legal and Governance gave a presentation on the Constitution Review update and those elements of the Constitution being considered at the meeting.  A brief summary is provided below:

·  Update on progress

·  Points to note - Plain English, spelling, amendments, cross- referencing and checks for consistency

·  Final Drafts - Part One: Your Council

·  Final Drafts - Part Two: Articles of the Constitution

·  First Drafts - Part Three: Responsibilities for Functions

·  First Drafts - Part Four: Council Procedure Rules

·  First Drafts - Part Four: Cabinet Procedure Rules

·  First Drafts - Part Six: Public Participation

·  First Drafts - Part Eight: Monitoring Officer Protocol

·  First Drafts - Part Nine:  Protocol on Remote Attendance at Meetings

4.4  Councillors suggested the following amendments and areas for improvement:

Points to note

·  The Head of Legal and Governance confirmed that the COWG had been following the principles of the plain English campaign when reviewing the wording within the Constitution.

·  The Head of Legal and Governance stated that Plain English had recommended replacing numbered paragraphs and subparagraphs with bullet points when there was a list. However, concern was noted regarding the challenge of identifying and referring to a particular bullet point in a list that could be more than one page, which could make the document less accessible.

ACTION 1: The COWG to further review whether to retain numbered paragraphs.

·  It was highlighted that the Scrutiny Panel would be reviewing the scrutiny section within the Constitution and invited Councillors from the opposition group to the meeting on 20 February 2023.

Part One - Your Council

·  With regard to Rule 1.14 - Sustainability and Climate Change at page 29, it was suggested that environmental benefit should be included as one of the responsibilities for Councillors under decision making.

·  With regard to Rule 1.15 - Equalities  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.1  There was no other urgent business.

Duration of the meeting: 5.30pm - 7.55pm