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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Constitution Committee - Tuesday 23 May 2023 5.30 pm

• Attendance details
• Agenda frontsheet PDF 239 KB
• Agenda reports pack PDF 7 MB
• Printed decisions PDF 47 KB
• Printed minutes PDF 94 KB

Venue: Hackney Town Hall

Contact: Natalie Kokayi 

Items

No.	Item
1.	Apologies For Absence Minutes: 1.1   Apologies were received from Cllr Gordon for late arrival.
2.	Declarations of Interest - Members to declare as appropriate Minutes: 2.1  Cllr Gordon declared that she was Chair of Scrutiny Panel, under the   agenda item 5 discussion about the Scrutiny Panel’s appointment of   Vice-Chair.
3.	Consideration Of The Minutes Of The Previous Meeting PDF 74 KB Minutes: 3.1  Councillors considered the previous minutes of the meeting held on 29 March 2023.   RESOLVED:   That the minutes of the Constitution Committee held on 27 April 2023 were agreed as a true and accurate record of proceedings subject to:   Action 1, 4, 5, and 6: updates were provided under agenda item 5.   Action 2: Officers to schedule a meeting with the Chair, Vie-Chair, Head of Legal and Democratic Services and ICT to review the approach to accessibility, acronyms and plain English requirements.  This action remained outstanding and officers are working to schedule the meeting at an appropriate point for the workstream.   Action 3: Procurement Officers to provide a briefing note for Members about the proposed changes and timetable for the Procurement Bill. Officers are finalising the draft and will circulate the briefing to Members of the Constitution and Corporate procurement and insourcing Committee (CPIC).
4.	Constitution Committee Terms of Reference PDF 30 KB The Committee is asked to note the terms of reference as set out below. Minutes: 4.1  Councillors noted the Terms of Reference for the Constitution   Committee and that the membership of the Committee was confirmed at   the Annual Meeting on 17 May 2023.
5.	Constitution Review PDF 62 KB View the background to item 5. View the decision for item 5. Additional documents: Draft Constitution May 2023 , item 5. PDF 6 MB Decision: RESOLVED: That the committee consider and provide final comments/observations on the draft Constitution accompanying the report in Appendix1. Minutes: 5.1  The Chair thanked Councillors and officers for their work on the Constitution  Review over the last year.   5.2.  The Head of Legal and Governance introduced the report and thanked Councillors for their work on the Constitution Review over the last year. The  report provided Members of the Committee with the opportunity to see the draft new Constitution in its entirety for final comments and observations prior to planned public  engagement in June 2023.  It was noted that once the Constitution was approved by Full Council officers had to add hyperlinks and  bookmarks and put the document on the Council website supported with promotion and publicity.   5.3.  The Constitution Officer Working Group (COWG) will then produce, as   part of its work programme,  an accompanying guide to the Constitution   with some of the key principles of the Constitution.  In addition it was   proposed that the Committee considered the Office Scheme of   Delegations. It was proposed that the Committee considered reviewing   how the Constitution is received and working in practice by Councillors   and the public.    5.4.  Councillors made general comments for the whole document and also   made comments and observations for Parts One - Part Three for   consideration:   Points to Note for the entire draft Constitution including reference to specific Parts:   ·  It was proposed that substitute arrangements are considered for the Licensing Sub-Committee. ·  Approach to determining the Principal Opposition Group and Minority Opposition Group in the event that two parties have equal numbers were to be considered. ·  Hyperlinks and inclusion in the Glossary were to be reviewed. ·  There were no legal requirements regarding what opposition groups are called. ·  There are specific legislative requirements regarding political balance on committees and scrutiny commissions. ·  There was discussion and clarification sought about Rule 16 - Procedure regarding Motions. ·  Clarification was sought relating to the rights and responsibilities specific to non-executives and opposition group leaders. (p32 and p117) ·  Officers to review terminology to ensure references are defined e.g. Part Two - Articles of the Constitution, Article 12 - officers at 12.23 ‘the policy framework’.   ACTION 1: Part Two, Article 3 Members of the Council - 3.5  - Officers to review good practice/benchmark other LA’s approach when two opposition groups have equal numbers.   ACTION 2: Part Four, Section A Procedure Rules - Officers to review Rule 16 - Procedure regarding Motions with regard to 17.6 and 17.13.   ACTION 3: Part Four, Section A Council Procedure Rules - 25.1. Officers to change text to say ‘The Elected Mayor and Councillors shall stand’ and a caveat for inclusivity.   ACTION 4:  Part Two, Article 3 Members of the Council 3.7(e) and Part Four Procedure Rules, Section B  5.7. Officers review these sections to ensure no contradictions.   Part Four - Procedure Rules   5.5.  Councillors made the following comments for Part Four   Points to Note   ·  It was noted that decisions are published as soon as quickly as practicable (p158) ·  It was noted that email addresses, hyperlinks, and specific dates are to be added to the text.   ACTION 5: Officers to review  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.
6.	Any Other Business Which In The Opinion Of The Chair Is Urgent