Issue - meetings

Report of the Democratic & Electoral Services Manager

The Council gave consideration to the report as set out on pages 21-24 of the agenda, which asked it to note the progress made by the Constitutional Working Group in updating and revising the Council’s Constitution.

A Member raised an ongoing concern in relation to the current requirement for a motion to be moved at Development Control Committee before an item can be debated, as this was said to create the perception of pre-determination amongst the public. As far as the Member was aware, only one other authority in Leicestershire operated such a mechanism. The Head of Law & Governance stated that to his knowledge, most Leicestershire authorities had similar rules within their Constitution, although it was perhaps the case that these were not being consistently applied.

In addition, it was stated the current Chair of the Committee favoured the continued application of this rule on the grounds that it enabled effective control of the meeting to be maintained, whilst best practice guidelines also advocated the same approach. That said, it was ultimately a decision for the Council as a whole to agree if it wanted to change the ruling. The Leader of the Council suggested that a Member of the Constitutional Working Group should bring a motion to a future Council meeting, setting out how they would like the see future rules to operate.

It was moved by K J Loydall JP, seconded by G A Boulter and

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED THAT:

The progress made by the Constitutional Working Group in updating and revising the Council’s Constitution be noted.