Agenda item

9.1

RESOLVED: On the motion of Councillor Peter Rippon and seconded by Councillor Julie Dore, that, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9.1, the order of business as published on the Council Summons be altered by taking item 8 on the agenda (Review of Full Council Meetings) as the next item of business, to enable the Council to receive the verbal update from the Director of Legal and Governance prior to the termination of the meeting after four hours and 30 minutes duration.

9.2

The Director of Legal and Governance reported on the progress of the work of the Member Working Group in reviewing the operation of the full Council meetings.

9.3

She outlined the composition of the Working Group and reported that a work programme had been agreed which is split into two stages.  The first stage was to look at the purpose and the function of the Council meeting, consider solutions and change under the themes of “a modern, accessible and open meeting” and “an efficient, effective meeting that is fit for purpose”, look at best practice in other local authorities, and decide changes from the Council’s September meeting, and the second stage was to consider a wider review of Council decision making and public engagement over the 2017/18 municipal year.

9.4

The Director commented that the Working Group had met on two occasions to date and had, at its first meeting, discussed the purpose of the full Council meeting and, at its second meeting, had discussed practical and structural issues associated with full Council meetings, including the importance of maintaining time for engagement with the public as well as Member debate, the time and duration of the meetings, managing the content and length of agendas, tributes to former Councillors, and questions from the public and Members.

9.5

The Director added that members of the Working Group had been asked to consult with other members of their political group prior to further discussion being held at the Working Group’s next meeting on 7^th July on changing the start time and duration of the meeting, defining the purpose of the meeting, audio recording, layout and seating, managing the number of motions, time limits for speakers, order of business/structure of meetings, introduction of a regular break time, and simplifying the voting process, and she concluded her report by stating that she would circulate a written note of her report to all Members of the Council within the next few days.

9.6

The Council noted the information reported by the Director.