Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in any item on the agenda.

Councillor J Jackson declared a non-pecuniary interest in an item on the remit of the Staffing Committee as a member of the GMB Union.

There were no members of the public present.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9^th October 2013.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 9^th October 2013 be approved as a correct record.

To consider whether the frequency of the Council’s meetings should be reviewed and whether changes should be made to the Council’s Calendar of Meetings.

The Committee considered whether the frequency of the Council’s meetings should be reviewed.

Information had been obtained on the frequency of the formal public meetings held by comparator local authorities. From an initial inspection of the figures provided, Cheshire East Council appeared to have a similar frequency of meetings to that of comparator authorities. However, Members felt that it would be helpful to have a further, in-depth review not only of the numbers of meetings held but also of the purpose and size of each body. It was also agreed that the content and process of Council meetings should be reviewed.

Members recognised that this work would require further investigation by the officers and that this should not delay the process for approving the calendar of meetings for next year.

RESOLVED

That

1.    the Constitution Member Working Group be asked to undertake a further, in-depth review of the Council’s meeting arrangements, focussing on the purpose and size of each body, the frequency of meetings, and the content and process of Council meetings, and report to the Committee; and

2.     in the meantime, the calendar of meetings for 2014/15 should be submitted to Council for approval in accordance with the usual process and timetable.

To review the arrangements for determining the venue for meetings of the Strategic Planning Board.

The Committee was invited to review the arrangements for determining the venue for meetings of the Strategic Planning Board. This followed concern expressed by some members about the choice of venue for a recent meeting of the Board.

The Committee had originally considered the matter at its meeting on 20^th September 2012. Having considered a number of options, the Committee had resolved:

“That Council be recommended to agree that the venue arrangements for meetings of the Strategic Planning Board should be as follows:

That the Capesthorne Room, Macclesfield Town Hall and the Council Chamber, Municipal Buildings, Crewe be reserved in advance for every scheduled meeting of the Strategic Planning Board, with the room that is not required for a particular meeting being released at the appropriate time, the choice of venue to be at the discretion of the Chairman of the Strategic Planning Board in consultation with officers.”

Council at its meeting on 11^th October 2012 had approved the recommendation as set out.

Since the new arrangements had come into effect, 10 meetings of the Strategic Planning Board had been held in Macclesfield and 11 had been held in Crewe.

The Committee considered whether there was merit in undertaking a more general review of the planning arrangements in Cheshire East to determine whether they were fit for purpose or whether suitable alternative models should be explored.

RESOLVED

That the Constitution Member Working Group be asked to

1.    review the arrangements for determining the venue for meetings of the Strategic Planning Board; and

2.    undertake a more general review of the planning arrangements in Cheshire East to determine whether they are fit for purpose or whether alternative arrangements should be explored;

and report to the Committee’s next meeting.

To consider a report in response to a Motion raised at Council on the 18th July 2013 requesting a review of the Staffing Committee’s terms of reference.

The Committee considered a report in response to the following motion which was proposed by Councillor B Murphy and seconded by Councillor A Moran at the Council meeting on 18^th July 2013 and referred to the Constitution Committee:

“The Council requests an immediate review of the Staffing Committee’s terms of reference with a view to widening its remit to encompass matters that are normally entailed in the work of a staffing committee such as corporate culture, employee relations and communications, senior appointment, disciplinary matters and management structures.”

The report outlined the current terms of reference of the Staffing Committee as set out in the Constitution, together with the practice of the committee since its inception in 2009. It also provided comparisons with the arrangements of other authorities and briefly outlined a number of options.

Members felt that the Constitution Member Working Group should be asked to consider the matter in detail and report back to the Committee’s next meeting.

RESOLVED

That the Constitution Member Working Group be asked to review the terms of reference and operation of the Staffing Committee with a view to submitting recommendations to the Committee’s next meeting, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Staffing Committee to be invited to attend the Working Group’s meeting.

To review the Committee’s work programme.

The Committee considered a report summarising its work programme to date, including progress with various work streams:

Scheme of Delegation

A revised scheme of delegation had been approved by Council on 17^th October 2013. In approving the scheme, Council had authorised the Interim Head of Legal Services and Monitoring Officer, with the agreement of the Chairman of the Constitution Committee, to incorporate the new management structure into the scheme when all necessary aspects of the structure had been settled, with the scheme as amended being re-submitted to the Constitution Committee for confirmation. It was intended that the revised version of the scheme would be submitted to the Committee’s meeting on 23^rd January 2014.

The Member Working Group’s review of the scheme of delegation was continuing and further proposals would be submitted to the Committee for consideration in due course.

Civic Sub-Committee Terms of Reference

The Constitution Member Working Group would be considering this matter at its meeting on 25^th November.

Transparency and Openness

The Constitution Member Working Group would be considering this matter at its meeting on 25^th November.

Review of Policy Development Groups and Scrutiny Committees

Following consultation with the political groups, the size and membership of the PDG/Scrutiny Member Working Group had now been determined as follows:

Councillor Peter Groves

Councillor Steve Hogben

Councillor Shirley Jones

Councillor David Marren

Councillor Rod Menlove

Councillor Arthur Moran

Councillor David Newton

Councillor Margaret Simon

Councillor Paul Whiteley

Proportionality: 5:2:1:1

The first meeting of the working group would be held shortly.

(Note: Councillor Menlove has since been replaced on the Working Group by Councillor Steve Wilkinson.)

Review of the Size and Structure of the Constitution

The officers were continuing to work with the Vice-Chairman to produce a concise, user-friendly version of the Constitution for the Committee’s consideration. Alongside this work, the Interim Head of Legal Services had appointed an officer working group to undertake a review of the Constitution/finance and contract procedure rules. These two work streams were being co-ordinated with a view to submitting proposals for consideration in due course.

The Committee has previously expressed the view that a general  review of the terms of reference of committees and the procedure rules within the Constitution would be beneficial. Such reviews would have implications for the work being undertaken on the size and structure of the Constitution. In order to make progress in all areas, it was suggested that the Constitution Member Working Group be asked to undertake the reviews, and any further reviews required from time to time, and report to the Committee in due course.

RESOLVED

That

(1)  the current progress with the various work streams be noted; and

(2)  the Constitution Member Working Group be asked to undertake reviews of the terms of reference of committees, the procedure rules, certain issues relating to executive decision-making, and any further reviews required from time to time, and report to the Committee in due course.