Agenda item

To seek Cabinet’s endorsement of the changes required to the Council’s Constitution in consequence of The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 No.392.

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1.      notes that changes to the Council’s Constitution are required as a direct consequence of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020;

2.      endorses the changes as identified by the Monitoring Officer and as set out in this report and Appendices A - E attached hereto;

3.      endorses that all changes took immediate effect to comply with the Regulations;

4.      endorses that all Councillors conduct all Council business through their Tendring District Council online accounts using the corporate IT kit supplied to them for the smooth facilitating and running of remote meetings;

5.      adopts the Remote Meeting Guidance for Members and Officers attached as Appendix F and grants a delegated authority to the Head of Democratic Services and Elections to make minor changes to such Guidance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance;

6.      requests that the Portfolio Holder’s Constitution Review Working Party undertake a light-touch review of any changes to be made to the Constitution and the application of the Remote Meeting Guidance and reflects upon working practices for remote meetings and then submits its recommendations direct to Full Council for ratification; and

7.      recommends that Appendix G, as attached to this report, be submitted to Full Council as a replacement to Appendix E to the March 2020 Constitution review report, which was then subsequently approved by the Leader of the Council (on behalf of the Cabinet) for submission to Full Council.

The Cabinet gave consideration to a report of the Corporate Finance and Governance Portfolio Holder (A.1) which sought its endorsement of the changes required to the Council’s Constitution in consequence of The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 No.392 (‘the Regulations’).

The Cabinet was made aware that the Regulations, made under section 78 of the Coronavirus Act 2020, applied notwithstanding any other legislation or current or pre-existing standing orders or any other Council rules governing meetings and would remain valid until 7^th May 2021.  This meant that, wherever there was a conflict, within the Constitution, or with any procedures or rules implemented under Business Continuity Arrangements, these remote meetings regulations would take precedence.

It was therefore the case that the effect of these Regulations on the Authority’s Constitution was to insert what were, in effect, mandatory standing orders for those authorities that wished to hold meetings remotely, either wholly or partially.

Members were informed that a Remote Meetings Protocol and Procedure Rules document had been produced on 17^th April 2020 by Lawyers in Local Government (LLG) and the Association of Democratic Services (ADSO) for the purpose of assisting authorities to highlight the changes required to Councils’ Constitutions in consequence of the Regulations. Rather than adopting the Protocol without amendment, the Monitoring Officer and Democratic Services officers, had worked through this national guidance and best practice in order to highlight the changes required for Tendring District Council.

It was reported that the proposed changes covered a number of miscellaneous amendments to the Council Procedure Rules and the Access to Information Procedure Rules, and Articles 3 and 7 which were all required in order to comply with the new legislation and to ensure that this Council’s Constitution remained effective, efficient and consistent at an operational level.  The key changes to each of these documents were highlighted within the body of the Portfolio Holder’s report. 

The Cabinet was advised that the Monitoring Officer could make these changes to the Constitution in accordance with the delegated authority provided to her within Article 15. However, it was still considered to be prudent for the Portfolio Holder’s Constitution Review Working Party to undertake a light touch review prior to submitting the changes to Full Council for ratification, in order to enable the working practices and the guidance issued for remote meetings to be considered in a little more depth.

Having considered the proposed changes to the Constitution as outlined in the Portfolio Holder’s report and as detailed in the Appendices attached thereto:-

It was moved by Councillor G V Guglielmi, seconded by Councillor P B Honeywood and:-

RESOLVED that Cabinet:

1.      notes that changes to the Council’s Constitution are required as a direct consequence of the Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020;

2.      endorses the changes as identified by the Monitoring Officer and as set out in this report and Appendices A - E attached hereto;

3.      endorses that all changes took immediate effect to comply with the Regulations;

4.      endorses that all Councillors conduct all Council business through their Tendring District Council online accounts using the corporate IT kit supplied to them for the smooth facilitating and running of remote meetings;

5.      adopts the Remote Meeting Guidance for Members and Officers attached as Appendix F and grants a delegated authority to the Head of Democratic Services and Elections to make minor changes to such Guidance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Finance and Governance;

6.      requests that the Portfolio Holder’s Constitution Review Working Party undertake a light-touch review of any changes to be made to the Constitution and the application of the Remote Meeting Guidance and reflects upon working practices for remote meetings and then submits its recommendations direct to Full Council for ratification; and

7.      recommends that Appendix G, as attached to this report, be submitted to Full Council as a replacement to Appendix E to the March 2020 Constitution review report, which was then subsequently approved by the Leader of the Council (on behalf of the Cabinet) for submission to Full Council.