Agenda item

Report attached.

The following matter was submitted as urgent business with the Mayor’s agreement in accordance with Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the reason being to enable the proposed changes to the Council Procedure Rules to be implemented in a timely fashion ahead of the next scheduled Council meeting on 15^th January 2026 and to enable any consequential changes to the Scheme of Delegation to be made under delegated powers to facilitate the implementation of the on-going organisational review.

Members considered a report of Councillor Munsif Dad BEM JP, Leader of the Council, seeking approval for proposed amendments to the Council’s constitution.

Councillor Dad outlined a number of changes proposed to the Council Procedure Rules, in relation to ‘Question Time’, which had been discussed and recommended at the recent Leader’s Policy Development Board meeting.

The overall report proposed changes in two sections of the constitution, as follows:

Question Time

There had recently been a significant increase in the number of questions submitted to full Council as part of the “Question Time” arrangements, both from councillors and members of the public.  Democratic engagement was welcomed, and the proposed amendments were designed to ensure that the process was manageable and operated fairly.  The proposed amendments were intended to accommodate the increased number of questions, whilst ensuring that as many councillors as possible had an opportunity to have their questions responded to at Council meetings given that Question Time only lasted for 30 minutes.

Where a councillor submitted multiple questions, their first question would be listed on the agenda in the order of receipt.  Their second question (and any subsequent questions) would be taken only after the first questions from all other councillors had been dealt with.  Where more that one councillor submitted multiple questions, the second (and subsequent) questions from each of these councillors would be taken in turn and in order of receipt.

Given the increase in questions, it was increasingly likely that not all questions would be dealt with within the time available.  Public questions that did not receive an answer at the meeting would receive a direct written response and contact details would have to be provided for that purpose.

Scheme of Delegation

The proposed amendment to the scheme of delegation did not involve making any new or additional delegations to officers.  Instead, it involved reallocating some of the existing delegations from one chief officer to another chief officer to reflect changes in management arrangements that might arise from the ongoing organisational review.  As such, the amendments would essentially be procedural.

The Chief Executive was currently reviewing the organisational structure of the Council to ensure this put the Council in the best position to operate effectively and deliver the priorities in the new corporate plan.  As part of this process some service areas might switch from being the responsibility of one chief officer to another, which meant that the scheme of delegation would require amendment to reflect the changes and ensure that delegated decisions were taken with the proper authority in place.

In respect of Question Time, Councillor Steven Smithson noted that elderly members of the public were not always comfortable with supplying their contact details to enable other councillors, such as the relevant Portfolio Holder, to get back to them.

Councillor Zak Khan confirmed that he was happy with the proposed 5 clear working days deadline for the submission of questions and the proposed changes to prevent the available time for questions being dominated by a single councillor.  He also noted that the current arrangements already limited councillors to one question of their own, except with the consent of the Chair, although no such restriction was now applied to questions submitted by members of the public.  He supported the changes as proposed, but requested that, at the next Leader’s Policy Development Board, members consider whether to allow a supplementary question in the case of a question submitted on behalf of a member of the public.

The Mayor commented that the changes proposed to Question Time were born out of successful meeting he had arranged between the two group leaders and himself, the aim of which had been to ensure that the political groups worked together constrictively.  He commended Councillors Dad and Khan for their positive approach and thanked Councillors Fazal, Whitehead and Cassidy who had also been present.

Councillor Dad summed up by confirming that the political group leaders would continue to work together for the benefit of residents.  The changes proposed to the constitution should improve the procedures around Question Time.  Notwithstanding the formal procedure, all residents could ask questions of the Council or its councillors at any time.

Resolved                                    -    That the Council:

(1)    Approves the proposed changes to the “Question Time” held at full Council meetings as described in paragraph 3.1 of the report and approves the proposed amendment to the paragraph A2.2 of the Council Procedure Rules attached as Appendix 1 to the report (with the new wording shown in red).

(2)    Delegates authority to the Chief Executive to amend the Council’s scheme of delegation to officers (in respect of non-executive decisions) to give effect to the outcome of the ongoing organisational review which will be determined by the Chief Executive as Head of Paid Service in consultation with the Leader of the Council.