Agenda item

Due to the length of the constitution the full document will be published in a supplementary pack and will be available to access electronically only.

Members considered a report detailing proposed updates to the Council’s constitution.

During consideration of this item an amendment was proposed by Councillor Bill Hartnett to the first recommendation in the report.  This amendment was seconded by Councillor Greg Chance.

The amendment proposed the following:

“That updates made to the scheme of delegation, in line with the Monitoring Officer’s authority to reflect changes to job titles, legislation and reallocation of functions, be approved.”

In proposing the amendment Councillor Hartnett explained that his group was in favour of supporting updates made to the Scheme of Delegation in accordance with the Monitoring Officer’s delegated authority to reflect changes to job titles, legislation and the reallocation of functions.  However, there was some opposition to the two additional delegations that had been proposed in the second and third recommendations in the report.  This was due to concerns that there should be continuing Member involvement in the development of engagement, equalities and performance strategies as well as in the Council’s process for organising contracts.  As the wording for these two proposed additional delegations had been highlighted in the Scheme of Delegations, approval of the first recommendation in the report could be viewed as endorsing those two recommendations.  The wording proposed in the amendment helped to provide a useful distinction about the parts of the Scheme of Delegation that could be supported by some Councillors.

Members discussed the proposed amendment in detail and in so doing commented on the following:

·                The purpose of the amendment.

·                The fact that the Monitoring Officer already had delegated authority to update the Scheme of Delegations to reflect changes to job titles, legislation and the reallocation of functions.

On being put to the vote the amendment was lost.

The recommendations detailed in the report were subsequently discussed.  On the one hand, Members noted that the proposed changes to the scheme of delegations would help the Council to operate more like a business and would facilitate faster decision making in respect of equalities, engagement and performance policies as well as Council contracts.  On the other hand, some Members noted that the proposed delegations would delegate more authority to officers and would reduce the involvement of Members.

RESOLVED that

1)        that the Officer Scheme of Delegations be agreed;

2)        that the proposed change to the Officer Scheme of Delegations for the Business Transformation and Organisational Development Department, in respect of delegating authority to Officers to determine all the Council’s policies and strategies relating to Equalities, Engagement and Performance, be approved;

3)        to extend the delegation in the Council’s Scheme of Delegations to the Head of Legal, Democratic and Property Services or Principal Solicitor to sign or seal any document, Order or Notice on behalf of the Council and to serve or receive any documents on behalf of the Council to include contracts falling under the Contract Procedure Rules; and

4)        that, for a period of three months commencing 28^th June 2020, the delegation to the Head of Regulatory Services (Worcestershire Regulatory Services) shall be to determine all matters in relation to Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Operators, Vehicles and Drivers; and

5)        that the updated Redditch Borough Council constitution be approved.