Agenda item

The Council considered a report setting out proposed changes to the Council’s constitution.  Many of these changes were proposed at a meeting of the Constitutional Review Working Party (CRWP) held on 7^th March 2024. 

Councillor Joe Baker proposed, Councillor Bill Hartnett seconded and it was

RESOLVED that

1)    The current version of the Officer Scheme of Delegations is agreed;

2)    The introduction to the constitution be reduced in length;

3)    The Articles, the Information Security Policy and the Members’ ICT Policy be removed from the Council’s constitution;

4)    The Shareholder Committee Terms of Reference be amended as set out at Appendix B to the report;

5)    Authority be delegated to officers to determine applications for licences to use vehicles as hackney carriages or private hire vehicles where the vehicle does not meet the Council’s required criteria in respect of the age of the vehicle;

6)    The Council Procedure Rules be amended to clarify that Questions on Notice cannot be asked on the subject of specific Licensing or Planning applications at Council meetings;

7)    The Audit, Governance and Standards Committee Procedure Rules be amended to require the Monitoring Officer’s report to be provided for the Committee’s consideration on a quarterly basis;

8)    The Joint Arrangements in the constitution be updated to remove referrals to the Joint WRS Board, West Midlands Combined Authority and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP);

9)    The Best Practice for Handling Member Enquiries Guidance be added as an appendix to the Protocol for Relations Between Councillors and Officers section of the constitution; and

10)The proposed terms of reference for the Employment Appeals Committee be approved.