Agenda item

To update Cabinet on the activity of the Governance Review Working Group.

The Monitoring Officer presented an update report on the activity of the Governance Review Working Group to date.

The Leader stated that insufficient evidence would be obtained before Annual Council in May 2020, which meant that decisions cannot realistically be taken until May 2021. He asked Cabinet to consider asking the Monitoring Officer to bring a report to the next Cabinet meeting with proposals for fine-tuning the Cabinet system for the next year, rather than make no changes at all.

Comments or questions from Members during the following debate included the following;

·       Did the suggestion to bring a report on temporary changes to the next Cabinet pre-empt the work of the Governance Working Party (GWP)?

·       Members of the GWP should have been visiting other local authorities to look at their different governance systems, including the operation of Shadow Cabinets. As such there was still a few month’s work to be done. The Leader’s proposal could cut across this work.

·       The system was not working well for EDDC which currently had no overall control.

·       There was some confusion with the debate in terms of the Leader’s proposal which could undermine the whole purpose of exploring an improved governance structure in longer time and the setting up a working group for the purpose.

·       The GWP had received sound advice from LGA representatives and the Monitoring Officer, and it had not yet run out of time. It is likely to come to conclusions around October 2020.

The Monitoring Officer clarified that it was not for Cabinet to decide whether the GWP continues or not since it was created by Council. However, it needs to be evidence led with a rationale for why change is being considered. This is important because the Council must, if it were to change its legal framework, adhere to any changes agreed for 5 years. The change which could be suggested in a report would be a constitutional change only, and a temporary hybrid form of change is not mutually exclusive or pre-emptive of any change proposed by the GWP.

The Leader clarified that his proposal was an attempt to make the current system more capable of wider member engagement outside Cabinet, by investigating interim options and coming back for further debate in a month’s time.

Further debate amongst members took place on whether it was better to leave the system as it is until a decision is made about the right way forward, giving the GWP more time, but also that it can only be helpful to asking the Monitoring Officer to identify areas for improvement on immediate issues of concern and amending the Constitution.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that it was acceptable for the Leader to move a change to the recommendation in the report, which would allow the meeting to note the report and request a further report as suggested.

RESOLVED:

that the content of the report be noted, and that a further report on the options for wider engagement of Members with Cabinet be brought to the next meeting of Cabinet.

REASON:

As the report was simply to provide options for further debate there was no specific decision required.