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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sharon Doleman, Mandy Hawkins, Gail Jones and Trevor Stott.
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The Head of Law and Governance presented a report which sought DOCPROPERTY IssueTitle \* MERGEFORMAT adoption of the updated National Model Constitution. A working group had been appointed to review Conwy County Borough Council’s constitution in order that it had the same structure and format as the all Wales Model Constitution. Members were requested to consider a draft updated constitution which would be presented to Council for final approval. The draft did not fundamentally change any of the Council’s current processes or procedures, where such changes were not statutorily required. Any substantive new processes and procedures that were referenced in the draft, were those that the Council was required to include as a result of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act or due to other recent legislative updates. The following was discussed and noted: • It was noted that six workstreams had been looked at by the Working Group, which included: updating the layout and structure of the constitution; updating and modernising the language used to provide clarification; adopting parts of the Model that reflected the position of the Council; incorporating legislative changes; incorporating other legislative updates; and updating and cross referencing the Ordinary Language Guide to the draft to ensure accuracy and consistency. • The excellent work of the Working Group and support by Officers was acknowledged. • It was suggested that protocols and other associated appendices be referenced within the contents page of the Constitution to allow for ease of reference. • It was confirmed that the Financial Procedures Rules had not been reviewed by the Working Group as local protocols had been retained. If necessary, the document could be reviewed in future. • In respect of the process for the removal of Leader, the Working Group had recommended that a notice of motion be signed by 20% of the total number of councillors as opposed to the 15% proposed within the Model Constitution. • It was suggested that in order for the Council to be robust and transparent, a vote for removal of the Leader should not be reliant on a casting vote. Therefore, it was proposed that a vote to remove the Leader should require a two thirds majority vote, the proposal was not seconded. RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: a) That the draft amended constitution be adopted subject to a further internal consistency check and proof-read. b) That the Ordinary Language Guide to the Constitution be amended and adopted following a document and cross reference comparison with the draft constitution to ensure accuracy and consistency between those documents. c) That consultation be undertaken with relevant members on the role descriptions/person specifications for Chair of the Standards Committee, Member of a Standards Committee and a Group Leader, prior to adoption by Council.
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