Issue - meetings

The Leader of Council presented the report as detailed in the agenda and explained the report had come about following meetings of the members Working Group. It was noted that the profiles had not changed for a long time, and the proposed versions as detailed in the agenda now took into account the current digital environment.  The Working Group were of the opinion the role profiles would be better placed as a companion document to the Constitution rather than form part of it. 

During a short discussion several comments and observations were made and some of these included:

·         Being a community leader and championing ward issues could sometimes bring members into conflict with local groups.

·         Members on Regulation Committee probably needed more training than other members.

·         All training except licensing should be voluntary

·         Wording of reports needed to be carefully considered Jargon should be avoided as it’s unhelpful to members of the public who may not have the background knowledge to reports and previous decisions.

The Leader noted the comments made and mentioned she had already suggested enhanced training for members on the Regulation Committee.

The Specialist (Scrutiny) acknowledged comments made about the readability of the report. She noted wording for the background had been a challenge, but it had referred to terminology used previously in older reports and decisions.

The Monitoring Officer noted this was probably the first of several changes in a refresh of the Constitution, in order to make the Constitution more user friendly as it is a large document. She noted there was an aspiration to look at taking sections out of the Constitution that didn’t need to be in it and could sit as independent documents.

In response to a comment made, the Monitoring Officer clarified that the Terms of Reference for each committee referred to whether members needed to be trained, and to that extent the appropriate training would be compulsory. This would remain a requirement even if the Member Role Profiles weren’t within the Constitution going forward.

The Chairman felt some skills required for members may be aspirational and others unrecognised. She was of the opinion that Terms of Reference for Committees should be highlighted and that members must undertake training for planning, with enhanced training for members of the Regulation Committee.

At the conclusion of discussion, it was proposed, and agreed unanimously, that the Standards Committee endorse the recommendations to full Council.

(Voting: Unanimous)