Issue - meetings

The Interim Assistant Director Legal and Governance to present a report that sets out the proposals for undertaking a review of the Constitution and the Governance arrangements for City of York Council.

Resolved:  (i)      That the proposals to review the Council’s Constitution and Governance arrangements using a 3-stage approach, as detailed in Option 2 at paragraph 9 of the report, be approved.

                   (ii)      That the review of the Constitution include consideration of the provisions regarding key decisions, to ensure that the legal requirements are met.

                   (iii)     That the Terms of Reference for Stage 2 of the review (governance arrangements) be agreed by the Leader and Deputy Leader, in consultation with the Chair of Audit & Governance Committee.

Reason:     To facilitate an expedited review of the Constitution document to ensure it is accurate and effective, and to enable a thorough and robust review of the Governance arrangements, taking into account the impact of any potential changes on all interested parties.

The Interim Assistant Director, Legal & Governance presented a report which set out proposals for undertaking a review of the Council’s Constitution and Governance arrangements.

The Council was required regularly to review its governance arrangements, including the decision-making structures set out in the Constitution, to ensure that all decisions were taken within its powers and in accordance with legal requirements.  The following options were available, as detailed in paragraph 9 of the report:

Option 1 – do nothing.  This was not recommended.

Option 2 (recommended) – undertake a staged review, with Stage 1 to review the Constitution document to ensure it was accurate and up to date; Stage 2 to review the Council’s formal governance arrangements, including consideration of the decision-making systems available under the Localism Act 2011 and their possible variations; Stage 3 to amend the Constitution to reflect any new governance arrangements agreed by Full Council.

Option 3 – undertake Stages 1 & 2 of the review together.  This was not recommended as it would not meet the obligation to have good governance in place pending the conclusion of stage 2.

Having noted the comments made under Public Participation on this item, it was

Resolved:  (i)      That the proposals to review the Council’s Constitution and Governance arrangements using a 3-stage approach, as detailed in Option 2 at paragraph 9 of the report, be approved.

                   (ii)      That the review of the Constitution include consideration of the provisions regarding key decisions, to ensure that the legal requirements are met.

                   (iii)     That the Terms of Reference for Stage 2 of the review (governance arrangements) be agreed by the Leader and Deputy Leader, in consultation with the Chair of Audit & Governance Committee.

Reason:     To facilitate an expedited review of the Constitution document to ensure it is accurate and effective, and to enable a thorough and robust review of the Governance arrangements, taking into account the impact of any potential changes on all interested parties.