Agenda item

A report was presented in response to the following resolution at the 27^th May 2021 Annual Council meeting:

     “the Strategy & Resources Committee formally review the calendar of meetings at its meeting on 5th October 2021, so as to make an appropriate recommendation to the subsequent Full Council meeting”

The report explained the rationale for current timetable and proposed changes to meeting dates in March and April 2022. The main reasons for the suggested new dates were that:

·           budget monitoring reports were no longer being submitted to policy committee meetings (they would be e-mailed separately to Members instead) which removed the need for committees to meet during a compressed period at the end of each cycle; and

·           certain committees should meet earlier in March 2022 to avoid the pre-election period.

The report also proposed that Standing Order 30 be amended whereby, for meetings which continued to take place during pre-election periods, the routine item for questions would not appear on the agenda. Finally, the report recommended that the standard start time for meetings be brought forward to 7.00pm.

Councillor Morrow, seconded by Councillor Elias, proposed amendments to the recommendations whereby:

·           several meeting dates in March and April 2022 would be changed to ensure that only one policy or planning committee met in a week;

·           the standard start time for committee and council meetings would remain at 7.30pm with an earlier start time of 7.00pm only in exceptional circumstances;

·           the 2022/23 timetable would be based on the principle of having only one policy or planning committee in a week, to be held on a Thursday;

·           recommendation B of the report (proposing changes to Standing Order 30 to prevent questions being submitted at meetings during pre-election periods) would be deleted.

Various views were expressed on the merits of both the original recommendations and Councillor Morrow’s amendments. 

Upon being put to the vote, the amendments were approved.  

            R E C O M M E N D E D – that:

A.    the dates of meetings during March/April 2022 be amended to be as follows:

            Thursday 3^rd March - Planning (no change)

            Tuesday 8^th March - Standards (no change)

            Thursday 10th March - Planning Policy (as proposed)

Tuesday 15^th March - JCC (no change)

Thursday 17^th March - Community Services

Tuesday 22^nd March - Audit & Scrutiny

Thursday 24^th March - Housing

Thursday 31^st March - Planning (as proposed)

Thursday 7^th April – Strategy & Resources

Thursday 21^st April - Council (no change)

Thursday 28^th April - Planning (as proposed)

B.    the standard start time for committee and council meetings be 7.30pm, with 7.00pm start times arranged when necessary to accommodate very long agendas; and

C.    a provisional timetable of meetings for 2022/23 be presented to the Strategy & Resources Committee on the 1^st February 2022 for ratification at the following Council meeting, with the principle of having only one policy or planning committee in a week, held on a Thursday, being applied as far as practicable.

In accordance with Standing Order 25(3) Councillors Bourne and Pursehouse wished it recorded that they abstained from voting on the deletion of Recommendation B of the report which proposed changes to Standing Order 30 whereby the standard item for asking questions would cease to be included on agenda for committee and council meetings held during pre-election periods.

Note – the revised timetable, incorporating the dates in Recommendation A above, is attached at Appendix E.