Meeting documents

It was proposed by Councillor Dr Matthews seconded by Councillor Smith and

RESOLVED that Councillor Hogan be elected Chairman of the Committee for 2017/18.

It was proposed by Councillor Pepler and seconded by Councillor Hogan and

RESOLVED that Councillor Dr Matthews is elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee for 2017/18.

There were no declarations of interest.

The committee received a report asking members to consider the scope of the project to review the Council’s Constitution and agree a work programme.

It was noted that the last review was conducted in 2014/15 and therefore it was necessary to incorporate changes agreed by Council since May 2015, as well as legislative changes.

Members discussed joint working arrangements with Chiltern District Council and the need to introduce harmonised procedures which would assist councillors and officers in the running of a more efficient shared service.

Members agreed that the scope of the review would include:

·        ensuring the Constitution reflects the Council’s current political management arrangements and meets all necessary legislative requirements 

·        harmonising rules of procedure, key definitions, local codes, protocols and officer delegations with CDC where appropriate for the effective running of joint services

·        to decide how and when the Constitution should be reviewed and amended in future to ensure it continues to be kept up to date

Any changes to the Council’s current political management arrangements (i.e.to the number and size of committees and to the cycles of meetings) would not be in the scope of the review.

It was proposed to divide the project into three manageable stages to ensure that issues and required/proposed changes could be fully considered. The following timetable was suggested:

Members felt that is was important to:

·      avoid jargon and make the Constitution easy to read and understand;

·      create a document that is easy to navigate via the intranet and internet;

·      reduce the length of the Constitution where practicable

·      make the Constitution more interactive, making better use of the Council’s  website and hyperlinks to live documents;

After careful consideration, it was

RESOLVED that scope of the review proposed and the draft work programme be agreed.

Members received a verbal update regarding the intention to review the polling places within the South Bucks voting area.

Members were advised the review would be looking to increase the number of polling places, if possible, where there was a high electorate voting at the same polling place. E.g. Beaconsfield, Burnham, Iver areas.

The Committee stressed the importance of seeking comments from a wide range of communities groups as part of the consultation process.

Members were also advised that the annual electoral registration forms were being despatched to all residential properties on 20 July.  Canvassers would be carrying out personal visits during September and October where a response had not been received.  Members were pleased to note that canvassers would be using mobile devices to collect information which would be a more efficient way of working.

It was RESOLVED that the verbal report be noted.