Agenda item

A period of up to one hour is allocated to consider the motions on notice.  This may only be extended with the agreement of the Council.

The Chairman explained that one Motion on Notice had been received for consideration at the meeting.

Committee System

“We call upon the officers of the Council to prepare a report into the transition of the Council from a Cabinet System to that of a Committee System. The report to be presented to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to be held in September.”

The Motion was proposed by Councillor P. McDonald and seconded by Councillor H. Rone-Clarke.

In proposing the Motion Councillor P. McDonald noted that there were concerns across many Local Authorities regarding the effectiveness of the Cabinet system. He added that he felt it was necessary to revisit the governance structure at Bromsgrove District Council as a result of the recent local elections.

Members were informed that the Committee system did operate in other Councils across the County and had been successful in allowing all Members to have an equal voice when making decisions for residents.

During consideration of this Motion, Councillor McDonald noted that he was proposing an alteration to the wordig of his original Motion (as tabled at the meeting) as follows:

“We call upon the Overview and Scrutiny Board to prepare a report regarding the transition of the Council from a Cabinet System to that of a Committee System. The report to be presented to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to be held in September.”

It was noted that the proposal for the Overview and Scrutiny Board to prepare such a report would result in a Member-led and transparent process.

In seconding the Motion, Councillor Rone-Clarke echoed Councillor McDonald’s points regarding residents’ request for change and that a Committee system could reform the way things were done at the Council for the future.

Councillor R. Hunter responded to the Motion and commented that, although he was in support of the proposal, he felt it needed more emphasis on the timing of the implementation. It was with this in mind that he proposed an amendment to the end of the Motion as follows:

“We call upon the Overview and Scrutiny Board to prepare a report regarding the transition of the Council from a Cabinet System to that of a Committee System. The report to be presented to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to be held in September with a view to standing up a Shadow Committee structure as soon as possible.”

This amendment was seconded by Councillor D. Nicholl.

Members debated Councillor Hunter’s amendment.  However, it was noted that it could be viewed as pre-emptive as to the outcome of the scrutiny review and its conclusions with respect to the committee system. Members commented that it was important that a thorough investigation should be carried out, so as to gather all of the evidence required in order to conclude whether the Committee system would be a suitable option for the Council going forward. It was reported that any implementation of a Committee system, if that was what the report recommended, could only be implemented at the next Annual Council meeting due to take place in May 2024 and therefore it would not be possible to implement any changes sooner. Members were assured that there would be a transition period in order to establish any system and to ensure that Portfolios and Committees were aligned effectively.

On being put to the vote the amendment proposed by Councillor Hunter was lost.

Members debated the substantive Motion and in doing so the following was highlighted:

·       Should the Committee system be implemented it was hoped that this would encourage greater cross-party working within the Council.

·       The importance of making a change for the residents of Bromsgrove particularly in light of the exciting projects in progress as a result of the Levelling Up Funding and UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation for the District.

·       The need to engage and analyse data effectively in the investigation in a transparent and public forum.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 18.3 a recorded vote was taken on this Motion and the voting was as follows:

Members voting FOR the Motion:

Councillor S. Ammar, Councillor A. Bailes, Councillor R. Bailes, Councillor S.J. Baxter, Councillor S. R. Colella, Councillor A.M Dale, Councillor J. Elledge, Councillor S. M. Evans, Councillor D. J. A. Forsythe, Councillor E. M. S. Gray, Councillor D. Hopkins Councillor C. A Hotham, Councillor R. Hunter, Councillor H. Jones, Councillor B. Kumar, Councillor R. Lambert, Councillor M. Marshall, Councillor K. J. May, Councillor P. M. McDonald, Councillor B. McEldowney, Councillor D. J. Nicholl, Councillor S.T. Nock, Councillor S. R. Peters, Councillor J. W. Robinson, Councillor S. A Robinson, Councillor H. D. N. Rone-Clarke, Councillor J. D. Stanley, Councillor D. G. Stewart, Councillor C. B. Taylor, Councillor S. A. Webb and Councillor P. J. Whittaker (31).

Members voting AGAINST the Motion:

(0)

Members ABSTAINING in the vote for the Motion:

(0)

RESOLVEDthat the Overview and Scrutiny Board prepare a report regarding the transition of the Council from a Cabinet System to that of a Committee System. The report to be presented to an Extraordinary Meeting of the Council to be held in September.