The Governance Committee of Crawley Borough Council met to discuss proposed changes to the Council’s Constitution, including guillotine procedures, Licensing Sub-Committee (Hearings) Procedure Rules, and the Order of Business for the Annual Meeting of the Full Council. The Committee agreed to recommend these changes to the Full Council. Additionally, the Committee reviewed provisions relating to Call-In and Urgency, deciding not to make any changes but to express concerns to the Chief Executive.

Review of the Constitution

The Committee considered report LDS/215 from Siraj Choudhury, Head of Governance, People & Performance, which proposed changes to the Council’s Constitution. The key areas of focus were guillotine procedures, Licensing Sub-Committee (Hearings) Procedure Rules, and the Order of Business for the Annual Meeting of the Full Council.

Guillotine Procedures

The Committee discussed the need for consistency across procedures for both Committees and the Full Council. They supported enabling Committees to vote to continue after a meeting had reached 2½ hours, with a hard guillotine only coming into effect at 11pm when meetings were held outside the Town Hall. This approach was seen as an improvement, allowing Committees the option to continue meetings rather than being forced to conclude by 11pm. The Committee agreed to recommend this change to the Full Council.

Licensing Sub-Committee (Hearings) Procedure Rules

Siraj Choudhury clarified that once a Hearing is arranged to review a licence, legislation does not allow for the application to be withdrawn, even if all parties reach an agreement. The Committee was informed that the current Procedure Rules referred to outdated regulations. Consequently, the Committee agreed to recommend amendments to the Rules and to delegate authority to Siraj Choudhury to make additional changes to ensure compliance with current legislation.

Order of Business for the Annual Meeting of the Full Council

The Committee sought clarification on provisions for submitting a Notice of Motion to remove the current Leader from office. It was noted that while such motions could be brought before ordinary or extraordinary meetings, they were not currently allowed at the Annual Meeting. The Committee agreed to recommend adding a provision to consider a No Confidence Notice of Motion regarding the current Leader at the Annual Meeting, if required.

Review of Provisions Relating to Call-In and Urgency

The Committee reviewed report LDS/214 detailing three cases where items were protected from the Call-In Procedure on grounds of urgency. Although the number of cases was relatively low, the Committee expressed concern that all three occurred in the month before an election. They decided not to make any changes to the provisions but to bring their concerns to the attention of the Chief Executive.