The Administration Committee of Kensington and Chelsea Council met on 16 June 2025 to discuss changes to the council's constitution. The proposed changes included revisions to the standing orders regarding petitions and questions to lead members, as well as adjustments to the Chief Executive's delegated authorities. The committee was also scheduled to review the minutes from previous meetings.

Changes to the Council's Constitution

The committee was scheduled to consider and recommend that the Full Council adopt several changes to the council's constitution¹. According to the report pack, the council's constitution is a living document that adapts to reflect changes in legislation and how the Council works. The current version of the constitution was adopted on 24 July 2019, and is re-adopted annually.

Standing Order 10 - Petitions

Standing Order 10 concerns the process by which councillors can present petitions at council meetings. The report pack indicated that there had been some misunderstanding regarding the existing standing order, specifically that it:

does not give a Member the opportunity to make a speech, and this provision should only be used where the Member has the full petition with them, at the meeting, ready to hand in to officers in attendance. This Standing Order is not to be used by a Member to publicise a petition that is still collecting signatures/support.

To address this, a revised wording was proposed, requiring councillors to have the full petition ready to hand to the Head of Governance & Mayoralty, or their representative, at the meeting. The revised standing order was intended to prevent the use of this provision to present petitions still in the signature collection phase.

Standing Order 22 – Questions to Lead Members

Standing Order 22 outlines the procedure for councillors to ask questions of lead members² during council meetings. Concerns had been raised that some councillors were using this provision to make lengthy statements, making it difficult for lead members to respond fully within the allocated two minutes.

To address this, it was proposed to introduce a 150-word limit for questions, requiring that the submitted text ends with a clear question. Submissions not meeting these requirements would not be accepted for the council agenda, with an opportunity for councillors to revise and resubmit if the deadline had not passed.

Chief Executive's Delegated Authority

The committee was scheduled to discuss an amendment to the constitution that would allow the Chief Executive to delegate their decision-making authority to a named Executive Director during periods of absence. This delegation would require informing the Section 151 Officer³ and the Monitoring Officer⁴, and would remain in effect until rescinded by the Chief Executive. This change was proposed to ensure continuity of authority within the council.

Minutes of Previous Meetings

The committee was also scheduled to review the minutes from two previous meetings: one held on 10 February 2025, and a special meeting held on 21 May 2025.