The Audit & Governance Committee convened to discuss and approve amendments to the council's constitution, excluding proposed changes to the planning scheme of delegation and protocol. These amendments, detailed in Appendices 1-5, 2, 3, 4, 5 of the Public Reports Pack, will be passed on to the next Full Council meeting for final review. The committee also agreed to recommend to the Council that non-statutory co-opted members of Overview and Scrutiny Committee be given voting rights at the discretion of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Constitution Updates

The committee reviewed a report from Stella Bacon, (Interim) Head of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer), regarding proposed updates and amendments to the council's constitution. The key changes addressed in the report were:

• Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee: A shift of focus from the Housing Liaison Group to the Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee, a sub-committee of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to allow for more in-depth review and identification of areas for improvement. This move involves changes to Part 3 of the constitution to define the terms of reference for the Housing Scrutiny Sub-Committee and remove references to the Housing Liaison Group. The Public Reports Pack notes that the Portfolio Holder for Housing and the Head of Service for Housing can be invited to meetings to answer questions and present information to the sub-committee, but cannot be members of it.
• Planning Committee/Scheme of Delegation for Planning: Proposed changes to create a call in system where members can call in applications on planning grounds to either the Planning Committee or Planning Consultation Group. The Planning Protocol has been rewritten to support these changes.
• Other Amendments:
  • Updates to reflect all out elections.
  • Amendments to the Policy Framework to reflect current policy names.
  • Clarification of the four types of council meetings.
  • Amendments to the Cabinet section to clarify the review of Local Government Reorganisation proposals.
  • Additions to each section to reflect membership and quorum.
  • Creation of an Independent Persons Panel for the Statutory Officers Investigation and Disciplinary Committee.
  • Change of job title from Head of People and Culture to Head of People and Transformation.
  • Clarification that the Head of Paid Service can issue a Closure Notice for up to 48 hours under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014[^2]. [^2]: The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced new powers for local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour, including closure notices, community protection notices, and public spaces protection orders.
  • Addition of Assistant Chief Executive duties to the Director of Corporate Resources and Director of Regeneration and Housing.
  • Removal of the option for the Section 151 Officer[^1] to represent the council as a shareholder in companies. [^1]: The Section 151 Officer is a statutory role in local government, responsible for the proper administration of the council's financial affairs.
  • Splitting the duties of the deleted Head of Corporate Services post between the Head of Legal and Governance and Head of Performance and Engagement.
  • Centralising the Council's Community Safety function under the Head of Legal and Governance.
  • Changes to ICT functions to sit with the Head of People and Transformation.

The report outlined the implications of the changes for service users, strategic and policy matters, financial considerations, legal aspects, human resources, climate change, environmental factors, community safety, equality and diversity, GDPR¹, and local government reorganisation. The report also highlighted the risks of not having adequate governance processes in place and the benefits of an effective constitution.

The committee resolved to approve the amendments, excluding those related to the planning scheme of delegation and protocol, and to refer the matter to the next Full Council meeting for final review. They also resolved to recommend to the Council that non-statutory co-opted members of Overview and Scrutiny Committee be given voting rights at the discretion of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee, in accordance with Paragraph 12 of Schedule 1 to the Local Government Act 2000.