The Democracy and Standards Committee were scheduled to meet to discuss proposed amendments to the council's constitution, review the constitution, and review the committee's work programme.

Proposed Amendments to the Constitution

The committee was scheduled to consider proposed changes to the West Northamptonshire Council's constitution. According to the Constitution Updates Report Nov 2025, Councillor Mark Arnull, Leader of the Council, requested that the order of business at council meetings be changed to include an item called 'Priority Administration Business'. This item would be taken after public participation and before 'Priority Opposition Business'.

Councillor Ian McCord proposed a number of changes to the council's Planning Protocol. The Planning Protocol is intended to ensure planning decisions are made impartially and for justifiable planning reasons.

The report noted that the proposed changes to the Planning Protocol seek to ensure balance features more prominently in the text and provide clarification of the respective roles of councillors and officers. The report recommended that officers review the protocol alongside best practice material published by the Planning Advisory Service and prepare a revised protocol for consideration by the Committee at a future meeting.

The report stated that officers may need to draw the attention of councillors to the risks of proceeding without full consideration of all material planning considerations, or making a decision without strong planning reasons for doing so.

The report also stated:

The job of a case officer is to gather the evidence, relevant material considerations and the views of the various interested parties to reach a recommendation. Therefore, the most critical part of the report is where the officer uses their professional judgment to assign weight to all the matters under consideration. The quality of the officer report is judged by how clearly, concisely and logically this is set out in the report.

Review of the West Northamptonshire Council Constitution

The committee was scheduled to discuss a review of West Northamptonshire Council's constitution. The Review of the WNC Constitution report noted that the council is required to adopt a constitution under Section 9P of the Local Government Act 2000¹. The constitution must contain:

• A copy of the local authority's standing orders
• A copy of the local authority's code of conduct
• Information as the Secretary of State may direct
• Other information as the authority considers appropriate

The report sought to establish the framework and timescales within which the review would take place.

The report included a table showing changes to the constitution from July 2021 to the present.

The report suggested the following principles for the review:

• Transparency
• Accountability
• Efficiency
• Accessibility
• Inclusivity
• Conciseness

The report also suggested terms of reference for the review, including:

• Review the constitution to identify which areas require updates or changes to remain fit for purpose.
• Engaging the wider membership, produce a revised constitution that is understandable by councillors, officers, partners and the public.
• Ensure the constitution reflects the values and culture of West Northamptonshire Council.
• Ensure the terms of reference for committees are clear, promote effective and efficient governance and are reflective of established and emerging legislation.
• Seek to remove any ambiguity and avoid any duplication.
• To report to the Democracy and Standards Committee recommending amendments to the Constitution for onward recommendation by the Committee to Cabinet and Council

The report proposed that the review be completed by the Full Council meeting expected to take place in late June 2026.

Review of Committee Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review its work programme for 2025/2026. According to the Work Programme 2025 2026 November Meeting, the committee was scheduled to discuss the following topics at future meetings:

• Register of Members' Interests
• National Changes – Ethics and Standards
• Statistics – code of Conduct Arrangements
• Member Development
• Annual Report of the Democracy and Standards Committee 2026/2027