The Constitution Committee of Gloucestershire Council was scheduled to discuss proposed changes to the council's Whistleblowing Policy, review arrangements for handling motions at council meetings, and consider the process for appointing a new member to the Independent Remuneration Panel.

Update to Whistleblowing Policy

The committee was scheduled to note a decision made by the Monitoring Officer, Rob Ayliffe, to update the Gloucestershire County Council Whistleblowing Policy. This update is intended to explicitly include references to sexual harassment, aligning the policy with the Employment Rights Act 2025¹, which came into effect on 6 April 2026. This legislation recognises disclosures related to sexual harassment as protected disclosures, offering whistleblowers legal protections against retaliation. The report indicated that colleagues in Human Resources had drafted the necessary changes, and the Audit and Governance Committee had supported the insertion of this additional text. The updated policy aims to provide explicit assurance to individuals raising concerns about sexual harassment that they will not suffer detriment.

Review of Motion Arrangements

The committee was scheduled to review the current arrangements for determining the order of motions debated at council meetings. These arrangements were previously agreed in July 2025, establishing a rotation system where motions are included on the agenda, rotating between political groups one at a time. The report noted that the sample size of meetings reviewed was small, with only three meetings having taken place since the change. It was also highlighted that the Council had not yet completed a full rotation of groups having the opportunity to present the first motion. The recommendation was to continue with the current arrangements to allow for a full rotation before further discussion in October 2026.

Independent Remuneration Panel Member Appointment

The committee was scheduled to consider the process for appointing a new member to the Independent Remuneration Panel (IRP). The IRP is responsible for reviewing members' allowances based on reports received from the panel. The council's current Members' Allowances Scheme was agreed in March 2024 and is set to be reviewed by the panel in 2027/28. The report outlined that one panel member's term expired in December 2025, and three members remain for continuity. The proposed process for appointing a new member involves forming a selection panel comprising one member from the Liberal Democrat, Reform, and Green groups on the committee, along with the Head of Democratic Services and the Chair of the IRP in advisory roles. This selection panel would then be delegated the authority to make the appointment. An advertisement for applications had been published, and three applications were received.