Agenda and minutes

Selection and Member Services Committee - Thursday, 24th February, 2022 2.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone. View directions

Contact: Andrew Tait  03000 416749

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Minutes - 25 November 2021 pdf icon PDF 202 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2022 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

2.

Constitution Amendment - Urgent Executive Decisions pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(1)         The General Counsel introduced the report which set out the current arrangements for taking Urgent Executive Decisions. The report recommended that the Constitution should be amended to allow the Chairman of the Council to give agreement to an urgent Executive Decision being taken when the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee was unavailable and for the Vice-Chairman of the Council to do so when both of them were unavailable.  This amendment would enable the Constitution to comply in full with Section 11 (1) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012. 

 

(2)       During discussion of this item, the General Counsel explained that the proposed constitutional amendment was intended to improve the formal process of the County Council in respect of paragraph (a) of section 12.32 of the Constitution and that it would not affect the consultation with the Opposition Group Spokespersons and affected Local Members set out in paragraph (b) of that section. 

 

(3)       The Committee amended the recommendation set out in the Appendix to the report by specifying that the circumstances set out in both paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 12.32 of the Constitution had to apply.

 

(4)       On being put to the vote, the recommendations of the report were carried as amended in (3) above by 5 votes to 0 with 1 abstention.

 

(5)       RESOLVED that the proposed amendment to Section 12.32 of the Constitution be recommended to the County Council as amended in (3) above.

 

3.

Document Signing - Constitutional Amendments pdf icon PDF 115 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

(1)         The General Counsel introduced the report which set out proposed revisions to sections 11.18 (k) and 13.16 to 13.23 of the Constitution to allow for electronic signing of documents, contracts, and deeds.  It was also recommended that the requirement for a Member to counter-sign certain documents should be removed. 

 

(2)         The General Counsel said that the benefits of the proposed revisions were a reduction in paperwork, a reduction in time taken during the process, and the ability to provide greater transparency through the creation of an electronic register.

 

(3)         The Committee considered the question of whether the proposed revisions would have the effect of reducing Member-level involvement in the signing and sealing process. 

 

(4)       On being put to the vote, the recommended revisions contained in the Appendix to the report were agreed by 5 votes to 0 with 1 abstention.

 

(5)       RESOLVED that the Council be recommended to agree the proposed revisions to the Constitution set out in the Appendix to the report.