Issue - meetings

Issue - meetings

Urgent Report

Meeting: 07/12/2017 - GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE (Item 31)

31 Urgent Report - Report on Proposed Amendments for Procedures for Motions pdf icon PDF 52 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report which sought the Committee’s approval to amend the Constitution with regards to the procedures for dealing with motions at full Council.  The Chairman had accepted the item on the grounds of urgency because of the issues relating to the submission of motions which had arisen at the previous meeting of full Council and which the Monitoring Officer felt needed to be rectified as quickly as possible.

 

The Committee noted that the proposal would amend Rules 17 and 18 of Part 4A of the Constitution, and that if these amendments were adopted there would be greater clarity to the procedures for debating motions resulting in better decision making.

 

Points and comments included:

·         The Assistant Director Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) advised that, currently, the Rules did not require proposals for amendments to motions to be in writing or to be provided prior to a meeting.  His report proposed that a written notice of every amendment to a motion be delivered to the Monitoring Officer not later than 1 clear working day before the date of the meeting.  In response, however, Members expressed concern that this proposal could hinder the debate within a meeting.  It was also pointed out that proposed amendments were discussed at Group meetings which were held close to the start of a Council.  It would be more suitable, therefor to require such amendments to be submitted to the Monitoring Officer prior to the start of a Council for approval rather than 1 clear working day in advance.

·         Discussion on the submission of minor amendments and whether it should be a requirement that they should also be submitted in written form.  Debate followed on the definition of a minor amendment given that a few words could have a major impact on the meaning of a motion.

·         A Member requested that the requirement to have written notice of an amendment to a motion should not include minor amendments.

·         Members recognised the need for an amendment to a motion be put in writing in order to allow individuals to digest the implications of the change.

·         The Committee was advised that should a proposed unwritten amendment arise during the course of a debate the amendment could still be considered should the Council Procedure Rules be suspended under Rule 27 of Part 4A of the Constitution.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

 

that Rule 17 of Part 4A of the Constitution be amended, as set out at Appendix A to these minutes, to require proposals for amendments to motions to be provided in writing to the Monitoring Officer prior to a meeting of the Council for authorisation by him and that, on receiving such authorisation, the proposed amendment be circulated in writing to the meeting.