Agenda item - Reordering and Indexing of the Constitution

Reordering and Indexing of the Constitution - Indication of Proposals

Meeting of GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE, Thursday, 30 March 2017 10.00 a.m. (Item 38.)

To consider proposals regarding the reordering and indexing of the Constitution.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report which provided the Committee with an update on the progress made on re-ordering and indexing the Constitution.

Points and comments included:

· an explanation by the Chairman as to why the Constitution had arisen in its current format and, in particular, how the Constitution had been envisaged as a transitional document. A Member who had worked on drafting the Constitution also advised of the circumstances which had led to the current format being adopted.

· confirmation by the Assistant Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) that there were no changes to the substance of the document. He added that the aim of the proposed re-ordering was to bring the organisation of the Constitution in-line with the standard template modular form already adopted by the vast majority of local authorities. Those users of the re-ordered Central Bedfordshire Constitution would, therefore, find the change advantageous if they needed to refer to the constitutions of other councils. In addition, the standardisation of the order of contents would make the Central Bedfordshire Constitution far easier to use by anyone with prior experience of other councils’ constitutions.

· the possible provision of a glossary at the end of the re-ordered document and the inclusion of the rules for Licensing. The Assistant Director of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) undertook to provide the glossary and incorporate the rules for Licensing under Part 5 of the re-ordered Constitution which would be renamed ‘Codes and Protocols’.

RESOLVED

1 that the proposed re-ordered Constitution be approved;

2 that the Assistant Director Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) be authorised to finalise the re-ordering of the Constitution and make consequential or incidental changes to the Constitution necessary to finalise the re-ordering in consultation with the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee.

Supporting documents: