Agenda item

Consider report by Acting Chief Executive.  (Copy attached.)

14.1     With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 26 May 2022, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Acting Chief Executive proposing initial changes to the Interim Scheme of Administration and changes to Standing Orders, with a further report to be presented to Council in September 2022.  At its meeting held on 26 May 2022, Scottish Borders Council agreed to the establishment of a Cross-Party Working Group to work on proposals for changes to the Interim Scheme of Administration.  The Working Group had wide ranging discussions and its work continued but included in this report were the initial changes being proposed so far.  The report contained the proposed changes to the Interim Scheme of Administration and the details were contained in the Appendix to the report.  There were also changes being proposed to Standing Orders to amend the publication dates of agendas/papers for meetings from seven days prior to a meeting to ten days; and to further widen debate at meetings on Motions.  The report also contained further proposals from the Working Group covering a pilot change of timing for a Council meeting; potentially allowing members of the public to submit questions for a Council meeting in a similar way to those submitted by Elected Members; a review of the Employee Council; and the future removal of the Community Planning Strategic Board as a Council committee linked to the current review of the Community Planning Partnership.  The report gave details of which committee meetings should be held in a blended way (in the Chamber at Council HQ and online via Microsoft Teams) and which should be, for the main part, held wholly online (via Microsoft Teams) to take account of the current climate emergency and to assist with greater public engagement.  The public business for these meetings would continue to be livestreamed and recorded.  There were no known external venues out-with Council HQ at the moment with the technology/capacity to livestream or record such meetings, so any physical meetings held out-with HQ could not currently be livestreamed or recorded.

14.2     Members generally supported the proposals but highlighted the need to keep the Scheme under continual review.  Councillor Mountford moved that recommendation 3.1(e) “to amend the start time of the October or November meeting of Scottish Borders Council from 10am to 2pm and to review that impact thereafter” be deleted and to renumber the remaining recommendations accordingly.  This was unanimously approved.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)     to make the following changes to the Interim Scheme  of Administration (as detailed in the Appendix to the report):

(i)      Section II, Provisions applicable to all Committees – amend the wording in the second sentence to add clarity, so it read:  “It shall be delegated to the Chief Executive or the Clerk to the Council to make the final determinations, in consultation with the Convener (Council) or Leader (Executive) or appropriate Chair, on whether or not an item of business should be included on an agenda.”

(ii)     Section III – Council Sub-Committees (Major Contracts Governance Group) – the functions to monitor the performance of Live Borders be moved from the Executive Committee to this Group and the name of the Group was changed to the External Services/Providers Monitoring Group to better reflect that remit;

(iii)    Section IV – Executive Committee and Education Performance Sub-Committee –

·               The Leader would chair all meetings of the Executive Committee

·               The removal of the Education Performance Sub-Committee

·               The establishment of an Education Sub-Committee of the Executive

·               That the current teacher, parent council, and pupil representatives on the Executive Committee moved to the Education Sub-Committee

·               The religious representatives became non-voting members of the Education Sub-Committee, in line with the other non-voting members of the Sub-Committee

·               The Education functions in the Executive Committee and the functions of the Education Performance Sub-Committee would be moved to the Education Sub-Committee

·               Seven Elected members would be appointed to the Education Sub-Committee, namely the Executive Member for Education & Lifelong Learning (Chair), the Executive Member for Developing Our Children & Young People, two other members of the Administration, the Champion for Opportunities for Young People, the Champion for Education & Young People and one other member not on the Administration;

(iv)    Section V – Audit and Scrutiny Committee –

·               The removal of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee

·               The establishment of an Audit Committee, comprising 10 Elected Members and two non-voting members from an external source

·               The establishment of a Scrutiny & Petitions Committee, comprising 10 Elected Members

·               The audit and risk functions of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee would move to the Audit Committee

·               The scrutiny and petitions/deputations functions of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee would move to the Scrutiny & Petitions Committee;

(b)     that a further report be brought back to the next meeting of Council to allow Members to consider a proposal to invite a number of service users to attend - as non-voting members - those meetings of the External Services/Providers Monitoring Group for those meetings where Live Borders performance was being considered; 

(c)     to appoint the existing Elected Members on the Audit & Scrutiny Committee to both the Audit Committee and the Scrutiny & Petitions Committee;

(d)     to amend the following Standing Orders:

(i)      Standing Order No. 8 to read: “Notice of the time and place of a meeting of the Council, and copies of any written reports to be considered, shall be given by the proper officer not later than ten days before the meeting by being left at or sent by post or communicated by e-mail to the usual place of residence of every member of the Council.”;

(ii)     Standing Order No. 33 to read:  “A motion to which no amendment is moved may be the subject of debate at the sole discretion of the Chair, if the subject matter is considered by the Chair to be of special interest to the meeting, otherwise the motion will be declared carried.” ;

(iii)    Standing Order No. 35 to read: “At the discretion of the Chair, a member mayaddress the Council more than once on any motion or amendment.  A member may speak to a Point of Order or in explanation of some material part of a speech made by them which they believe to have been misunderstood or in reply to a question addressed to them through the Chair.”

(e)     that officers would bring a report to the next meeting of Council for consideration of a process for the inclusion of questions from the public at Council meetings;

(f)      that officers undertake a review of the purpose and function of the Employee Council and a report be brought back to Council in due course on the most appropriate vehicle for future employee engagement, including whether the Employee Council should remain within the Scheme of Administration in future;

(g)     in principle to the removal of the Community Planning Strategic Board as a formal committee of Council, once the current review of the Community Planning Partnership is completed;

(h)     that each Area Partnership would consider holding an annual event to showcase its work and the outcomes of the projects which it had grant-funded;

(i)      that the following Committee meetings be held in a blended way (with Members/Officers/the public attending in the Chamber at Council HQ or online via Microsoft Teams):  Scottish Borders Council; Executive Committee; Civic Government Licensing Committee; Planning & Building Standards Committee; Local Review Body; Pension Fund Investment & Performance Sub-Committee; Staffing Appeals Committee; Education Appeals Committee; Asset Transfer Appeals Committee; and Scottish Borders Licensing Board;

(j)      that the following meetings be held wholly online via Microsoft Teams:  all Common Good Fund Sub-Committees; William Hill Trust; External Services/Providers Monitoring Group; Education Sub-Committee; Audit Committee; Scrutiny & Petitions Committee; Sustainable Development Committee; Pension Fund Committee; JCG: Staff; JCG: Teachers; Police, Fire & Rescue, and Safer Communities Board; Community Planning Strategic Board; Area Partnerships; Local Licensing Forum; Police CAT Members Oversight Group; Anti-Poverty Members Reference Group; Community Council Scheme Review Working Group; and Regional Economic Strategy Reference Group; and

(k)     to note that the Chair of a committee retained the option to request meetings be held in person, taking account of travel for Members, Officers and other attendees, and also the potential impact on public engagement and attendance.