Agenda item

This matter is the responsibility of the Leader of the Council, Councillor Federica Smith-Roberts.

To present Members with the drafted Member Champion Protocol and Member Working Group Protocol, which, once approved will form appendices to the Council’s Constitution.

During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

·       Councillors queried whether the list of Member Champions would be flexible and could be added to and amended if necessary.

The Leader advised that special titles could be added for certain projects and that the list could be reviewed throughout the year.

·       Councillors queried whether they could attend a Member Working Group to observe the debate.

The Leader advised that they could attend and observe if they wished to.

·       Councillor D Mansell proposed an amendment which was duly seconded by Councillor G Wren, as follows:-

-      2a. with the addition of Climate Change and Environmental Protection to the list of roles in Annex 1.

·       Some Councillors did not agree with the amendment as the Member Champions were supposed to be for particular areas and not to replicate the Portfolio Holders roles.

·       Some Councillors thought the amendment was a positive move to help towards work on the Climate Emergency.

·       Councillors stated that they thought the list of roles were interesting but that there were still a lot of gaps for roles that were required.

·       Councillors had sympathy for both sides of the debate but were not sure that this additional role would deliver on the work needed.

·       Some Councillors were confused by the opposition to the amendment as SWT had declared a Climate Emergency and the new Member Champion role would be a positive addition to the work being carried out on Climate Change.

·       A VOTE was taken on the MOTION and was LOST.

·       Councillor M Blaker proposed an amendment which was duly seconded by Councillor G Wren, as follows:-

-      2a. with the addition of Unpaid Carers to the list of roles in Annex 1.

·       The Leader ACCEPTED the amendment, which became part of the substantive MOTION.

·       Councillor A Trollope-Bellew proposed an amendment which was duly seconded by Councillor N Cavill, as follows:-

-      2a. with the addition of Nuclear to the list of roles in Annex 1.

·       The Leader ACCEPTED the amendment, which became part of the substantive MOTION.

·       Councillors welcomed the work on Member Champion roles and were pleased to see that they were not political roles, but agreed there were still some gaps.

The Leader suggested that she would arrange a meeting with the Group Leaders to discuss the roles and titles prior to the Annual Council meeting to ensure all the gaps were identified and added to the report.

The Monitoring Officer suggested that a delegated decision could be added to allow for the roles to be amended mid-year if necessary and she would amend the report to reflect that.

·       Councillors welcomed the report as it supported the work carried out by the Member Champions.

·       Concern was raised that the review on the Constitution had been stopped and that it should still go ahead.

The Leader highlighted that due to the possible creation of a Unitary Authority, was a review necessary as it would be a waste of resource during a busy time creating a Shadow Authority which would lead into the creation of a Unitary Authority, where a new Constitution would be required.

·       Councillors requested clarification on political balance within the Member Working Groups.

Clarification was given by the Monitoring Officer.

Resolved that Full Council approved:-

a)    The Member Champion Protocol (Appendix A), subject to the changes of:

1.    Section 2.1 was amended to read ‘The appointment of Member Champions would be at the discretion of the Leader of the Council, following discussion with all Group Leaders, and then be subject to ratification by a delegated Portfolio Holder decision.

2.    The list of Member Champions was amended to include:

                                 i.         Unpaid Carers

                                ii.         Nuclear

b)    The Member Working Group Protocol (Appendix B)

c)    Both documents becoming appendices to the SWT Constitution