To consider the
following Notice of Motion submitted by Cllr Nick Ireland and supported by: Cllr
Ryan Hope (seconder), Cllr Andy Canning, Cllr Clare Sutton, Cllr Sarah
Williams, Cllr David Taylor, Cllr Jon Orrell, Cllr Peter Barrow, Cllr Gill
Taylor, Cllr Howard Legg, Cllr Tim Cook:
1. That Dorset
Council resolves to replace the Leader and Cabinet model of Governance with a
Committee system in which seats on committees, including those on a Management
Committee, are allocated in accordance with political proportionality.
2. That the change
to the Committee system is to take effect from the Annual Meeting of Dorset
Council in 2022.
3. That a working
group of councillors, nominated by group leaders on a politically proportionate
basis, be formed to recommend to Full Council the changes to be made to the
Constitution to bring about the change to the Committee system.
4. That the Independent Remuneration Panel be asked to recommend to the Council consequential changes to the scheme of Members’ Allowances.
Minutes:
The following motion was proposed by Cllr N Ireland seconded by Cllr R Hope and supported by Cllr Andy Canning, Cllr Clare Sutton, Cllr Sarah Williams, Cllr David Taylor, Cllr Jon Orrell, Cllr Peter Barrow, Cllr Gill Taylor, Cllr Howard Legg, Cllr Tim Cook
Notice of Motion
1. That Dorset Council resolves to replace the Leader and Cabinet model of Governance with a Committee system in which seats on committees, including those on a Management Committee, are allocated in accordance with political proportionality.
2. That the change to the Committee system is to take effect from the Annual Meeting of Dorset Council in 2022.
3. That a working group of councillors, nominated by group leaders on a politically proportionate basis, be formed to recommend to Full Council the changes to be made to the Constitution to bring about the change to the Committee system.
4. That the Independent Remuneration Panel be asked to recommend to the Council consequential changes to the scheme of Members’ Allowances.
The Leader of the Council proposed an amendment to the motion to delete words in (3) and (4); to change (2) to read “that a review of the current Dorset Council governance model be undertaken during 2023 by a working group of councillors, reflecting political proportionality, and that an options paper be available to inform a governance review following the scheduled elections in 2024. The amendment was seconded by Cllr N Lacey-Clarke.
Councillors debated the amendment and the Leader of the Council asked for a recorded vote on the motion. This was supported by at least 10 councillors.
In accordance with procedure rule 8.1 and prior to the
vote, councillors agreed to continue the meeting beyond the 3 hour threshold
for the duration of a meeting.
Those who voted for the amendment: Cllrs Rob Adkins, Anthony Alford, Pauline Batstone, Cherry Brookes, Piers Brown, Ray Bryan, Graham Carr-Jones. Simon Christopher, Susan Cocking, Robin Cook, Toni Coombes, Jean Dunseith, Michael Dyer, Tony Ferriar, Spencer Flower, Les Fry, Simon Gibson, Barry Goringe, Paul Harrison, Jill Haynes, Rob Hughes, Sherry Jespersen, Carole Jones, Andrew Kerby, Rebecca Knox, Noc Lacey-Clarke, Cathy Lugg, Laura Miller, Louie O’Leary, Emma Parker, Mike Parks, Andrew Parry , Mary Penfold, Bill Pipe, Val Pothecary, Byron Quayle, Belinda Ridout, Mark Roberts, Julie Robinson, David Shortell, Gary Suttle, Jane Somper, William Trite, David Walsh, Peter Wharf, John Worth
Those who voted against: Cllrs Jon Andrews, Peter Barrow, Richard Biggs, Dave Bowell, Alex Brenton, Kelvin Clayton, Tim Cook, Janet Dover, Beryl Ezzard, David Grey, Matt Hall, Brian Heatley, Ryan Holloway, Ryan Hope, Nick Ireland, Stella Jones, Paul Kimber, Robin Legg, Howard Legg, David Morgan, Jon Orrell, Molly Rennie, Marie Roe, Andrew Starr, Clare Sutton, Roland Tarr, David Taylor, Gill Taylor, David Tooke, Daryl Turner, Kate Wheller, Sarah Williams. There were no abstentions.
The meeting adjourned for a short comfort break at
21.38pm and returned at 21.48pm.
As part of proposing the following amendment Cllr K Wheller took the opportunity to extend her grateful thanks to the staff for all their hard work during the pandemic.
Amendment
“With the acknowledgement of the staff workload and with grateful thanks to them, it is proposed that a review of the DC governance take place over this current term with a vote to be taken before the 2024 election.” The motion was seconded by Cllr P Kimber and supported by Cllr L Fry.
Councillors debated the amendment before them and upon being put to the vote the “minded to “motion was carried.
Councillors were asked to vote on the substantive “minded to” motion. Upon being put to the vote this was carried.
The Chief Executive advised that he had considered the background information and listened to the debate and the “minded to” decision. He confirmed he decision as set out below.
Delegated Decision of the Chief Executive (Substantive)
With the acknowledgement of staff workload, and with grateful thanks to them, it is proposed that a review of the DC governance take place over this current term with a voting before the 2024 election.