Issue - meetings
Constitution Working Group recommendations
Meeting: 18/03/2026 - Council (Item 91)
91 Constitution Working Group recommendations 
PDF 535 KB
Purpose:
To present recommendations from the Constitution Working Group arising from meetings on 7 October 2025 and 13 February 2026 in relation to:
• Disclosable interests
• Standards Hearings Sub-Committee Procedure Rules
• Committee Membership
Recommendations:
That Council resolves to:
1. Agree to amend the Planning Protocol to include the new paragraphs drafted by the Head of Legal Services about the declaration of disclosable pecuniary interests, as shown in Annex A.
2. Agree to amend the Standards Hearings Sub-Committee Procedure Rules following a review, as shown in Annex B.
3. Agree to amend Article 5 to remove the rule that says the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Council cannot both serve on the Planning and Licensing Committee.
Additional documents:
- Annex A Part E5 - Planning Protocol, item 91
PDF 713 KB
- Annex B CDC Standards Hearing Procedure Rules (adopted 2024 07 23) with amends in red for CWG, item 91
PDF 152 KB
- Annex C Extract of Part B - Articles of the Constitution, item 91
PDF 477 KB
- Webcast for Constitution Working Group recommendations
Minutes:
The purpose of the report was to present recommendations from the Constitution Working Group arising from meetings on 7 October 2025 and 13 February 2026 regarding: disclosable interests; Standards Hearing Sub-Committee procedure rules; and committee membership.
The Leader, Councillor Mike Evemy, introduced the item and advised that
the Constitution Working Group had presented three recommendations to Council.
1. The Group proposed strengthening the planning protocol regarding disclosure of interests, with the suggested amendments set out in Annex A.
2. The Group also recommended that improvements to the operation of standards hearings were carried out, reflecting lessons learned from the recent hearing in November, as detailed in Annex B.
3. The Group also recommended amending the constitution to allow both the Chair and Vice-Chair of Council to serve on the Planning and Licensing Committee simultaneously, noting that the previous restriction appeared historical and unnecessary.
Councillor Evemy asked Council to consider and approve the recommendations of the Constitution Working Group.
The Chair asked whether there were any questions for clarity.
Councillor Len Wilkins sought clarification on the process for multiple complainants speaking at standards hearings, referring to the procedure outlined at section 3.3 (page 49) of the papers, which stated that complainants should consolidate their concerns through a single speaker.
The Monitoring Officer, Angela Claridge, explained that for any future hearings, arrangements would be made in advance to identify the nominated speaker(s) and to clarify the questions to be raised. This process was intended to ensure that multiple complainants could coordinate their representation and avoid the issues experienced at the November hearing.
The proposal was seconded by Councillor David Fowles who expressed support for the changes proposed.
There was no debate on the matter.
The proposer, Councillor Mike Evemy was invited to sum up, but felt the matter had been adequately covered.
The Chair then moved to the vote on the resolution which was proposed by Councillor Mike Evemy and seconded by Councillor David Fowles.
Voting record:
27 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstentions.
Did not vote Councillor Angus Jenkinson and Councillor Nick Bridges.