Agenda and minutes

To approve as correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2022.

The minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 30 March 2022 were approved as a correct record.

Councillors and officers to declare any interests which they have in any of the items on the agenda for the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made.

To consider a report of the Strategic Head of Service and Monitoring Officer (Legal and Democratic Governance).

The report sets out proposed areas of the constitution for amendment.

To consider the proposals set out in the report and confirm which proposed amendments to the Constitution be taken forward through the council’s governance process, to be decided at a future council meeting.

Officer contact: Vicki Bates 0161 474 3219 | vicki.bates@stockport.gov.uk

The Strategic Head of Service & Monitoring Officer (Legal and Democratic Governance) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) setting out proposed areas of the constitution for amendment.

The following comments were made issues/ raised:

·         Officer Scheme of Delegation

It was suggested that, in relation to procurement exercises, for the council not to purchase goods and/ or services from hostile countries. Members were advised that the council would consider the implications of products from hostile countries in procurement exercises.

·         Contract Procedure Rules

Changes to the Contract Procedure Rules had been proposed for a number of reasons which included but were not limited to, harmonisation, and legislative changes arising from Brexit. It was noted that the STAR Joint Committee had considered and agreed to recommend the proposed amendments at their meeting 28 February 2022. Member’s attention was drawn to the proposal permitting the Monitoring Officer to make minor amendments to update job titles within the Constitution, without the need for further approval.

·         Councillors Code of Conduct – LGA Model Code of Conduct

It was noted that a Model Code of Conduct had been anticipated to be released for some time; a ‘final’ version was published on 21 September 2021. It was suggested that all members sign the Code of Conduct upon their appointment as a Councillor.

·         Scrutiny Procedure Rules to include a requirement for the Cabinet to respond to Scrutiny Review Panel reports

It was noted that the Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee had requested an amendment be made to the Constitution to institute a mechanism for dealing with failures by the Cabinet to comply with the provisions of Scrutiny Procedure Rule 10.3(b) (Consideration of Scrutiny Committee reports by the Cabinet) requiring a formal response to the final report of scrutiny reviews. It was proposed that this provision be included within the Scrutiny Procedure Rules. Member’s also noted that the role of scrutiny in relation to the development of the Policy Framework and Budget was set out within the Policy Framework and Budget Procedure Rules.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That the proposed amendments to the constitution be endorsed and that the Council Meeting be recommended to approve and adopt those amendments.