Proposed by Councillor Tom Harney

Seconded by Councillor Dave Mitchell

This Council:

(1)  Reaffirms its commitment to enhanced community engagement to ensure that major policy decisions include more robust processes of public consultation, as appropriate, before decisions are taken, as agreed unanimously by Notice of Motion at Council on 15 February 2010.

(2)  Believes that last year’s Wirral’s Future consultation, using the task force model and public questionnaire, followed the principles set out in that Notice of Motion to:

• Share the problem or issue and develop broad support on the need for change before progressing on to possible solutions;
• Develop a ‘green paper’ approach to setting out options and possible solutions within the operational, policy and financial constraints with genuine opportunity for people to influence decision making, and;
• Improve the use of the Council’s website as a consultation portal, with a list of active consultations in progress and with the relevant supporting documents available as downloads. 

(3)  Acknowledges the need for consultation to include a strong independent element and recognises the crucial work of the independent task forces - comprised of experts in their thematic fields - and thanks them again for their work.

(4)  Also believes that this approach played a substantial and legitimate role in achieving a balanced Budget for 2011/12 whilst protecting services, cutting the cost of running the Council and ensuring no compulsory redundancies.

(5)  Calls on the Leader to set out detailed plans, timetables and targets for how this year’s Budget consultation will be conducted.

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(2):

Proposed by Councillor Steve Foulkes

Seconded by Councillor Phil Davies

After “This Council:” Delete everything and replace with:

(1)  Believes that it is important to consult people not just on general priorities, but on the specific proposals, and that the role of Scrutiny by elected members is crucial in this process.

(2)  Notes that the role of Scrutiny in the budget process is enshrined in the Constitution because of its importance. Council further recognises that it is within the power of Scrutiny Committees to ask independent members from organisations outside the Council to provide information to Scrutiny Committees in order to widen the debate taking place and ensure that a strong independent element can be retained.

(3)  Recognises the need to consult properly with those service users directly affected by budget proposals and to include this either within the Scrutiny Process or through statutory consultation, as appropriate.

(4)  Further believes, in line with the localism agenda, that many people have strong affinities to the neighbourhood in which they live and would welcome the chance to review the services available to them and to use the funding available to enhance the life of the local community. Council therefore welcomes the coming launch of a wide spread Consultation, involving members of the public, residents associations and community representatives, which will lead, through the Area Forums, to the production of Neighbourhood Plans, based on a carefully collated Area Profile, which can be used to specify local priorities.

(5)  Believes that this will allow the Council to map demands for services, or changed services, across areas and identify patterns of priority and need across the borough and that this in turn can be fed into the budget process.

(6)  Therefore asks the Cabinet to consider the appropriate consultation measures to be used as part of the budget procedure, including specifically targeted consultation, locally targeted consultation and/or a more comprehensive approach reaching as wide a constituency across the borough as possible in order to enhance the credibility of the process.

(7)  Asks the Cabinet to report on the possible timetable for any such consultations.

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(2):

Proposed by Councillor Jeff Green

Seconded by Councillor Lesley Rennie

Delete all after: “(5) Calls on the Leader to“ and replace with:

·  Confirm the venues and dates at which the public will have the opportunity to take part and notes that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, the main programme had already circulated.

·  Confirm which organisations, employers, service users and partners are involved in the consultation, noting that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, this information was already available.

·  Publish the names of the individuals who have written the questionnaire and the names of those who will consider the responses from the public and notes that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, this information had already been circulated.

·  State how many contacts and how many qualitative responses will be considered a ‘success’, noting his Party’s criticism of the contact with more than 40,000 people and 5,500 completed questionnaires in the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010.

Having applied the guillotine in accordance with Standing Order 7(8) the Council did not debate this matter.

The amendment proposed by Councillor Foulkes was put and lost (28:36) (One abstention).

The amendment proposed by Councillor Green was put and carried (36:28) (One abstention).

The motion, as amended, was put and carried (36:28) (One abstention).

Resolved (36:28) (One abstention) –

This Council:

(1)  Reaffirms its commitment to enhanced community engagement to ensure that major policy decisions include more robust processes of public consultation, as appropriate, before decisions are taken, as agreed unanimously by Notice of Motion at Council on 15 February 2010.

(2)  Believes that last year’s Wirral’s Future consultation, using the task force model and public questionnaire, followed the principles set out in that Notice of Motion to:

·  Share the problem or issue and develop broad support on the need for change before progressing on to possible solutions;

·  Develop a ‘green paper’ approach to setting out options and possible solutions within the operational, policy and financial constraints with genuine opportunity for people to influence decision making, and;

·  Improve the use of the Council’s website as a consultation portal, with a list of active consultations in progress and with the relevant supporting documents available as downloads. 

(3)  Acknowledges the need for consultation to include a strong independent element and recognises the crucial work of the independent task forces - comprised of experts in their thematic fields - and thanks them again for their work.

(4)  Also believes that this approach played a substantial and legitimate role in achieving a balanced Budget for 2011/12 whilst protecting services, cutting the cost of running the Council and ensuring no compulsory redundancies.

(5)  Calls on the Leader to:

·  Confirm the venues and dates at which the public will have the opportunity to take part and notes that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, the main programme had already circulated.

·  Confirm which organisations, employers, service users and partners are involved in the consultation, noting that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, this information was already available.

·  Publish the names of the individuals who have written the questionnaire and the names of those who will consider the responses from the public and notes that, at this stage of the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010, this information had already been circulated.

·  State how many contacts and how many qualitative responses will be considered a ‘success’, noting his Party’s criticism of the contact with more than 40,000 people and 5,500 completed questionnaires in the successful ‘Wirral’s Future’ consultation in 2010.