The Deputy Monitoring Officer introduced a report of the Director: Governance and Assurance (Monitoring Officer) that presented an approach to taking forward a major review of the Council’s Constitution.

The report informed that alongside the general guidance to the 2000 Act, in support of section 37 the Government had issued a Modular Constitution setting out a suggested structure for council constitutions that included statutory governance requirements and matters traditionally covered by Standing Orders, financial regulations and schemes of delegation. While suggesting a structure, guidance did recognise that local choice existed and that individual Council would find their own ways to organise how their own Council would work.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer apprised Members that an initial oversight review of the Constitution had revealed areas where the Wirral Council’s Constitution varied from the Modular Constitution and where the Wirral Constitution did not include some additional documents that had come to be regarded as good practice for inclusion.

Members noted that some work to remedy the more immediate Constitutional issues had already been undertaken, with the Council at the meeting held on 5 March 2018 approving a revised form of Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, and a Code of Conduct for Elected Members Dealing with Planning Matters intended for inclusion in the Constitution being presented to this meeting of the Committee and recommendation for consideration by the Planning Committee at its meeting to be held on 21 June 2018.

Members agreed that a scoping document i.e. a prioritised listing to be determined by the Constitutional Review Working Group would form the basis of the significant review. This document should also consider a number of ad hoc issues previously raised for consideration by the Standards and Constitutional Oversight Committee.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  a significant review of the Council’s Constitution be progressed; and

(2)  the Constitutional Review Working Group give consideration to a scoping document to consider a timetable and set priorities for the review.