The Director of Law and Corporate Services introduced the report. The report provided a summary of the discussions held by the Governance Working Group over the course of the last municipal year in respect to proposed changes to the Constitution. The proposed changes were in relation to: Officer Code of Conduct, Member Officer Protocol, Media Protocol, Financial Procedure Rules, Members Allowance Scheme, Public Questions and Petitions, and Minor amendments.

In relation to the Members Allowance Scheme, the Chair of the Independent Remuneration Panel, Peter Bounds, addressed the Committee, outlining the 2 proposals the panel had put forward. One proposal suggested the allowance for Independent Members of the Constitution and Standards Committee and the Audit and Risk Management Committee, be increased from £30 per meeting to £60 per meeting. The second proposal suggested that the Chair of the Liverpool City Region Transport Committee, if a member of Wirral Council, should be paid 65% of the Special Responsibility Allowance of the Leader of Wirral Council, which amounts to £10,305.58.

Members commented on the changing responsibilities of the Chair of the Transport Committee and recognised the need for such remuneration. Members also thanked Peter and his colleagues for their work on the Independent Remuneration Panel.

In relation to the Public Questions and Petition Scheme, members were in agreement of the proposal to reduce the deadline for submitting a petition from 10 days prior to the meeting to 3 days prior, at 12 noon, as well as increasing the time allowed for debate of said petition from 15 minutes to 30 minutes.

On a motion by the Chair, seconded by Councillor Angie Davies, it was,

Resolved - That the proposed amendments to the Constitution, as detailed in sections 3.3 to 3.13 of the report, be referred to the Council for consideration and approval at the Annual Meeting in May 2024.