Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed those present, and introductions were made.

Apologies received from Councillor Heather Mack, substituted by Councillor Lisa Stone.

Apologies were received from Councillor Mack, who was substituted by Councillor Stone.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting on Thursday 28^th November 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes from the meeting on 28^th November 24 be approved as a correct record.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or councillor may participate in Public Forum. Public Forum items must relate to the remit of the Review Group and should be addressed to the Chair of the committee.

Members of the public who plan to attend a public meeting at City Hall are advised that you will be required to sign in when you arrive. Please note that you will be issued with a visitor pass which you will need to display at all times.

Questions

1.                    Written public questions must be received by 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that questions must be received at the latest by 5.00 pm on Friday 13^th December. Please email questions to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

2.                    Any individual can submit up to 3 written questions.

3.                    Written replies to questions will be available on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

4.                    At the meeting, questioners will be permitted to ask up to 2 oral supplementary questions.

Statements

1.           Written statements must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that statements must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 17^th December. Please email statements to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

2.           Statements, provided they are no more than 1,000 words in length, will be circulated to all group members and will be published on the Council’s website at least one hour before the meeting.

Petitions

1.           Details of the wording of any petitions, and the number of signatories to petitions must be received at latest by 12.00 noon, at least 2 working days prior to the meeting. For this meeting, this means that petition details must be received at the latest by 12.00 noon on Tuesday 17^th December. Please email petition details to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

2.           At the meeting, individuals presenting petitions may be required to read out the objectives of the petition.

When submitting a question or statement please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement and/or ask your question.

The following public forum was received for the meeting.

Questions

Statements

The public forum statements were noted.

In response to the questions, Members thanked the residents for their submissions and supplementary questions.  It was confirmed that the arrangements relating to Public Forum would be one of the areas that would be considered by the Committee Model Review Group which would include how to improve transparency around the responses to questions.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services introduced the report setting out the suggested areas of focus for Members during their review. 

It was noted that the Committee model of governance had only been operating since May 24 and therefore comprehensive changes would be best addressed via a subsequent review.  Nevertheless, Members agreed that they were unlikely to conclude their work until early in the 25/26 Municipal Year so agreed that additional public meetings would be added to their schedule.

The Group went on to consider the information provided asking for additional clarification where appropriate.  The discussion was as follows:

Functions of Full Council

• Members considered the arrangements for debating motions at Full Council, agreeing that it was important to strike the balance between enabling political discourse on a range of issues but also managing the time available at the meeting.  Debates were currently offered to each party on rotation (with a second debate available via a ballot) but it could be argued that the slots should be allocated based on political proportionality.
• As above, it could be difficult to manage the business at Full Council meetings, which routinely exceeded the 2.5 hours limit set out in the Council’s Constitution.  However, members of the public had raised issues with presenting their views within the time available to them.
• It was important to ensure that Full Council meetings heard a range of political views during key discussions but for update reports or ‘standing items’ it may be worth reducing the number and length of speeches from Members to make best use of time.
• It was noted that Full Council meetings were Chaired by the Lord Mayor with agendas and meetings planned in consultation with the Party Group Leader and Whip for each Group, therefore the suggestions about effective time management would be referred to the relevant Members for consideration.
• Subject to the comments above, no changes to the functions of Full Council were required at the current time.

Functions and responsibilities of the Policy Committees

• Members reviewed the number of reports that had been taken to the Policy Committees during their first six months of operation and noted the variation in volumes.  However, it was acknowledged that this may even out in the future and therefore it was premature to amend the structure of the Policy Committees at the current time.
• There were some areas of overlap in the roles and remit of the Policy Committees so the Terms of Reference would benefit from review.
• The membership of the Strategy and Resources Policy Committee was discussed as some Members were of the view that it should be comprised of the Leader and Policy Committee Chairs.  However, as the Committee would need to be politically proportionate this would require a significant expansion of the current membership, which may not be practical.
• Regarding the Forward Plans, the key decision threshold of savings or expenditure of at least £500,000 or issues that effect two or more wards was noted.  Where decisions were under this  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The report was noted.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

Members noted the work programme.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.