Venue: Hybrid - Neuadd Cyngor Ceredigion, Penmorfa, Aberaeron / remotely via video conference
Contact: Nia Jones
No. | Item |
---|---|
Apologies Minutes: None. |
|
Disclosure of personal / prejudicial interests Minutes: None. |
|
To consider the Minutes of the previous meeting and to consider any matters arising Minutes: It was RESOLVED to confirm as true the minutes of the
meeting held 9 June 2023. Matters arising Members queried the timeline for implementation of multi-location meetings, and it was confirmed that the report will be presented to the Constitution Working group later this month, followed by Council, and that it is anticipated that it will be implemented from December 2023. |
|
To consider a report on amendments to the Democratic Services Committee Terms of Reference Additional documents: Minutes: The Corporate Lead Officer for Democratic Services presented
the report to Committee, noting that the amendments are proposed in order to
reflect the wording of to the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021,
however this will not impact upon the role of the Committee. Members noted that the legislation requires that the
committee meets at least once annually, however they were please that the
guidance states that Ceredigion County Council continue to aim to hold meetings
at least 3 times a year. It was AGREED to recommend the proposed amendments to Council. |
|
Minutes: The Corporate Manager, Democratic Services presented the
report to Committee noting that the
Welsh Government Statutory and Non-Statutory Guidance for Principal Councils in
Wales, recommends that the Democratic Services Committee should consider the
provision of Research Support and Services for Councillors by identifying the
baseline of support which is already available, then work with members to
identify how this support and its parameters could be developed over time. This is not a statutory requirements, however
the guidance does suggest that the Democratic Services Committee ‘should
consider’ this. Members noted the
current base-line support listed in Appendix A, and the proposed Member survey
included in Appendix B, recommendation that details of the training and
workshops provided is also included. It
was also noted that training by Data Wales on ‘Understanding and Using Data’
has been scheduled during the next few weeks, and that it would be fitting for
the survey to be conducted following the training. It was AGREED
to request that Officers survey Councillors in relation to the baseline support
currently available to members and any additional support required. |
|
Additional documents:
Minutes: The Corporate Manager, Democratic Services presented the
report to Committee noting that the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act
2021 places a duty on local
authorities to set out a petition scheme, to include electronic petitions. A draft revision Document O of the Council’s
Constitution was presented for consideration. Members queried the
rationale for the duration of petition schemes, and it was noted that the
regulations do not stipulate a timeframe; however a maximum period of 3 months
would allow for matters to be notified to Cabinet in a timely manner. Members also
queried the role of Overview and Scrutiny on receipt of petitions. It was noted
that not all petitions would meet the criteria for consideration by an Overview
and Scrutiny Committee; however information relating to petitions would be
available on the Council’s website and reported in Cabinet agenda and minutes
and that Chairs of Overview and Scrutiny Committees may decide to discuss any
matters that arise that is of relevance and interest to their committees. It was AGREED to make recommendations to the Constitution Working Group in relation to
the proposed amendments. |
|
To consider a report on the proposed WLGA Self-Assessment Framework Additional documents: Minutes: The Corporate Lead Officer, Democratic Services presented
the report to committee noting that the WLGA are currently consulting upon the
draft Member Support and Development Self-Assessment Framework to supersede the
current Charter. Members noted that they were confident that Ceredigion County Council met the majority of the requirements as set out in the self-assessment framework, and did not propose any amendments to the draft document. |
|
Discussion upon a review of live-streaming additional meetings Minutes: Councillor Gareth Lloyd led a discussion upon increasing the
number of meetings that are recorded, or live-streamed as they provide an
important historical record, and provide an opportunity for considerations to
be reviewed at a later date. It was noted by Officers that current live-streaming of
Council and Cabinet meetings on the Council’s Facebook pages are available as
recordings. It was however noted that supporting live-streaming of
meetings are currently extremely resource intensive. Once ongoing issues with
the hybrid system have been resolved, Ceredigion County Council plans to
transfer live-streaming from Facebook to a link provided on the Council’s
website via the Modern.gov meeting management system. The system would need to be trialled before
full implementation; however it would allow for the technical management of
meetings to be transferred from ICT to Democratic Services, with an aim to
gradually increase the number of meetings that are available to view via the
Council’s website. It was noted that a report would be presented to the next meeting of the Democratic Services Committee on 8 December 2023 outlining the proposed developments. Members noted that their priorities in relation to an expansion to the current arrangements include the Development Management and Overview and Scrutiny Committees. |
|
To consider items for the forward work programme Minutes: a)
Recording / live-streaming of additional
committees; b)
Guidance for Multi-Member Wards c)
Councillor Wellbeing and Personal Safety
protocol |
|
Any other matter which the Chairperson decides is for the urgent attention of the Committee Minutes: None. |