Agenda item

To accept the update of the actions in accordance with the requirements of the Act and to recommend the Petitions Scheme to the Cabinet. Also to identify 2 or 3 members to assist with the work of developing a protocol ‘Research Support and Services for Councillors’. 

a)    To accept the report and to note the observations on the
Petitions Scheme which will be recommended to the Cabinet.

b)    To identify Councillors Dewi Owen, Beca Roberts and Stephen Churchman as members to assist with the work of developing a ‘Research Support and Services for Councillors’ protocol.

RESOLVED:

a)     To accept the report and to note the observations on the Petitions Scheme which will be recommended to the Cabinet.

b)     To identify Councillors Dewi Owen, Beca Roberts and Stephen Churchman as members to assist with the work of developing a ‘Research Support and Services for Councillors’ protocol.

The item was presented, setting out the context of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. It was explained that the report referred to three elements of the Act and provided the Committee with an update on the relevant actions and the work that had been carried out to date in accordance with the requirements of the Act. It was noted that an operational team from the Democracy and Language Services and the Legal Services had been established to undertake the work.

It was reported that the Act required Local Authorities to publish a Participation Strategy to identify the ways in which local people were encouraged to participate in the Council's decision-making process. It was noted that the operational team had been developing a draft strategy and that the strategy would be developed over time as good practices emerged. It was added that they were required to conduct a public consultation on the Strategy, and it was aimed to present the findings of the consultation in the final version of the strategy to the Full Council in March.

It was noted that another requirement in the Act was to produce and publish a Petitions Scheme. It was noted that this was nothing new to the Council, but there were no specific guidelines in place at present setting out the steps. It was added that the Scheme had been included in the report as an appendix, and after receiving the Committee's observations today the Scheme would be submitted to the Cabinet at the end of November, to be recommended for adoption by the Full Council in December. It was added that the Officers would be grateful to receive any comments by the Committee.

The final requirement was to address the guidelines on Research Support and Services for Councillors. It was noted that the document stated that that every Member should be able to access a variety of information and advice; this protocol was currently being developed. It was noted that the Committee was required to identify three Members to assist with this work so as to ensure input from Members.

During the discussion the following observations were made:

-        Clarity was sought regarding the possibility of submitting a paper petition rather than on e-mail, and around the number of signatories on the petition. Concern was expressed that petitions with fewer than 100 names would be rejected, and it was believed that this would affect matters in small villages. A member asked that the wording be reconsidered.

-        A member sought clarity regarding the point about members of the public being allowed to ask a question in the Full Council, and asked whether this necessitated a change to the Constitution?

-        Reference was made to two cases where a Member had asked two Heads of Department for information; they had received a satisfactory from one Head, but believed that the response from the other Head was disappointing. 

-        It was questioned how useful petitions were, and noted that over 100 signatures could be collected easily – the member was concerned what topics could be brought forward. It was believed that it was important to be able to filter the petitions and to have robust guidelines in place regarding what was acceptable.

-        The Petitions Scheme was welcomed which would give and explanation of the process to the public.

-        Three names were proposed to assist with the work of Research Support and Services for Councillors.

In response to the observations:

-        The officer thanked the members for their fair comments on the Petitions Scheme and noted that the relevant changes would be made in order to be clearer and more specific in the Plan. It was confirmed that the Council would have discretion to accept petitions with fewer than 100 signatories and that they would be considered.

-        It was confirmed that the Constitution already referred to the right of members of the public to ask a question in the Full Council, and the aim was to highlight this right to the public. It was noted that there was a specific arrangement in place which included being notified in advance of the question.

-        The comments and responses to Members' enquiries were welcomed, and the Members were encouraged to discuss individual examples with the Corporate Director who led the work of looking at how the Council responded to Members' enquiries.

-        It was reported that there were different ways of responding to petitions - these included a direct response by the Cabinet Member or a discussion in the Cabinet or in a Scrutiny Committee. It was added that the Scheme would explain the procedure of submitting a petition to the Council as the public might possibly not be aware at present because there were no clear guidelines.