The meeting on 29 October 2024 was scheduled to discuss the Committee’s Terms of Reference, receive an update on the implementation of the new Hackney Council constitution and consider its work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.

The most significant item on the agenda was to receive a report on the first year of the new constitution and discuss next steps.

Hackney Council Constitution - One Year Review

The Committee was scheduled to receive a report on the first year of the new Hackney Council constitution¹, which came into effect in September 2023.

The report claims that since the introduction of the new constitution, there have been 532 downloads of all or parts of it from the council's website.

It also claims that:

When accessing the Constitution, it has been found that the current presentation of the constitution in hyperlinked chapters has made it easier to navigate and share relevant parts when engaging with Officers and members of the public.

The report goes on to summarise the number of questions that members of the public have asked at Full Council and Cabinet meetings since the new constitution was introduced.

The report then outlines some proposed changes to the constitution, including:

• Refreshing the order of business to ensure more efficient meetings.
• Consider one representative voice of the Opposition Group to respond to the Mayor’s statement.
• Consider the number and length of motions in a meeting.
• Consider Senior Officer involvement in having regard to the impact on the Council’s policy, finance and resources to implement a motion if it were passed by Full Council.
• Consider the length of time allocated to Cabinet Member responses to questions.
• Consider additional rules for inclusion in the Constitution that speaks to the length of time a petition can remain open on the Council’s website.
• Consider limitations on opening new petitions relating to the same subject matter.
• Considers reducing Cabinet Members responses to questions from 5mins to 3mins with a written response to follow.

The report concludes by recommending that the committee consider:

• Sending a survey to a resident focus group, and to a selection of members of the public that have participated in Council committees, to gain a deeper insight into their access and use of the Constitution.
• Surveying Council Officers and Elected Members.
• Asking Members of the committee to canvass feedback from their respective political group colleagues.

Hackney Council Constitution Committee - Terms of Reference

The Committee was also scheduled to consider a report on its own terms of reference.

The report explains that:

In line with good practice, every year the Constitution Committee notes its Terms of Reference and sets out a work programme for the forthcoming municipal year to help it focus its attention on promoting and maintaining high ethical standards among Members of the Council.

The report includes a summary of the committee's existing terms of reference and explains that:

The Terms of Reference for the Constitution Committee were approved by Full Council at its meeting on 26 January 2022, when the Committee was established.

The report concludes by recommending that:

• The Committee considers and agrees to the Terms of Reference.
• The Committee notes the remit of the Constitution Committee.

Constitution Committee Draft Work Programme 2024-2025

The Committee was also scheduled to consider its draft work programme for 2024/25.

The work programme includes the following items:

• Terms of Reference
• Updates to the Constitution
• One Year Review and Action Plan
• Next Steps on the One Year Review Update
• Constitution refresh
• Adoption of refreshed Constitution at Council Annual Meeting

The report concludes by recommending:

That the Committee’s draft work programme for 2024 / 25 as set out in Appendix 1 to this report be approved.