The meeting on 13 March 2025 was the second Governance Committee meeting about the Council's ongoing review of its constitution. The meeting included a discussion of proposed changes to the powers of the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, how Councillors should work with council officers, and the rules that should govern how councillors use council technology. It also included the proposed adoption of a new code of conduct for council employees.

Constitutional Update

This was the most significant topic scheduled for discussion in the meeting. The meeting was provided with a report prepared by Jeremy Chambers, the Director of Law & Corporate Governance (Monitoring Officer). The meeting was the second of three workshops scheduled to take place between December 2024 and April 2025 to consider possible changes to the council's constitution, with the aim of having a new version of the constitution formally approved at the council's Annual General Meeting on 7 May 2025.

This meeting was intended to follow up on the discussions in the first meeting of the committee, the minutes of which were published on the council's website, and to review the following elements of the constitution:

• The Scheme of Delegation
• Members’ Code of Conduct
• Protocol for Member/Officer Relations
• Protocol on Member use of IT
• Employee Code of Conduct

Scrutiny Procedure Rules

The report proposed adopting new Scrutiny Procedure Rules to give effect to provisional decisions made in the previous meeting, for which the minutes are available online. These new rules were mostly about tidying up the existing rules, removing references to the council's now defunct Local Assemblies, and clarifying the role of Cabinet Advisors. They also included a number of more significant proposed changes, including:

• Formalising the role of Cabinet Advisors. It was proposed that Cabinet Advisors should not be permitted to sit on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that they should only be permitted to sit on Select Committees if their Cabinet Advisor role did not conflict with the terms of reference of the Select Committee.
• Formalising the process by which the Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee are appointed. It was proposed that all Chairs and Vice Chairs should be appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the council, rather than by the committee.
• Formalising the process by which decisions of the Mayor and Cabinet can be 'called in' for further scrutiny by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The report proposed clarifying which decisions can and cannot be called in. For example, it was proposed that decisions to note reports and decisions to recommend matters for onward consideration and decision by Council should not be eligible to be called in. The report also included proposals for how the call-in process should work, including who should be entitled to call in decisions, how long they should have to submit a call-in request, and the process for deciding whether a call-in request is valid.

The report also proposed that, in future, the Scheme of Delegation should be a single document that covers both the Mayor's executive functions and the council's non-executive functions. This would be a change from the existing arrangements, where executive and non-executive functions are dealt with in separate parts of the constitution. The report argued that a single Scheme of Delegation would be simpler, easier to navigate and remove repetitions.

The report also proposed that the Scheme of Delegation should be structured to allow officers to make decisions relating to any Executive and Non-Executive Council functions falling within their area. This would be a significant change from the existing arrangements, where many decisions are reserved to the Mayor and Cabinet. The report argued that this change would free up the Mayor and Cabinet to focus on strategic matters. The report proposed that this change should be accompanied by the introduction of a clear list of reserved matters that cannot be decided by officers, and that all decisions made by officers should be subject to the council's existing Financial Procedure Rules, Contract Procedure Rules and the Protocol for Officers Making Decisions.

Finally, the report proposed amending the Scheme of Delegation to remove the requirement for a Mayor & Cabinet decision to make a grant funding application. Instead, the report proposed that officers should be able to make grant funding applications without first seeking approval from the Mayor and Cabinet. However, the report also proposed that officers should be required to consult with the relevant Cabinet Member and/or the Mayor before making a grant funding application.

Members' Code of Conduct

The report noted that the council's Standards Committee was due to consider adopting the Local Government Association's updated Model Code of Conduct at its meeting on 9 April 2025. The report endorsed the adoption of the Model Code, subject to any minor amendments that the Standards Committee might wish to make.

The report noted that Lewisham's current Code of Conduct is overly legalistic and difficult to read, and argued that the Model Code would be clearer and easier to understand for both councillors and members of the public. The report also noted that other London boroughs, including Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney, have already adopted the Model Code.

Protocol for Member/Officer Relations

The report proposed that the council adopt a new Protocol for Member/Officer Relations, based on protocols that have been adopted by other London boroughs.

The report noted that Lewisham's current protocol is not as detailed as the protocols in place in other London boroughs. The report gave the example of Newham's protocol, which includes practical examples of how the protocol should be applied in specific situations. The report argued that including similar examples in Lewisham's protocol would be helpful for both members and officers. The report also argued that Lewisham's protocol should be amended to include provisions on what to do when things go wrong, such as when there is a breakdown in the relationship between a councillor and an officer.

In particular, the report argued that the protocol should include provisions on the following:

• The relationship between councillors and officers
• The expectations that councillors and officers should have of each other
• The relationship between committee chairs and officers
• The relationship between the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and officers
• The role of party groups
• Access to documents and information
• Provisions relating to publicity and press releases
• Provisions relating to correspondence

The report argued that these provisions are necessary to ensure that all councillors and officers are aware of their responsibilities and to provide a clear framework for resolving any disputes that may arise.

Protocol on Member use of IT

The report proposed that the existing Protocol on Member Use of IT should be reviewed and updated to reflect current standards.

The report noted that the current protocol is outdated and does not reflect the way in which councillors now use IT. The report argued that the new protocol should cover the following:

• The use of social media by councillors
• The use of council email accounts by councillors
• The use of council computers and other IT equipment by councillors

The report argued that it is important to have a clear protocol in place to ensure that councillors use IT in a responsible and appropriate manner.

Employee Code of Conduct

The report proposed that the council adopt a new Employee Code of Conduct. The report noted that Lewisham's current Code of Conduct is outdated and does not reflect the high standards of conduct that the council expects of its employees. The report argued that the new Code of Conduct should be clearer, more concise and easier to understand. The report also argued that the new Code of Conduct should be aligned with the council's values and behaviours.

The report proposed that the new Code of Conduct should cover the following areas:

• Respect
• Bullying, harassment and discrimination
• Impartiality and political neutrality
• Decision making and use of public funds
• Confidentiality and access to information
• Disrepute
• Use of position
• Use of the council's resources and facilities
• Interests
• Gifts and hospitality

The report proposed that the new Code of Conduct should be adopted with immediate effect.

Declarations of Interest

A separate document was provided to attendees explaining how councillors should declare interests in decisions.

Apologies, Minutes and Declarations of Interest from the Previous Meeting

The agenda indicates that the first three items scheduled to be discussed were:

• Apologies for Absence
• Minutes
• Declarations of Interest

The minutes from the previous meeting on 4 March 2025 indicate that:

• An apology for absence was received from Councillor Luke Warner
• An apology for lateness was received on behalf of Councillor Aisha Malik-Smith
• No declarations of interest were made