The Nottingham City Council Standards and Governance Committee met on 8 April 2025, and agreed to recommend to the Council approval of amendments to Article 12 – Standing Orders and Committee Procedures, and Article 5 – Officers, of the Council's constitution. The committee also agreed that the Constitution Advisory Panel will continue to meet in the municipal year 2025/26.

Amendments to the Constitution

The committee agreed to recommend to the Council approval of amendments to Article 12 of the constitution, Standing Orders and Committee Procedures, and Article 5, Officers.

Laura Wilson, Senior Governance Officer, presented a report explaining that the Constitution Advisory Panel had met to review the Council Standing Orders and Committee Procedures, and the role of Statutory Governance Officers, to ensure that the Constitution remains fit for purpose.

Councillor Kirsty Jones, Chair of the Committee, proposed changes to the amendments to Article 12. The changes related to:

• 12.39 Rights of Statutory Governance Officers - Councillor Kirsty Jones proposed removing the words “and verbal” from the article, which states that the Monitoring Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Head of Paid Service have a right to access reports and associated documents, attend meetings, submit written reports, and provide written and verbal advice to the council. Councillor Kirsty Jones said that the change would ensure that advice is in writing to be clearly understood and to prevent public discussion from officers, as it is the duty of councillors to present decisions to the public.
• 12.70 Attendance by councillors at meetings of committees - Councillor Kirsty Jones proposed removing the words “and reported to Council on an annual basis” from the article, which states that attendance by councillors at meetings of committees to which they have been appointed is published on the Council’s website and reported to the Council annually. Councillor Kirsty Jones said that the change was because the temporal reporting is already available on the council website, and to avoid unduly bringing attention to councillors who are more likely to have absences, such as those with caring responsibilities or disabilities, ensuring the diversity of Councillors represents the diversity of the city.
• 12.104 Rights of Statutory Governance Officers - Councillor Kirsty Jones proposed removing the words “and verbal” from the article, which states that the Monitoring Officer, Chief Finance Officer and Head of Paid Service have a right to access reports and associated documents, attend meetings, submit written reports, and provide written and verbal advice to committees. Councillor Kirsty Jones said that the change would ensure that advice is in writing to be clearly understood and to prevent public discussion from officers, as it is the duty of councillors to present decisions to the public.

The committee agreed to the proposed changes to the amendments.

The committee also agreed that the Constitution Advisory Panel will continue to meet in the municipal year 2025/26. The Constitution Advisory Panel was established to support delivery of an action within the Council’s Improvement Plan to maintain, enhance and embed the Constitution¹.

Previous Minutes

The committee confirmed the minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2024 as a true record and signed by Councillor Kirsty Jones.

At the meeting on 11 December 2024, the committee noted:

• One decision had been taken under urgency provisions within the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (Article 11) of the Constitution since the last report to the Committee in September 2024.
• No decisions have been taken under the special urgency provisions within the Access to Information Procedure Rules (Article 13) of the Constitution since the last report to the Committee in September 2024.
• Three complaints have been, or are in the process of being, formally investigated due to their nature. None have been escalated beyond the local resolution stage of the procedure.