The Constitution Committee of Leicestershire County Council was scheduled to meet on Tuesday 28 April 2026 to discuss proposed changes to the council's constitution, including a new protocol for appointing Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen. The committee was also set to review revisions to various parts of the constitution, covering meeting procedures, officer-member relations, and the structure of overview and scrutiny committees.

Protocol on the Appointment of Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen

A draft protocol for the appointment of Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen was scheduled for discussion. This honour is intended to recognise past members who have rendered eminent services to the council and the local community. The protocol outlines eligibility criteria, including that nominees must be past members who have left office in good standing and are not currently serving councillors. It details indicative factors for assessing eminent service, such as length of service, leadership roles, and contributions to major projects or community life. The nomination process, decision-making procedure, and the rights and limitations associated with the title were also to be considered. The protocol also includes provisions for local government reorganisation and successor arrangements. The report recommended that the County Council approve this protocol.

Revision of the Constitution

The committee was scheduled to consider revisions to the council's constitution, stemming from a mid-year review. These proposed changes were intended to update various sections, including Articles, Responsibility for Functions, Meeting Procedure Rules, Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations, and the Members' Allowances Scheme.

Key proposed amendments included:

• Articles: A proposal to allow the chairmanship of the Scrutiny Commission to rotate annually between the leaders of the two main opposition groups. Changes were also planned to rename overview and scrutiny committees to reflect recent departmental reorganisations and to update the framework for monitoring and reviewing the constitution, giving the Chief Legal Officer and Monitoring Officer clearer duties.
• Responsibility for Functions: The terms of reference for the Corporate Governance Committee were to be amended to remove references to standards of conduct by members and co-opted members, with these functions transferring to a new Constitution and Ethics Committee. This new committee would combine the existing constitution remit with responsibility for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct for members. The approval of the Annual Governance Statement was to be transferred from the Constitution Committee to the Corporate Governance Committee.
• Meeting Procedure Rules: Several standing orders were to be updated. These included provisions for members standing on the Chairman's entry/exit, commencement with prayers, and rules for public and press filming during meetings. The scope for disallowing questions and notices of motion was to be clarified to align with other provisions and improve consistency. A restriction was to be added to prevent the re-running of substantially similar motions within six months, with an exception for votes of no confidence in the Leader. Standing Order 35, concerning the variation and revocation of meeting procedure rules, was proposed for deletion to allow changes to be implemented with immediate effect after committee approval.
• Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules: These rules were to be tidied up, with duplication removed. Rule 2 was to be strengthened to reiterate the function of Scrutiny Commissioners in overseeing other scrutiny committees. Rule 14, concerning the call-in procedure for decisions, was to be revised to clarify which matters could be referred to full council following a call-in, aligning with guidance from the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.
• Protocol on Member/Officer Relations: The entire protocol was to be replaced with an updated version. This new protocol places greater emphasis on senior members and officers modelling expected behaviours and standards, clarifies the requirement for training, and strengthens expectations for professional conduct in communications. It also introduces a clearer route for raising and resolving member-officer conduct concerns, encouraging informal resolution while outlining formal escalation steps. A Statutory Officers Protocol was to be appended, setting out shared expectations for the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.
• Members' Allowances Scheme: A new paragraph was to be added to reflect new regulations permitting members to join the Local Government Pension Scheme.

The report recommended that the County Council be asked to approve these proposed changes to the constitution.