The Constitution Review Panel was scheduled to consider proposed amendments to the council's constitution, focusing on practical operational experience since its recent overhaul. The meeting was also scheduled to address items of late business and review the minutes from a previous meeting.

Review of New Constitution

The panel was scheduled to review the council's constitution, which was recently overhauled and approved in April 2026. The purpose of this review was to reflect on how the constitution has operated in practice and to identify areas for improvement and development.

The report pack indicated that recommendations were to be made for the council to adopt a series of changes. These proposed amendments included:

• Second Supplementary Question at Council Meetings: The report pack suggested clarifying the convention for supplementary questions at Council meetings. It was proposed that the Conservative Group would receive the second supplementary question on all Labour and Reform UK questions. For Conservative Group questions, a ratio of two Labour to one Reform UK was suggested, with Reform UK having the opportunity on every third occasion. The report pack noted that flexibility was to be built into this arrangement, allowing political groups to alter it by agreement and written notification to the Head of Democratic Services and Information Governance.
• Timings at Council Meetings: Clarity was scheduled to be sought regarding speaking arrangements for summing up on motions for debate and the Leader's Report at Council meetings. The proposal was to ensure that the Leader or relevant Cabinet Member could sum up after the debate, following the 30-minute time limit.
• Replacement of Committee Members: The report pack indicated a proposal to delegate authority to the Chief Executive to make changes to committee membership between Council meetings, following consultation with the relevant Political Group Leader. This was to address potential delays caused by the gap between meetings.
• Scheme of Delegation to Officers: A review of the current Scheme of Delegations to officers was scheduled, with the intention of introducing a more general scheme with sub-delegations residing within Directorate service areas.
• Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Regulations: The report pack highlighted that the financial thresholds in these rules were inconsistent and were to be amended for alignment.
• Planning Committee Procedure Rules: Amendments to the Council's current Planning Procedure Rules were scheduled, in response to changes in Planning Authority legislation coming into force on 1 November 2026. A proposed set of new rules was to be circulated as a supplementary report.
• Gifts and Hospitality: A proposed amendment was scheduled to change the threshold for registering gifts or hospitality from a single value exceeding £100 to a rolling annual basis. This would mean that cumulative gifts or hospitality exceeding £100 would require declaration, and the Members' Code of Conduct was to be updated accordingly.
• Appointment of Independent Member to the General Purposes and Audit Committee: In accordance with The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026¹, there is a statutory requirement for a local authority's audit committee to have at least one co-opted Member. The report pack indicated that the council was to be requested to delegate authority to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services to undertake the recruitment and appointment process in consultation with the Chairman of the General Purposes and Audit Committee.

The report pack also mentioned that any recommendations from the panel would be presented to the next Council meeting on 4 November 2026.