Agenda item

We received an update on procedures for processing Notices of Motion and Petitions presented to Council.

Motions

1. Any member of the Council can submit a motion to be considered by full Council by giving written notice of the motion, delivered to the Head of Democratic Services, no later than midnight on the seventh working day before the Council meeting.

2. Submitted motions must be about matters for which the Council has responsibility or which affect the wellbeing of the administrative area.

3. Any motions agreed by Full Council, including any amendments made to the motion at the meeting, will be recorded by the Head of Democratic Services on the form overleaf and stored within the Members Area on The Hub for future reference.

4. The Head of Democratic Services will forward the proforma to the responsible officer and ensure that the form is updated as a log of the actions taken as a result of the motion that has been agreed.

Petitions

1. At a meeting of the full Council, any member may present a petition which is relevant to some matter in relation to which the Council or Cabinet have functions or which affects the area, or part area, of the Council. It is up to the member presenting the petition to satisfy themselves that the petition is proper to be received.

2. The member must give notice to the Chief Executive prior to the meeting at which the petition is to be presented and shall be presented in the order that notice is received.

3. The presentation shall be limited to not more than three minutes, and shall be confined to reading out, or summarising, the prayer of the petition, indicating the number and description of the signatories.

4. Any petitions submitted to a meeting of the Full Council shall be given to the Head of Democratic Services. They will ensure that the petition is delivered to the responsible officer within the authority to respond to the petition.

5. In addition, the Head of Democratic Services will ensure that the proforma overleaf is completed and stored on The Hub within the member’s area. The proforma will be forwarded to the relevant officer to record the actions taken as a result of receiving the petition for members to refer back to follow up if required.

Member comments:

A Member commented that he felt the system was unclear as he had previously had a motion turned down due to the wording.

The Chair commented that the Proper Officer will make a recommendation as to whether a motion is taken to Council, this can then be taken to the Chair of the meeting to use their discretion in whether to introduce the item for discussion.

It was asked for clarity that a petition cannot relate to another member’s ward.

Clarification was sought regarding the term ‘Proper Officer’ and the correct officer to submit petitions and motions to. (ACTION-DEMOCRATIC SERVICES)

It was requested that the outcomes from all motions and petitions are reported to all members. It was asked if this could be presented to Members in a report format at the end of each council year.