Venue: Committee Room 1, City Hall. View directions
Contact: Charlie Mason, Democratic Services Officer (01522 873533)
No. | Item |
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Confirmation of Minutes - 29 May 2013 Minutes: RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 29 May 2013 be confirmed. |
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Declarations of Interest Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary. Minutes: No declarations of interest were received. |
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Code of Conduct: Cases Review Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a)
presented a report containing information on recent
cases relating to other local authorities' codes of
conduct. b) noted broad similarities between the case highlighted for the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and the Western Growth Corridor’s position for the City of Lincoln Council. Officers were giving careful consideration to the committee process and would circulate relevant guidance to members.
c) highlighted that members should identify any issues raised within the report as being relevant for further consideration with regard to their impact upon members.
d) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services responded to confirm the sanctions still available to the Council in cases regarding a breach of the Code of Conduct.
RESOLVED that the report be noted. |
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European Citizens' Electoral Turnouts Additional documents: Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a) presented a report in response to the Committee’s previous consideration of electoral turnout, focusing upon turnout among European Union citizens.
b) highlighted that while turnout in the sampled areas did appear to be significantly lower among European Union citizens than for other groups, it was not possible to conclude the reason for this from the available data.
c) drew members’ attention to the opportunities available to bid for funding from the Cabinet Office to introduce schemes intended to improve electoral registration among difficult-to-reach groups.
d) advised members of planned work with the National Union of Students to pilot new ways to encourage student registration.
e) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
The Independent Person welcomed any attempts to improve electoral turnout, noting the importance of democratic legitimacy for those who were elected.
RESOLVED that officers be requested to bid for the available funding to increase electoral registration rates. |
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Increasing Democratic Engagement with Young People Minutes: The Assistant Director of Legal and Corporate Support Services:
a) presented a report regarding the development of a format for member-student panels between councillors and local schools.
b) summarised proposals for the content and membership of a panel provisionally scheduled for September 2013.
c) explained that, if successful, the format would be used as a basis for further events with other local school.
d) noted that the timing of the event had been arranged to fit with the timetable for the school and pupils.
e) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
RESOLVED that:
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Local Democracy Week Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
a) presented a report regarding the Council’s participation in Local Democracy Week.
b) emphasised the limited staff and financial resources available to support additional activities, which had led to the development of broadly-based proposals for democratic engagement.
c) noted that members’ input on the proposals would be valuable in developing activities which, given the short timescales in advance of the 2013 event, would be suitable for development with a view to participation in future years.
d) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
The Reserve Independent Person noted the proximity of the event to the member-student panel and suggested that the events could be linked.
RESOLVED that:
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Webcasting Cost-Benefit Analysis Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
a) presented a report regarding the potential adoption of technology to allow the webcasting of committee meetings.
b) outlined the potential costs and benefits associated with different webcasting systems.
c) noted that officers and the Chair had viewed the operation of an existing webcasting system at a neighbouring council.
d) highlighted a related proposal to allow members of the public greater freedom to record Council meetings.
e) invited members' questions and comments.
Members:
The Reserve Independent Person noted his concerns regarding the possibility of members of the public recording meetings without notifying the Chair of their intention to do so.
RESOLVED that:
The recording, broadcasting, or photographing of the proceedings of any Council or committee meetings shall be permitted. In the event that this causes significant disruption to the proceedings of a meeting, the Mayor (in the case of a Council meeting) or the Chair (in the case of a committee meeting) shall be entitled to prevent any further recording, broadcasting, or photographing of the relevant meeting. |
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Work Programme Update Additional documents: Minutes: The Democratic Services Officer:
RESOLVED that the work programme be approved. |