Agenda item

To receive a report from the Director of Finance Resources and Customer Services detailing the outcome of a review into the structure and operation of Council meetings and proposing a range of amendments to the Council Procedure Rules.  (Report No.17) (Non-Key)

 

Members are asked to note that the proposed amendments were referred on to Council for consideration by the Member and Democratic Services Group (21 April 2016).

Councillor Simon moved and Councillor Taylor seconded the report (Report No: 17) from the Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services detailing the outcome of a review into the structure and operation of Council meetings and proposing a range of amendments to the Council procedure rules.

 

NOTED

 

1.               That the proposed amendments to the Council Procedure Rules had been referred on to Council for consideration, by the Member and Democratic Services Group, at their meeting on 21 April 2016. 

 

2.               That the aim of the proposed changes was to speed up the proceedings and to enable members to get through more of the business on the council agenda.  The changes included: timing agendas, limiting the number of questions, shortening the speeches, changing the procedure for amendments, providing an opportunity for a supplementary question on an urgent question, overall to sharpen up debate. 

 

3.               Limiting the number of questions would reduce costs and the amount of time spent by officers on providing the responses. 

 

4.               Whilst agreeing with the suggestions initially discussed including for dealing with questions, the Opposition Group did not agree with the current proposals and were concerned about what they saw as restrictions on the democratic process including the limits being put forward on the number of questions allowed, the ability to displace the position of opposition business and the restrictions on alternative recommendations. 

 

5.               The Opposition view that the rights of back benchers to ask questions should not be curtailed and the ability to question the administration on behalf of the residents of Enfield should not be limited.  Other neighbouring authorities such as Barnet had no restrictions. 

 

6.               The Opposition acknowledgement that something needed to be done to encourage more members of the public to attend meetings and to enable business to be transacted in the allocated time, but felt these changes were not the answer. 

 

7.               The majority party view that introducing these changes would allow more time to be spent discussing other reports on issues such as education and housing, matters of more importance to the Council. 

 

8.               Councillor Simon’s summing up that there was a need for timed agendas as shown by the progress made on the evening.  He assured the Opposition that there were no plans to change the 45 minutes allocated to opposition business, that amendments would be , but at the end of the debate, and that time limits on speeches would allow more speeches and more time for more speakers to have their say.  In future, if the changes did not work they could be amended. 

 

In accordance with the council procedure rule 17.5 the vote was recorded as follows: 

 

For: 36

 

Councillor Abdul Abdullahi

Councillor Daniel Anderson

Councillor Ali Bakir

Councillor Dinah Barry

Councillor Chris Bond

Councillor Yasemin Brett

Councillor Alev Cazimoglu

Councillor Nesil Cazimoglu

Councillor Bambos Charalambous

Councillor Katherine Chibah

Councillor Guney Dogan

Councillor Christiana During

Councillor Sarah Doyle

Councillor Pat Ekechi

Councillor Nesimi Erbil

Councillor Turgut Esendagli

Councillor Krystle Fonyonga

Councillor Achilleas Georgiou

Councillor Alessandro Georgiou

Councillor Christine Hamilton

Councillor Suna Hurman

Councillor Jansev Jemal

Councillor Doris Jiagge

Councillor Nneka Keazor

Councillor Adeline Kepez

Councillor Dino Lemonides

Councillor Derek Levy

Councillor Mary Maguire

Councillor Don McGowan

Councillor Ayfer Orhan

Councillor Ahmet Oykener

Councillor Vicki Pite

Councillor Alan Sitkin

Councillor Andrew Stafford

Councillor Claire Stewart

Councillor Doug Taylor

 

Against:  21

 

Councillor Erin Celebi

Councillor Lee Chamberlain

Councillor Jason Charalambous

Councillor Lee David Sanders

Councillor Dogan Delman

Councillor Nick Dines

Councillor Peter Fallart

Councillor Alessandro Georgiou

Councillor Elaine Hayward

Councillor Robert Hayward

Councillor Ertan Hurer

Councillor Eric Jukes

Councillor Joanne Laban

Councillor Andy Milne

Councillor Terry Neville

Councillor Anne Marie Pearce

Councillor Daniel Pearce

Councillor Michael Rye

Councillor Edward Smith

Councillor Jim Steven

Councillor Glynis Vince

 

Abstentions:  0

 

AGREED: to formally approve, for inclusion as part of the Constitution, the changes proposed to the Council Procedure Rules (CPRs), as set out in Appendix 1 of the report to apply from the next (July 2016) Council meeting onwards.