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Apologies for Absence To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors M Barnes, D Jones-Poston and T J Van-Rees.
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Minutes of Previous Meetings PDF 202 KB To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the meetings held on 4 November 2021 and 3 December 2021 as correct records. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair was authorised to sign the minutes of the meetings held on 4 November 2021 and 3 December 2021 as correct records.
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Declarations of Interest To receive and consider declarations of interests from Members relating to items to be considered on the agenda. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
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To consider the report. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee considered the proposed changes to the Constitution. The Head of Legal and Democratic Services advised that many of the changes were to reflect those required by the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.
Section 2 – Purpose, Definition, Interpretation and Amendment to the Constitution
In response to a question the Head of Legal and Democratic Services advised that if it was agreed at any time by Council that the Leader’s role should be job shared, the single salary for the role would be shared and there would be no extra cost.
It was moved and duly seconded to change Section 2 – Purpose, Definition, Interpretation and Amendment to the Constitution as detailed in the report.
Section 3 – Getting Information and Getting Involved
It was noted that Welsh Government guidance on the public participation strategy was awaited. It was moved and duly seconded to changeSection 3 – Getting Information and Getting Involved.
Section 4 – Full Council
It was moved and duly seconded to change Section 4 – Full Council.
Section 5 – The Cabinet
It was moved and duly seconded to change Section 5 – The Cabinet.
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To consider the report. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the draft Petition Scheme.
The Committee discussed the minimum age for those signing a petition and noted the age limits used in other Council schemes. Concerns were raised whether it would be discriminatory against younger people if for example the minimum age was set at 16 years. The Committee asked that the views of the Childrens Commissioner should be sought and how other Councils check on ages.
It was moved and duly seconded to set the minimum age to 10 years.
The minimum number of valid signatures for a valid petition and the thresholds for managing petitions was considered and the numbers and thresholds used or being considered by other councils were noted. It was considered that the minimum number of valid signatures for a valid petition should not be so high to deny a petition regarding an issue in a small community being considered or the numbers for a debate at full council being too low, which would result in full council agendas being overwhelmed by local issues, rather than issues of relevance to the whole County. Comment was made that a Petitions Working Group from the Democratic Services Committee with the Monitoring Officer could be established to review petitions received.
It was moved and duly seconded that the thresholds for managing petitions used by Bridgend Council should be adopted and the Petition Scheme should be reviewed after one year of operation.
Recommendation to Council that i. the minimum age for signing a petition is 10 years, ii. the thresholds for managing petitions used by Bridgend Council should be adopted and the Petition Scheme should be reviewed after one year of operation and iii. the Petition Scheme takes effect from 5 May 2022.
Any other business [AOB] With the agreement of the Chair, the Monitoring Officer reported that he had made a minor change to the Constitution as allowed under Rule 2.7 of the Constitution. He had noted a typographical error in Rule 4.53 in respect of a closure motion which would lead to inconsistency and ambiguity. The current sentence “? ? ?[2]4.53.3 a closure motion under Rule 4.54.5” should read “? ? ?[2]4.53.3 a closure motion under Rule 4.54”.
The Committee noted this minor amendment.
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