Issue - meetings

Annual Monitor of use of the Urgency and Call-in procedures 2019/20

Meeting: 23/07/2020 - County Council (Item 6)

6 Annual Monitor of use of the Urgency and Call-in procedures 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 203 KB

Leader of the Council - Councillor Izzi Seccombe

 

The enclosed report of the Strategic Director for Resources sets out the annual report on the use of urgency and call-in procedures.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved:

That Council notes the report.

Minutes:

Councillor Izzi Seccombe introduced the report, drawing a distinction between those decisions made prior to the Covid -19 pandemic and those made during it.

 

Councillor Peter Butlin seconded the recommendation and reserved the right to speak.

 

Councillor Jonathan Chilvers welcomed the opportunity to comment on Covid-19 related items adding that in some other local authorities it was the Chief Executive that was taking the decisions; a process that sometimes lacks transparency. He suggested that the County Council had been slow to introduce remote meetings but welcomed that they are now operational.  

 

Councillor Keith Kondakor stated that in some instances urgency can deny an opportunity to contribute to discussions on an issue, The example he used concerned a bid to the DfT for an electric bus initiative where tight deadlines set by the DfT had meant that the report and subsequent decision had needed to be made very quickly.

 

Councillor Mark Cargill welcomed the briefings that are delivered by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive. He also noted that district and borough councils have responded well to the pandemic.

 

In summing up, the Leader commended the council for being agile in its decision-making. The time taken by the council to introduce virtual meetings was no greater than other councils and the speed with which remote working had been introduced was commendable.

 

A vote was held and the recommendation agreed unanimously.

 

Resolved:

That Council notes the report.