To reverse the decision taken on 3 April 2020 with respect to the suspension of Call-in arrangements for Area Committees, Planning Review Committee, executive and ward member spend / CIL. 

Specifically to make the following changes to the Constitution:

Part 17

What decisions can be called in?

17.1

Delete: No decisions can be called in

Re-instate:The following decisions can be called in:

·         resolutions by the Cabinet

·         key decisions taken by officers

·         ward member spend (Part 4.6)

·         planning decision taken by area planning committees

·         decisions on planning applications that were going to be taken by the Head of Planning Services

and parts 17.2 – 17.9 inclusive

The previous decision to suspend the Call-in arrangements was taken at the outset of the COVID-19 lockdown in order to reduce demand on the officer resource base within the Council. The assessment after 1 month is that the re-instatement of Call-in arrangements will not have a detrimental impact on resilience of the Council services and will promote open debate and transparent decision making.

To:

1.      Adopt for a temporary period while business continuity measures are invoked during the Covid 19 pandemic a revised version of the Oxford City Council Constitution using the emergency powers delegated in Part 9.3(c) of the Constitution, based on the revisions to the Constitution adopted by Council on 27 January 2020 set out in Appendix 1 that:

i. Authorise the Chief Executive to cancel and to call meetings of Council without consultation (Parts 11.5 and 11.6).

ii.  Authorise the Head of Law and Governance to cancel and to call meetings of non-executive committees and sub- committees without consultation, including cancelling meetings where there would be sufficient business for a meeting to take place (Parts 13.4 & 14.6).

iii.  Clarify the arrangements for single Cabinet Member decision making, should the Leader choose to delegate any executive decisions currently reserved to Cabinet to individual Cabinet Members.

iv.   Authorise the Head of Planning Services to determine planning applications normally reserved to area planning committees (Part 5.3) in accordance with a protocol (Appendix 2), until such a time as meetings can be convened.

v.   Suspend the call in procedures (Part 17) for all executive and planning decisions until such a time as meetings can be convened.

vi.   Authorise the Head of Regulatory Services and Community Safety to determine all licensing applications (Parts 5.6 and 5.7) with the exception of any applications that require a hearing and cannot be delegated in law, until such a time as meetings can be convened.

2.   Delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance to make minor textual changes to the proposed wording of the revised business continuity version of the Constitution set out in Appendix 1 and to make any other consequential amendments that may berequired.

3.   Instruct the Head of Law and Governance to publish the revised business continuity version of the Constitution (as amended) on the Councilwebsite.

4.   Delegate authority to the Head of Law and Governance to amend the business continuity version of the Constitution as required in response to events or following the implementation of regulations brought forward under the Coronavirus Act 2020 or changes to such regulations, for example facilitate virtual meetings or to reinstate normal constitutional arrangements where physical meetings can be legally and safely convened, and, if necessary, to revert back to the arrangements set out in Appendix 1 if restrictions on public gatherings are re-imposed infuture.