Agenda item

To receive a report back from the Working Group with recommendations following receipt of the Councillor Questionnaires

The Committee had before it, a *report from the Inclusion and Diversity Working Group on Motion 564 relating to the data gleaned from the responses in the Councillor’s Questionnaires.

Councillor G Czapiewski gave an overview of the findings and highlighted the following:

·         Time (or lack of it) was the greatest impediment to Councillors.

·         Time taken for journeys to the Council offices.

·         The Local Government Association and Rural Services Network were interested in the findings of the Working Group.

·         The virtue of Chairs experiential training would help to keep the length of meetings to a minimum.

Discussion took place with regard to:

·         What were Officer’s views on the timing of meetings?

Conclusions and Recommendations

1.  Conclusion:  The move to more early evening meetings, as had already happened in this administration, was an appropriate way to maximise attendance.  The Council needed to review the spread of meetings over the working day and evenings after a period and also consider the impact on officers with respect to the move to more early evening meetings.

2.  Recommendation: The findings strengthen the case for further experiential training for Chairs and Vice Chairs. 

3.   Recommendation: A change in rules to allow voting by online participants in a meeting improved access for some Councillors. This may be particularly relevant to improve the potential for parents or carers to attend, as well as those with mobility problems and those at the greatest distances, particularly in the evening. It would also reduce costs and carbon emissions. The Working Group noted that the Local Government Association had campaigned for this change.  The Scrutiny Committee recommend that the Council advocate for this change and lobby the government to introduce it.

4. Recommendation: The Scrutiny Committee believed that the work of this Working Group had concluded and recommended that the subject of Inclusion and Diversity with regard to removing obstacles to becoming a Councillor be added to the Policy Framework or the Scrutiny Work Plan to be considered annually.

5. Recommendation: The Scrutiny Committee recommend that those considering standing for elections be warned about the unpredictable time demands for working with residents’ issues and Town & Parish Councils. This may be something for the Political Groups to consider.

The Committee RECOMMENDED paragraphs 2, 3, 4 & 5 above to Full Council.

Proposed by Cllr G Westcott and seconded by Cllr G Czapiewski

Motion on Remote Attendance Meetings

Background;

As part of the Diversity and Inclusion workgroup a questionnaire was issued to Members.

The results showed that time was the most common and consistent issue affecting Members’ ability to fulfil their roles and was also a reason for people not putting themselves forward. In particular the ability to attend meetings, especially in the evening, was significantly improved if meetings could be attended remotely. In addition, many Members travelled over 10 miles with a return journey time of 1 hour or more, most often by car. This had a financial, environmental and social impact.

The Local Government Association (LGA) worked hard last year to influence amendments to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill so that virtual council meetings would be allowed. They said “Unfortunately, we were not successful and those amendments came out of the Bill. Our position is still, that councils should be allowed this flexibility, but we are not actually working on this issue.”

With the advent of enhanced audio visual systems in Mid Devon District Council and other councils, remote attendance and voting was more realistic than may have been possible previously.

If the motion is approved we ask that it be sent to Devon County Council and Devon Districts Forum to request their support, and to the Local Government Association for their information.

Proposal to take Motion to Full Council

A survey of Mid Devon District Councillors had shown that remote attendance at meetings significantly improved inclusion of Councillors with caring responsibilities, mobility issues, or greater distances to travel to attend meetings.  We ask the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to reconsider the regulations which prevent those participating remotely from voting and permit their full participation in decisions if they have attended the full meeting. As they stand the rules contribute to obstacles facing women’s participation in local government identified by the Fawcett Report (Does Local Government Work for Women? - Final Report of the Local Government Commission | The Fawcett Society), as well as negatively affecting those with caring responsibilities of whatever gender and those with mobility issues.  We ask this Council to follow the Local Government Association in lobbying the Government to allow councils, if they choose, to enable remote participants to play a full role and vote in decision making.

Proposed by Cllr G Westcott and seconded by Cllr G Czapiewski

The proposal to take this Motion to Full Council was CARRIED

Note: * Report previously circulated.