Issue - meetings

Change to the Constitution – Policy Concerns and Complaints

To submit a report by the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer and the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer, as presented to the Executive on 24 September 2024.

Additional documents:

Webcast for Changes to the Constitution - Concerns and Complaints Policy and Contract Procedure Rules

Decision:

It was unanimously RESOLVED:-

· To remove the following from the Constitution:-

· Concerns and Complaints Policy

· Contract Procedure Rules and

· Delegate authority to the Monitoring Officer to make any consequential amendments arising from these decisions

· That the Concerns and Complaints Policy, and the Contract Procedure Rules (together with all supporting documents relevant to each) shall be readily available on the Council’s website.

· Any future amendments to the Concerns and Complaints Policy and the Contract Procedure Rules shall no longer be matters reserved to full Council and shall, instead, be approved by:-

· the Executive; or by

· the Monitoring Officer*, under existing delegation, where those changes do not provide for any local choice, or where the changes are minor.

*Any changes to the Contract Procedure Rules shall always be subject to consultation with the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer.

Minutes:

The report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer and the Director of Function (Resources)/Section 151 Officer as presented to the Executive on 24 September 2024 was presented for the Council’s acceptance.

The Portfolio Member for Corporate and Customer Experience explained that the current Concerns and Complaints Policy (CPP) and Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) are currently included in the Council’s Constitution and thus require full Council approval for any proposed changes. There is no legal requirement to include the CCP/CPRs in the Constitution nor an expectation to do so from the Council’s regulators.

The Council must publish a Concerns and Complaints Policy (CCP) which aligns with the current model provided by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) and which follows the standards and good practice guidance of the Ombudsman’s Complaints Standards Authority, as set out in the report.

There are legislative changes to come in relation to procurement matters and the Council’s CPRs must be amended to align with the statutory requirements.

To assist the process of updating these documents, it is proposed that the CCP and CPRs be removed from inclusion in the Constitution and that they, along with supporting documents, shall instead be published in a prominent position on the Council’s website. In removing from the Constitution, it would also mean that any changes to the documents could be made by a decision of the Executive, rather than full Council. This change would enable more timely review and amendment and would introduce a more flexible and responsive process. Publishing the CPP/CPRs and documentation on the Council’s website will also ensure transparency as well as clarity and accessibility for the public when they wish to pursue the complaints process and for contractors/businesses wishing to bid for Council contracts.