Report of the Governance Committee

Recommended · This went to the meeting on Tue 2 Dec 2025. What was decided is in that meeting's minutes.

The Governance Committee, which met on 24 September, 21 October and 11 November 2025, reports a set of recommendations for the County Council to decide. p1p8p27

It recommends deleting a requirement to publish an annual newspaper notice about the Forward Plan, because the legislation behind it has been repealed; the Forward Plan would still be published on the Council's website each month. p3p4p5p9

It also recommends a new budget process under which councillors would submit proposed budget amendments in writing to the Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer three clear working days before the budget-setting meeting, and recommends extending the call-in period, in which decisions can be scrutinised after they are made but before they are implemented, from 4 to 5 days. p20p28p32p41p43

Further recommendations are that the Governance Committee take on the role of 'Member Responsible for Complaints' under the Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, that the Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove City Council be appointed Returning Officer for the May 2026 mayoral election, and that the full review of the Members' Allowance Scheme be postponed from 2026 to start in 2027. p51p54p69p76p79

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Show the 17 passages this is based on

• p1REPORT OF THE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE The Governance Committee met on 24 September, 21 October and 11 November 2025. Attendance: Councillors Glazier, OBE (Chair) (3), Bennett (3), Bowdler (3), Collier (3), Denis (3) and Tutt (3).
• p31.1. The Constitution sets out a requirement to publish an annual notice regarding the Forward Plan in at least one newspaper circulating in the area of the local authority. This requirement stems from legislation that has been repealed and as such this provision is not necessary and serves no practical purpose.
• p41.2. The Leader of the County Council continues to prepare a Forward Plan which is published on the Council’s website on the last working day of the month detailing decisions including Key Decisions to be taken in the forthcoming 4 months in accordance with Regulations.
• p51.3. The Constitution is kept under review, and the most recent review has identified an out-of-date requirement which is no longer required and serves no practical purpose, and which it is therefore recommended be deleted.
• p81.6. The Committee recommends the County Council to:
• p9v approve the amendment to the Access to Information Procedure Rules as set out in Appendix 1 of the report; and
• p202.9. It is therefore proposed to alter the process for tabling amendments so that Members would be required to submit budget proposals in writing to the S151 Officer and Monitoring Officer 3 clear working days in advance of the budget setting meeting. Proposals would then require S151 Officer approval prior to circulation to Members ahead of the budget meeting. Any proposals received less than 3 clear working days before the meeting would not be accepted and therefore not considered at the meeting, unless agreed by the Chief Finance Officer. This rule would only apply when Cabinet does not seek to make changes to its budget recommendations prior to Full Council consideration.
• p272.16. The Committee recommends the County Council to:
• p28v agree the proposed process for presenting Budget Amendments to Full Council as set out in paragraph 2.9 of the report;
• p323. Scrutiny Call-in Process 3.1. The Local Government Act 2000 provides for the scrutiny of decisions once they have been made but before they have been implemented. This part of scrutiny committees’ wider overview and scrutiny role is generally referred to as ‘call-in’.
• p413.7. At the Governance Committee meeting on 21 October, a proposal to extend the call-in period from 4 to 5 days was moved and seconded to allow Members more time for submissions. The Governance Committee resolved to recommend the County Council to change the call-in period from 4 days to 5 days as outlined in Part 4, Rules of Procedure in the Constitution as set out in Appendix 4.
• p43v agree a change to the call-in period from 4 days to 5 days; and
• p51v agree the amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Governance Committee to include that the Governance Committee undertakes the role of “Member Responsible for Complaints” in order to comply with the LGSCO Code as set out in Appendix 6 to this report; and
• p545.1. The paper recommends that the Chief Executive of Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) be formally appointed as the Combined County Authority Returning Officer (CCARO) for the Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) elections scheduled for May 2026. It sets out the legislative background, governance context, and rationale for the proposed appointment.
• p69v agree to appoint the Chief Executive of Brighton and Hove City Council as the Returning Officer for the Mayoral election for the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority.
• p766.7. Bearing in mind the current proposal for LGR, which if agreed would have a potentially significant impact on the role of members and would include a review of members allowances as part of the process, it is proposed that the review currently schedule for 2026 be postponed with view to the process starting in 2027 ahead of implementation for vesting day in 2028. Should however Government decided not to proceed with LGR then a review will be carried out and reported to Council in the autumn 2026.
• p79v agree to postpone the full review of the Member Scheme of Allowances scheduled for 2026, with a view to the process commencing in 2027 ahead of the implementation for the Vesting Day in 2028; and v agree that should Government not proceed with Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), then a review be carried out and reported to Council in the autumn of 2026.