14.01 Duty to monitor and review the constitution
The Monitoring Officer in association with the Head of Customer, Legal & Member Services (where those roles are separate) will monitor and review the operation of the Constitution to ensure that the aims and principles of the Constitution are given full effect.
14.02 Protocol for monitoring and review of constitution by Monitoring Officer
A key role for the Monitoring Officer in association with the Head of Customer, Legal and Member Services (where those roles are separate) is to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the Constitution adopted by the Council, and to make recommendations for ways in which it could be amended in order better to achieve the purposes set out in Article 1. In undertaking this task the Monitoring Officer may:
(a) observe meetings of different parts of the member and officer structure;
(b) undertake an audit trail of a sample of decisions;
(c) record and analyse issues raised with him/her by members, officers, the public and other relevant stakeholders; and
(d) compare practices in this authority with those in other comparable authorities, or national examples of best practice.
14.03 Changes to the Constitution
(a) Approval. Individual changes to the constitution will only be approved by the full Council after consideration of the proposal by the Head of Customer, Legal & Member Services and/or the Monitoring Officer. Where the Head of Customer, Legal and Member Services and/or the Monitoring Officer feel that a full review of the Constitution is needed, the Council will appoint a working party for this purpose.
(b) Change from a Leader and cabinet form of executive to alternative arrangements. The Council must take reasonable steps to consult with local electors and other interested persons in the area when drawing up proposals.
