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Title |
Calendar of Meetings 2025 - 2027 |
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Purpose of the report |
To make a recommendation to Council |
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Report Author |
Karen Wyeth, Democratic Services Manager |
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Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards |
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Exempt |
No |
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Exemption Reason |
Not Applicable |
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Corporate Priority |
Community Addressing Housing Need Resilience Environment Services |
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Recommendations
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Committee is asked to:
Recommend that Council approve the Calendar of Meetings for 2025 – 2027 as set out in Appendix A. |
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Reason for Recommendation |
The Calendar of Meetings provides a framework for the democratic and decision-making procedures that will underpin the delivery of the Council’s key corporate priorities. |
1. Summary of the report
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What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
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• The current calendar of meetings expires in August 2025. |
• We are required to have an up-to-date calendar of meetings, allowing future planning for Councillors, Officers, and members of the public. |
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This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
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• A calendar of meetings has been produced for the period August 2025 -May 2027. |
• Recommendation to Council |
1.1 This report proposes a schedule of Council and Committee meetings (Appendix A) to enable proper consideration of Council business during the period August 2025 to May 2027.
2. Key issues
2.1 Meetings have been scheduled with the following general principals in mind, to enable effective decision-making whilst making the best use of resources available:
i) Avoidance of Surrey school holidays wherever possible. It is not possible to additionally accommodate the differing holiday periods of private schools.
ii) Maintaining the current scheduling of Council meetings i.e. meetings in July, October, December, February, April and the Annual (Mayor making) meeting in May.
iii) The Committee meetings have been set out to enable matters which need to be referred on to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee and/or Council can proceed in a timely way.
iv) The Regulatory Committees feed directly into Council (i.e. Planning, Licensing, Audit and Standards).
v) Each Committee meets wherever possible on the same day of the week.
vi) Licensing Committee primarily meets as a daytime Sub-Committee and those meetings are arranged as required. Full Licensing Committee meetings can be scheduled as business arises.
vii) Planning Committee meets every 4 weeks.
viii) Commercial Assets Sub-Committee is a daytime meeting and meets once a month.
2.2 The Committee Chairs have the power to call additional or extraordinary meetings, when required, to accommodate urgent or unscheduled matters of business. Should an election, or by-election occur, the Committee Chair and Vice-Chair also have the power to adjust the date of the meeting to avoid conflict with this date.
2.3 The Finance Team has been consulted on the suitability of dates to enable financial reports to be ready for consideration at the relevant service committees on a timely basis.
3. Options analysis and proposal
3.1 The calendar of meetings provides a framework for the democratic and decision-making processes that will underpin the delivery of the Council’s key priorities. It is proposed that the dates as set out in Appendix A are recommend to Council.
4. Financial management comments
4.1 The cost of administering the proposed meetings will be met from within existing budgets.
5. Risk management comments
5.1 There are no direct risk implications arising from this report. Meetings have been scheduled to enable the timely consideration of ordinary business, with the flexibility for extraordinary meetings to be called as business requires.
6. Procurement comments
6.1 There are no Procurement considerations to take into account.
7. Legal comments
7.1 Council and Committee meetings have been scheduled to fulfil the Council’s constitutional and legal obligations.
8. Other considerations
8.1 Additional Committee meetings to those proposed will have resource implications.
9. Equality and Diversity
9.1 Consideration has been given to avoiding, if possible, scheduling meetings on the same day as major religious festivals.
10. Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
10.1 There are no Sustainability/Climate Change implications arising from this report.
11. Timetable for implementation
11.1 Corporate Policy and Resources Committee on 24 March 2025.
Council on 24 April 2025
To be Implemented from 01 August 2025
12. Contact
12.1 Committee Services, committeeservices@spelthorne.gov.uk
Background papers: There are none.
Appendices:
Appendix A – Calendar of Meetings 2025 - 2027