Falkirk Council to review how it meets and makes decisions

The current structure was introduced in 2013 and involves an executive taking most major decisions, with a scrutiny committee to review the effects of those decisions.

The system was introduced to ensure politically balanced committees but members of Falkirk Council heard that much has changed since then.

A report to councillors stated: “There are fewer members, there are fewer chief officers, minority administrations have become the norm and since 2013 there has been two sets of local government elections, bringing new members to the council.

“At the same time, there is an increasing demand for the council to be an agile and responsive decision maker and to be transparent and accessible in that decision making.”

Councillors agreed to set up a working group that will involve one member from each of the main political groups and one independent councillor.

The leader of the council, Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, said: “It is good practice to review our decision-making processes and to ensure that everything is fit for purpose and relevant to the current climate.”

If possible, the working group will present its report in September although they agreed that was a challenging time scale.

The Labour group leader Anne Hannah welcomed the report and said it was “in some respects overdue”.

She had that a great many changes had happened, in particular the way that councillors can now attend meetings virtually.