Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Monika Slater, Mike Schofield and Melanie Davis and Independent Persons Richinda Taylor and Louise Holroyd.

There were none.

Members of the public may ask questions or make statements at this meeting if they have given notice and provided the text to the Democratic Services Officer (details below) no later than midday on Thursday, 25 June 2026, three working days before the day of the meeting.

Each speaker should limit themselves to three minutes on any item. If you are exercising your right to speak at this meeting, but do not wish to be recorded, please inform the Chair who will instruct those taking a recording to cease whilst you speak.

There were none.

Considered

A report of the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer which presented the final recommendations for the 2025/26 Community Governance Reviews (CGRs), following the Stage 2 consultation.

The Principal Democratic Services Officer advised that the Terms of Reference for the CGRs had been approved by Full Council on 16 July 2025. The Stage 1 consultation had subsequently been undertaken between 29 September to 22 December 2025, with the Stage 2 consultation taking place between19 March to 11 June 2026.

Members were informed that the responses received during the Stage 2 consultation had now been analysed and that final recommendations for each area under review were set out within the report and supporting appendices. It was noted that the Stage 2 consultation had generated a relatively low response rate, as summarised in paragraph 3.4 of the report, although this was not considered unusual for this type of consultation.

During the Stage 1 consultation, every property within the areas under review had been sent an explanatory letter in the post advising of the CGR. Whilst the Stage 2

consultation had been conducted primarily online, residents had continued to have the option of requesting a paper copy of the survey. In addition, a frequently asked questions page had been made available on the Council’s website to assist residents with any queries relating to the review.

The relevant parish councils, Division Members, Members of Parliament for the affected areas and the Yorkshire Local Councils Associations had all been invited to participate in the consultation process.

The final recommendations were set out at paragraph 14 of the report, with detailed recommendations for each review area contained in section 3.0 of Appendices 1-14. The individual Stage 2 consultation surveys were included at Annexes 1-14A, with summaries of responses provided at Annexes 1-14B.

The Committee was advised that subject to approval by Full Council on 15 July 2026, the next stage of the process would be the preparation of the CGR Orders to enable implementation in time for the scheduled parish elections in May 2027.

Members thanked officers for the extensive work undertaken in producing the report and supporting appendices.

It was moved by Councillor Nick Brown and seconded by Councillor Nigel Knapton that the Committee endorse the below recommendations for submission to Full Council.

Resolved (unanimously)

       i.         That the responses from the 2025/26 CGR Stage 2 consultation process which took place following the recommendations made from Stage 1 be noted.

     ii.         Subject to approval by Full Council that the final recommendations as set out in Appendices 1-14 of the report be agreed and publicised as the final outcome of the 2025/26 CGR.

The next Standards and Governance meeting is on Wednesday 16 September 2026 at 2pm.

The next scheduled meeting of the Committee is Wednesday 16 September 2026 at 2.00 pm.

The Assistant Director Legal Operations and Deputy Monitoring Officer welcomed Jacob Riddle, Governance Officer, to his first meeting of the Standards and Governance Committee.