A group designing how Bristol City Council will run after 2024 has denied it was a “mistake” to meet in private. Twelve councillors have been meeting regularly since the referendum in May, when Bristol voted to scrap the mayoral model and move to a committee-run council instead.
So far members of the public have not been allowed to attend the meetings of the committee model working group, nor see any minutes, so it’s unclear what debates are taking place behind the scenes. However, those debates could soon be made much more transparent.
How the new committee model will work has not yet been confirmed, and will likely have major impacts on how much power local people have over their communities. The working group faced questions on this from the overview and scrutiny management board, on Thursday, October 27.
Read more: Calls for Bristol public to have say on how council should be run once mayoral system ends
Councillor Barry Parsons said: “I’m not claiming that local authority governance is highest on most of my residents’ agendas, but I have been asked about this. The question I mostly get asked is: 'what’s going on?' On reflection, do you think it was a mistake not to hold these meetings in public?”
Initially the working group has been hearing evidence and gathering information from experts and two other councils who also recently switched to a committee model, in Sheffield and Brighton. But the next stage will be to consult certain community groups, before asking the whole city on principles about how the new model should be designed.
Cllr Jenny Bartle, vice-chair of the working group, said: “We’ve been really trying hard to learn stuff. We haven’t made any decision, at all, but I think the public thinks we’re making decisions. We’re not, we’re just learning, honestly. The decisions we’re starting to make, about what the design principles are, only happened last week.
“In some ways, it would have been harmful to have the public there, but I don’t think it’s on most people’s minds. I think they’re worried about the cost of living crisis or winter. There are probably about 12 nerds across the city who would have been vaguely interested [to observe working group meetings]. However, as it goes forward, I think there’s probably a stronger case for public engagement, specifically because we’re now approaching the time where we’re going to be making some decisions.”
New details of how the committee model could be designed will be published in a council report in December, ahead of councillors debating the issue in a full council meeting. Then next spring a city-wide public consultation will take place on the design principles, with a second consultation next autumn.
Cllr Helen Holland, chair of the working group, said: “We’re moving to that phase now. I think it’s right that we’ve worked in the way that we have so far, but over the period of the engagement strategy, more will come out. We want to make it transparent, and the system will be transparent, but it’s about the appropriateness of when is the right time to do that.”
When the working group first began meeting, a majority of the 12 councillors voted to meet in private. Although, it was not unanimously agreed, with some arguing that members of the public should be able to observe the discussions. After feedback from the overview and scrutiny management board, the working group could vote again on meeting in public or private.
Cllr Guy Poultney, also on the working group, said: “There have been discussions and debates about the level of transparency in the committee. If you feel there should be a presumption of openness and transparency, that would be perfectly good feedback to give us. I would see no problem with the committee taking a vote on it again.”
One main issue up for debate is how much power should be spread out across Bristol, responding to concerns from some critics who think the mayoral model centralises power too much. Local ward committees could potentially have decision-making power over specific parts of the city, for example to install a bike lane or new planters, letting residents have greater influence over their neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, a cabinet-like policy and resources committee would likely have a lot of power and sway, but it’s as yet undecided how much.
A trial run of the new model could take place a few months before May 2024, with some shadow decision-making committees running in parallel with the existing mayoral system. During the trial, the committees wouldn’t make any actual decisions, due to the law on mayors meaning Marvin Rees must stay in power for his full term. But ‘war-gaming’ decisions could be made with a few committees, to iron out any potential problems before the new model kicks in.
A council leader will likely be chosen by councillors, to represent the city in crises and emergencies, and with businesses, central government and the West of England combined authority. This would mean a different council leader could be chosen by councillors, if the current one was performing poorly — something which cannot happen now under the mayoral model.
