Bristol City Council reaches 'peak committee level' by setting up committee system review committee

The group of seven elected members will scrutinise the new way the authority is run and suggest changes

Bristol City Council has reached “peak committee level” by debating a committee to set up a committee to review the new committee system. Councillors voted in favour of establishing a group of elected members to address teething problems of how the authority is now governed following the 2022 referendum to abolish the role of a directly elected mayor.

The position, along with the former cabinet, was replaced with eight cross-party policy committees under the Green-led administration after May’s local elections. But five months in, it has been blighted with issues, disputes and concerns, such as unfairness, a lack of transparency and political leadership, officers running the show, policies agreed by chairs and vice-chairs in a “Tory/Green love-in” where “backroom deals” are struck without a vote or debate in public, and senior staff rejecting councillors’ suggested changes to proposals even before meetings take place.

At a meeting of full council, members agreed to set up a committee model review group to examine the problems and suggest improvements. It will comprise seven councillors – a decision opposed by Labour who wanted a group of nine – three Green, two Labour, one Conservative and one Liberal Democrat who will deliver their findings in March.

But even the formation of the group sparked a row in the chamber on Tuesday, October 8. Labour group leader Cllr Tom Renhard, whose party refused to put itself forward for the positions of chair or vice-chair, told the meeting: “There are teething problems at the start of any new governance system.

“It’s clear there are some areas where improvements are needed. Meetings need to be webcast. We need transparency.

“My thanks go to local democracy reporters because without them attending, the public probably wouldn’t have a clue what is going on in a lot of these meetings. There have been behind-closed-doors informal committee meetings seeking approval for agendas that should be coming to a policy committee.

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“These should end. If a report is ready for an informal meeting, it is ready for a formal meeting. These discussions should happen in public.”

He said amendments to policies by the Greens and Lib Dems were accepted by the council’s top legal officer but Labour’s changes to allotment fee hikes were rejected, despite them having been previously approved by cabinet. Cllr Renhard said: “Clearly there are questions of fairness there.

“We can’t have one rule for the administration and another for everyone else.” He said press coverage of committees quoted mostly officers when the politicians should be announcing and deciding policy.

Cllr Renhard said the review group’s Green chairman, Cllr Guy Poultney, and Conservative vice-chair, Cllr Richard Eddy, was the latest example of a “Tory/Green love-in which is becoming a bit of a habit” and accused them of being “dinosaurs”. Conservative group leader Cllr Mark Weston said Labour itself had ruled itself out of taking on the positions, branding the group “the awkward squad in the room”.

He said: “If you’re going to have a fight, get in the ring. The committee system doesn’t work perfectly.

“Our preference will always be a leader and cabinet model but we are where we are and we need to make it work. We need a committee system that balances that desire for transparency that we all want with the need for efficiency because there are times when the city has to act fast, so we need to make sure the committee system is fleet of foot as well as open of mind.

“We’ve possibly reached ‘peak committee level’ at this point where we’re going to have a debate about a committee to set up a committee to review the committee system.” Cllr Poultney said members needed to make the committee system work and that he was delighted the review group’s meetings would be in public.

He said: “I hope it will be collaborative and constructive. I hope it will empower communities and help councillors to represent their constituents.

“I hope it will deliver greater scrutiny and I hope it will go some way to earning the electorate’s trust. I hope it will change this council for the better.”

Lib Dem Cllr Andrew Brown said: “As the party that brought the referendum motion and advocated for a change to the committee system we welcome this early review which we all agreed to some months ago. I’m sure all of us in this room can think of things we can change and improve from our experience thus far.

“We also look forward to receiving representations from the public, ensuring Bristolians can have their say in full as well. My experience thus far has been positive.”

He said he was disappointed Labour ruled itself out of taking on the roles of chair and vice-chair because “cross-party involvement would be useful”.

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