Kensington and Chelsea Council has approved several changes to its constitution, including updates regarding petitions, questions to lead members, and delegation of the Chief Executive's duties.
The changes, agreed at a Full Council meeting on Wednesday, 16 July 2025, aim to clarify procedures and improve efficiency. The amendments were initially discussed and recommended by the Administration Committee on 16 June 2025.
One key change involves Standing Order 10, which governs the presentation of petitions. The new wording clarifies that councillors presenting petitions must have the full petition document with them, ready to submit to the Head of Governance & Mayoralty, or provide the text of the prayer and a link to the online petition. The updated standing order also specifies that it cannot be used to promote petitions still actively collecting signatures. The presentation of a petition should only involve reading the prayer, without any additional speech or commentary.
To ensure efficiency, a 150-word limit was introduced for Standing Order 22 questions to lead members. The council also granted the Chief Executive the authority to delegate decision-making functions to a named Executive Director during periods of absence.
The changes to the constitution are detailed in the Public Reports Pack.
