Lewisham Council's Governance Committee has debated a series of proposed changes to the council's constitution, with a particular focus on amendments that could impact public participation and procedural rules.
The committee, which met on February 4, 2026, resolved to recommend these constitutional amendments to the full Council. The full Council is expected to debate and vote on these proposals on March 4th.
Councillor Hau-Yu Tam voiced concerns during the meeting regarding the proposed removal of deputations
from Council Procedure Rules. Councillor Tam fears this change could lead to a reduction in public involvement in council proceedings. The rationale behind this specific removal was discussed, noting the historical absence of deputations, lack of definition, and reasons behind removing the term.
Beyond the removal of deputations, the proposed amendments to the council's constitution are extensive. They include the removal of remaining references to ward assemblies and an addition to the Housing Select Committee's Terms of Reference to explicitly reference the Council's landlord function. Furthermore, there are proposed reinstatements of missing wording relating to Strategic Planning Committee referral by the Director of Planning and an omitted section concerning matters reserved to Planning Committees A & B.
Minor corrections are also proposed to the Scheme of Delegation, covering areas such as community education provision, controlled parking zone delegations, fees and charges policy wording, and contract variation wording. A proposal has also been put forward for each committee to set its own meeting time annually at its first meeting after the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Additionally, the amendments seek to clarify wording in the Constitution Appendix 2 Planning Probity. This clarification concerns the requirement for officers to be present when councillors meet developers, stipulating that this requirement should only apply to members with decision-making influence, not ward representatives meeting on behalf of residents.
Officers present at the meeting offered explanations regarding alternative avenues available for public engagement, though specific details of these alternatives were not elaborated upon in the initial report. The full details of the proposed constitutional amendments can be found in the Public reports pack 04th-Feb-2026 19.00 Governance Committee.
