Lewisham Council is set to broaden the use of substitute members on its committees, aiming to ensure smoother operations and prevent meeting cancellations due to a lack of quorum. The move aims to provide more flexibility in committee staffing, addressing instances where meetings have been rescheduled or cancelled due to a lack of quorum, as highlighted in the Constitution: Use of Substitutes report.
The decision was discussed at a Governance Committee meeting on 8 July 2025, where members considered incorporating temporary arrangements into the Committee Procedure Rules under Part 4 of the new constitution.
Previously, substitutes were permitted on a limited number of committees. The committees that will be able to use substitutes, as recommended by the Governance Committee, are:
- All Planning Committees
- All Licensing Sub-committees
- Governance Committee
- Standards Committee
- Overview & Scrutiny Committee and all Select-Committees
- Appointments Committee
- Council Urgency Committee
- Works Council
Substitutes are still not permitted on the Pensions Board or Cabinet.
The proposed rules stipulate that for each committee, a maximum of two substitute members per group must be notified in writing to the Proper Officer. These substitutes can then take the place of an absent ordinary member for the entire meeting, provided the Monitoring Officer is notified in writing by 5pm on the day of the meeting. Furthermore, any nominated substitute must have undertaken appropriate training relevant to the committee in question.
The Governance Committee was asked to recommend that these temporary arrangements, previously considered on 18 December 2024 and approved by the council on 22 January 2025, be included in the Committee Procedure Rules. The agenda for the meeting also included discussion of the council's petition scheme and other procedural matters, as detailed in the Petition Scheme document.
