Local Government Reform - Consultation on Policy Proposals

Question 12:
Do you agree that 15% of council membership should be the
trigger for a call-in?
Question 13:
Should the use of qualified majority voting be introduced to
provide safeguards in the council’s decision-making
processes?
Question 14:
Do you agree that 80% of council membership should be the
threshold for qualified majority voting?
Transparency
3.26. Section 23 of the <strong>Local</strong> <strong>Government</strong> Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
provides that, subject to certain conditions, every meeting of a
council shall be open to the public. To ensure the continued
transparency of the decision-making process and take account of
the proposed new structures, these provisions will be updated to
provide for improved access to council meetings and documents.
3.27. In addition to updating the provisions in relation to the transparency
of the decision-making process, the Department proposes that a
council will be required to prepare and publish a constitution that
sets out details of how it operates. This constitution would provide
details of:
• the council’s decision-making structures and how decisions are
reached;
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