Norfolk County Council has agreed to set up a cross-party working group to carry out a full review of the document that governs how the council makes decisions and holds itself to account.

The motion, proposed by Cllr Jonathan Wedon and seconded by Cllr Barry Gravenell, passed by 47 votes to 15 with 16 abstentions at the full council meeting on 21 July 2026.

The working group will include representatives from all political groups on the council. Its remit covers identifying parts of the constitution that need updating or clarifying, considering how technology and modern working practices should be reflected in governance, and improving public understanding of how the council operates.

The group will work alongside the council's Monitoring Officer and consult members across all groups before reporting recommendations to the Strategic and Corporate Select Committee. Any changes proposed by the committee must then be put to a full council vote before they take effect.

The council noted that a periodic review of the constitution is already an established annual process, and that this working group's findings will feed into that existing framework.

A separate motion — proposed by the Conservative group — that would have required the Monitoring Officer to report on specific recent governance concerns, including the chairing of a Cabinet meeting in June and the Deputy Leader's correspondence with the Secretary of State over local government reorganisation, was defeated by 45 votes to 32.