Under the Local Government Act 2000, the Council must have a formal Constitution. The contents of the Constitution are prescribed by Law and informed by the guidance produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
As the document is large and complex, this Guide has been produced to help Councillors, officers and members of the public to find their way around it.
The diagram inside the front cover shows the formal relationships between the Council, the Executive, the select (overview and scrutiny) and the non-scrutiny committees.
The Council comprises all 43 members.
Articles 2 and 4 in Part 2 of the Constitution and Part 3 of the Constitution set out the role and functions of the Council. These include approving important policies and strategies, for example the Annual Budget, appointing the Leader of the Council and members of the Executive, adopting and making changes to the Constitution and approving the Members’ Allowances Scheme.
The Council also receives reports from the Executive and from select and non scrutiny committees. These may be making recommendations to the Council or they may simply be reporting on their activities.
In some cases, the Executive will be reporting to the Council on matters where it has already taken decisions, which have been implemented. This is because it has an independent decision-making role.
Full Council meets at least five times a year. These meetings are not necessarily spaced out evenly due to the requirement for it to approve certain policies and plans, including the Budget, at particular times of the year. It usually meets in May, in September, December and February.
There is a statutory right to call a special meeting and the Council may also need to meet more often if, for example, there are urgent matters for it to consider.
It is important to note that unless the matter is one which:
Then the Council can not take a decision about that matter.
Full Council has delegated most non executive functions to the relevant non-scrutiny committee.
Any decisions of the Executive that need Council approval, will be reported to the Council by the Executive member with portfolio for that item. He or she will respond to any questions.
Questions can also be asked of the chairs of the non-scrutiny committees.
The Council is required by law to have an Executive.
The Executive is not a committee and does not have to be politically balanced.
The Council elects (and can dismiss) the Leader and members of the Executive. Election is normally at the Annual meeting of the Council in May. The Executive comprises 6 Members of the Council. The Council designates one of the members of the Executive as Deputy Leader who chairs meetings of the Executive in the Leader’s absence.
The Executive itself decides the roles and portfolios of each of its members.
The Leader of the Council has his/her own portfolio.
The Executive takes decisions collectively and may take decisions individually.
The Executive are responsible for all decisions which the law says do not have to be made by Council or by a Committee.
Part 3 of the Constitution sets out various functions where the law gives the Council a choice as to who should be responsible for them. The Council has decided that certain matters are for the Executive, for example, carrying out Best Value reviews, and certain matters are to be delegated to the Audit and Regulatory Committee.
Part 3 sets out the matters which are the responsibility of the Executive and also, each Executive member’s portfolio.
A significant amount of decision-making is delegated to officers. These decisions are, in the main, routine in nature and taken within established policy. These are also set out in Part 3.
Collectively and individually the Executive are subject to the overview and scrutiny role of the select committees.
Certain types of decisions, which are the responsibility of the Executive, are called “key decisions”. Only the Executive (as opposed to Council or any of its committees) can take key decisions and, in general, advance notice has to be given through a procedure known as the Forward Plan.
Key decisions are:
The Leader of the Council has a duty to publish a Forward Plan monthly. This is a list of what key decisions the Executive is likely to take in the following four months. It must also say how and with whom consultation will take place, when the decision will be taken, list the documents the Executive will consider and say how any person can make representations to the Executive about the matter.
The purpose of the Forward Plan is to alert the public and members of the Council to what is coming up, so they can raise matters of concern with their local Councillor or members of the Executive before a decision has been taken. It also informs the work programme of the select committees.
The Forward Plan is updated monthly.
The detailed requirements of the Forward Plan are set out in the Access to Information Rules in Part 4 of the Constitution.
The Forward Plan must include as much of the following information as is known at the time it is published:
More detailed procedures are given in the Constitution about taking key decisions which have not been included in the Forward Plan for whatever reason, or which are very urgent. Select Committees have a right to require that the Executive report to Council on key decisions which they believe to have been taken outside the required procedures and the Leader has to report to full Council on all special urgency decisions.
The Executive meets monthly in public, unless the matter to be discussed is confidential or exempt. It may meet privately on an informal basis as well.
The Executive can invite others to attend and speak at its meetings (but not to vote). Group Leaders or their nominees can speak on items before the Executive and up to two representatives of a Select Committee can speak (but not vote) when an Executive decision is re-considered following “call-in”.
The Executive considers reports from its members or from Officers. Officer reports are presented by the portfolio holder.
Decisions taken by the Executive are subject to the “call-in” procedures set out in more detail in Section 5 of this Guide. Except in limited circumstances, they will not take effect until the fourth working day after the decision has been published on the Council’s website, intranet and at its three main offices ie Council Offices, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Buxton Town Hall and Municipal Buildings, Glossop. Allowance must be made for this in the preparation of any reports to the Executive which require a quick decision. The report must always say whether implementation is so urgent that it cannot await the outcome of a possible “call-in”, and why.
Urgent matters are those where it is likely that any delay caused by the “call-in” procedure could seriously prejudice the Council’s or the public’s interests or the interests of any person to whom the decision relates and the Chair of the relevant select committee agrees that the decision is urgent and cannot reasonably be deferred.
Except in exceptional circumstances, the Head of Legal and Democratic Services or his/her representative, will be present at all meetings of the Executive.
Any member of the Borough Council has the same right to attend a meeting of the Executive as a member of the public.
The Executive’s procedures are set out in Part 4 of the Constitution.
Reports to the Executive by Executive members or officers, must contain details of the nature and extent and outcome of consultation with stake holders and relevant select committees.
The Executive and individual portfolio holders may make arrangements for consultation about matters for which they are responsible.
The Council has four scrutiny committees. They are known as Select Committees:
These select committees may appoint sub-committees or working groups to carry out particular tasks.
Each select committee has a range of tasks including:
The select committees have extensive powers to conduct research, carry out consultation, encourage community participation, liaise with other organisations and question members of the Executive and, in some circumstances, other Committee members and senior officers about their decisions and performance.
The scrutiny of a decision taken under powers delegated to an officer must, however, relate to a decision which is of particular significance or importance to the interests or functions of the Council and which falls outside the day to day administration of the service for which the officer is responsible.
Select committees have no delegated powers to take decisions on behalf of the Council.
The arrangements for the operation of select committees are set out in the Select Committee Procedure Rules in Part 4 of the Constitution.
Select committees have the right to call-in decisions taken by the Executive before they are implemented. Within five working days of a meeting of the Executive, or the taking of an individual executive member decision, a decision notice is published on the Council’s intranet and website. Notices are also available for inspection at the Council Offices, Chapel-en-le-Frith, the Municipal Buildings in Glossop and the Town Hall in Buxton. Unless the decision is identified as urgent, the decision will not take effect until the 4th working day after publication. During the three intervening days three members of any select committee with voting rights may “call-in” the decision for it to be referred to the next meeting of either the relevant select committee or the Corporate Select Committee, whichever meets sooner, for consideration. The decision is then not implemented until either:
The first three members exercising the “call-in”, are entitled to attend the meeting of the relevant select committee at which the called-in matter is discussed, and to speak on it (but not to vote – unless they are members of the committee).
A select committee can nominate up to two members to attend and speak at the meeting of the Executive when it reconsiders the matter, should the select committee decide to refer it back.
If it is an individual Executive member decision, the procedure is less formal and the members who called the decision in will have the opportunity to discuss their reasons with the Executive member who will the decide whether to confirm their original decision or amend it.
“Call-in” is referred to in more detail in Part 4 of the Constitution.
Certain matters cannot by law be dealt with by the Executive. Apart from those reserved to the full Council, these are, in the main, development control decisions, licensing and regulatory functions.
The scope of the non-scrutiny committees is set out in Articles 8 and 9 and Part 3 of the Constitution.
For development control matters, the Development Control Committee has full delegated powers, except in the rare event of an application being submitted by the Executive where the Development Control Committee are minded to refuse it. In such a case the application would be considered by a specially constituted Panel of the Audit and Regulatory Committe.
The Audit and Regulatory Committee is an independent scrutineer of the Council’s corporate governance including its Constitution. It also deals with matters such as elections, the name and status of areas and individuals, bye-laws and local legislation.
The Committee has the power to change officer delegations that relate to non- Executive matters.
A wide range of licensing, regulatory and appeals functions are dealt with by two Panels:
The Standards Committee is responsible for the Council’s ethical framework. Membership is regulated by law and must include at least 25% independent members and a parish council member. It is responsible for promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by members of the Borough Council and all its parishes and co-opted members, for the Members’ Code of Conduct and the Council’s protocols and for dealing with complaints about elected members.
The decisions of non-scrutiny committees are also subject to over view and scrutiny by the relevant select committee, although decisions affecting an individual (such as a decision to grant a licence or a planning permission) cannot be revisited.
Unless he or she is a member of the Executive, every member has the right to be appointed to a select committee.
Members of select committees have a substantial input into the development of Council policy and the scrutiny of existing policy and decisions, especially as they impact on the communities and people the Council serves.
All members of the Council are eligible to serve on the non-scrutiny committees and panels.
Part 5ten principles of conduct, on which the code is based.
There are a number of other protocols set out in Part 5, under the general heading of ‘Rights and Responsibilities’, for example the Protocol for Land Use Planning and for Member/Officer relations.
The Constitution sets out in Part 4 the arrangements for access to information by members of the public.
The rules also prescribe other information available to select committees and additional rights of access for members.
None of these rules prejudice members’ rights or the rights of the public under the general law.
By law the Council must designate officers to hold three statutory offices. These are:
The Council has Chief Officers as follows:
The Chief Executive and each Strategic Director have Service Heads and Business Managers to manage service delivery and support.
Some officers are required also to hold a statutory appointment, for example, as “Proper Officer” or “Returning Officer”. These appointments are set out in Part 3 of the Constitution.
Part 3 of the Constitution sets out the delegation arrangements for decisions to be taken on behalf of the Council, the Executive, non-scrutiny committees and by officers. One of the main principles in the Constitution is to establish who is responsible for a particular decision. Of particular note are the powers which:
There are specific delegations to the Chief Executive and the Directors. Any arrangements within each service for further delegation to Service Heads and Business Managers are incorporated into a Service Delegation Scheme. Such delegations can only otherwise be discharged by the Chief Executive or Director personally.
It is always the duty of any officer to whom the exercise of powers is delegated, to keep elected members properly informed of activity arising within the scope of the delegated powers.
These are set out in Part 4 of the Constitution.
The regulations set out the framework for:
Part 4 of the Constitution contains the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules - these are supported by a Procurement Policy that is available on request.
Part 4 of the Constitution also contains the Officer Employment Procedure Rules.
All appointments other than:
There are specific rules for the appointment of the officers named above, which are made by members on behalf of the Council.
Powers delegated to the Chief Executive and Directors to take decisions about staffing and personnel matters are set out in Part 3.
The standards of conduct for officers are set out in the Officers Code of Conduct (available on request) and enforced through the Contract of Employment. “Rights and Responsibilities – Member/Officer Codes Protocols and Conventions” sets out the relationships between officers and members in Part 5 of the Constitution.
The Constitution includes the Council policies and requirements that support the decision-making processes all which are important to its relationship with the community. These are:
Policies which are important to the Council’s external relations are:-
This Guide has been produced to try and simplify the complexities of the Constitution. It is not intended to be comprehensive.
For a copy of the Constitution or for further information and advice, please contact me or any of my staff.
Telephone: 0845 129 7777
Fax 01663 751042
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