Manchester UK

420K population

One of the largest metropolitan authorities in England, Manchester City Council has 26,000 employees and an annual budget of over £500 million. The Council’s central purpose is to reverse the cycle of decline and build a strong, sustainable city of the future for the benefit of all its people.

Meetings of the Council and Committees are organised within an eight-weekly cycle. The Council which is made up of all 99 Councillors meets six times a year, including its annual meeting after the local elections in May when it elects the Lord Mayor of Manchester and appoints Councillors to serve on Committees for the Municipal Year ahead.

The Council appoints Committees which meet to make decisions about services for which they are responsible. In line with new Government proposals relating to the decision making process a new model has been introduced to reduce the number of committee meetings. In Manchester this has involved the establishment of The Executive and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

The Executive will exercise those functions previously carried out by other committees. Scrutiny Committees will examine major and new policy proposals and investigate specific areas of service delivery.

In addition to these, other committees are required to carry out the Council's quasi judicial functions. These include:

• Licensing and Appeals Committee • Planning and Highways Committee

Most Committee decisions are taken under delegated authority although decisions involving the creation of new policy and the setting of the annual capital and revenue budgets will be referred to full Council for approval.

There is also provision for Council Members (minimum five) to call in decisions of the Executive for consideration by full Council as long as this is done within seven days of the Executive meeting.

Some powers are delegated to Chief Officers so that they can deal with the day to day running of the service without the need to constantly refer matters back to councillors.

Meetings are controlled by the Chair, who is responsible for seeing that the business is dealt with properly. Items of business for consideration at a meeting are set out on an agenda. Most items take the form of an officers report. The front page of the report summarises what it is about and sets out a list of recommendations. These may or may

Manchester 1 not be accepted by the Committee. Officers do not have a vote but attend meetings to present their reports or give advice to members.

At the meetings an officer from the Committee Services Team will make a note of issues raised during the discussion and produce a set of minutes, which set the decisions made by the Committee. Once finalised these are available to members of the public.

Members of the public are welcome to attend meetings of the Council, committees and sub-committees, but during discussion of certain matters which the law allows to be discussed confidentially, the public will be asked to leave.

Members of the public do not have a right to speak at meetings but may do so if invited by the Chair. If a member of the public has a special interest in an item on the agenda and wants to speak, they should tell the Committee Officer, who will pass on the request to the Chair. A group of people will usually be asked to nominate a spokesperson.

About Manchester Council

Manchester is made up of 33 wards, or electoral areas. Each ward has three councillors.

Councillors are elected for a period of four years. Elections take place on the first Thursday in May in three out of every four years. This means that every fourth year there will be no local elections. There were no local elections in 2001. The next year when there will be no local elections is 2005.

Councillors carry out their duties on a voluntary part-time basis. They do not receive a salary but do receive allowances to help meet expenses.

They participate in the work of the Council in a variety of ways for example, determining the overall budgetary policy for the city, setting standards for individual services and helping constituents with problems involving the work of the Council. As well as attending full Council meetings, councillors may be a member of committees, sub- committees and working groups.

Committees

A committee is a group of councillors chosen by the Council to make decisions about an area of service such as Planning or Licensing and Appeals. Councillors appointed to serve on Committees reflect the overall political make-up of the Council.

The Council decides the size of committees and appoints the Chair. Committees set the objectives and policy for their service and oversee their implementation by the officers.

Meetings of the Council and its Committees are organised within an eight-weekly cycle. Five cycles of meetings are organised during each municipal year to an agreed Calendar of Committee Meetings. There are recess periods during April / May and August.

Manchester has an Executive which is responsible for all matters with the exception of Planning and Highways and Licensing. There are also five Overview and Scrutiny

Manchester 2 Committees to consider and investigate broad policy issues and review decisions taken by the Executive and other Committees. Meetings are held in the Town Hall during the day except for the Wythenshawe Area Committee which meets in the evening, usually at the Wythenshawe Forum.

Minutes of the Council, the Executive and Committees

• Council • Executive Advisory Committee (HATS) • Children and Young People • Community Regeneration • Employee Appeals • Executive • Planning and Highways • Finance and General Purposes • Licensing and Appeals • Constitutional and Nomination • Physical Environment • Personnel • Social Strategy • Standards • Wythenshawe Area

Calendar of Committee Meetings

Meetings of the Council and its Committees are organised within an eight weekly cycle.

Executive Advisory Committee (for the management of City Works, Hospitality and Trading and the Council's markets functions)

This Board meets within an eight week period. The Calendar of Committee Meetings sets out the date of the next meeting.

View previous minutes of meetings and agenda for this committee.

Committee Membership

The following members serve on this Committee:

Manchester 3 • Councillor S. Murphy (Chair) • Councillor Clayton • Councillor Smitheman • Councillor Risby • Councillor Barnes • Councillor P. Murphy • Councillor John Smith

The main functions of this committee are:

1. To advise the Executive in relation to the management , services and performance of the City Works Department and the Hospitality and Trading Services Department 2. To advise the Executive in relation to the annual Business Plan of the City Works DLO and the City Catering DSO 3. To advise the Executive in relation to the Council's functions in relation to markets

The Decision Making Process

In addition to these, other committees are required to carry out the Council's quasi judicial functions. These include:

• Licensing and Appeals Committee • Planning and Highways Committee

Manchester 4 Most Committee decisions are taken under delegated authority although decisions involving the creation of new policy and the setting of the annual capital and revenue budgets will be referred to full Council for approval.

There is also provision for Council Members (minimum five) to call in decisions of the Executive for consideration by full Council as long as this is done within seven days of the Executive meeting.

Some powers are delegated to Chief Officers so that they can deal with the day to day running of the service without the need to constantly refer matters back to councillors.

Chief Executive's Department Chief Executive Howard Bernstein Deputy Chief Executive, Regeneration Tom Russell Deputy Chief Executive, Performance Steve Mycio City Solicitor Susan Orrell

Responsibilities

The Chief Executive's Department is responsible for the following areas:

Executive Division

Manchester 5 Executive Office, Lord Mayor's Office, Press Office and Emergency Planning

Regeneration Division

Economic Initiatives Group, Special Projects, Marketing and Visitor Services, Corporate Property, Resource Procurement Group, Voluntary Sector Policy and Grants, Central Policy Unit and Greater Manchester Public Transport Executive.

Performance Division

Corporate Performance Group, including Best Value and Crime and Disorder, Organisational Development and New Deal for Communities

City Solicitors

Legal Services and Statutory and Management Services, including Committee Services, Electoral Services, Licensing, Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Coroner's Service and Trading Standards

Manchester 6 Manchester Constitution

Introduction In the biggest change in local government legislation over the past thirty years, local authorities must now have formal constitutions, designed to streamline decision making and make the process more open and accessible to the public. The legislation offers local authorities three models on which to base their new executive arrangements - Elected Mayor and Cabinet; Elected Mayor and Council Manager; and Leader and Cabinet. Manchester’s constitution was prepared following extensive consultation with local residents and communities. The most popular with Manchester residents was the leader and cabinet model and the constitution is based on this approach. In addition to basic rules and regulations the constitution describes the four basic elements through which the Council operates: the full Council, Council Committees, the Executive and Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Council The Council has 99 Members and is responsible for deciding the authority’s budgetary and policy framework. The budgetary framework includes the use of capital resources as well as the revenue budget and setting the Council Tax. The policy framework is made up of a wide range of plans and strategies, such as the Local Transport Plan, Housing Strategy and Environmental Action Plan. Changes to the budgetary and policy framework must be agreed by Council.

Council Committees There are other powers which the Executive cannot exercise. These mainly involve decisions which directly affect particular individuals (such as planning applications or taxi licences), staffing matters, constitutional issues and other arrangements affecting members of the Council. It would be impractical for the full Council to carry out these functions itself so the following Committees have been set up to deal with them. Most have delegated powers to make decisions without further approval by Council: • Planning and Highways Committee • Licensing and Appeals Committee • Employee Appeals Committee • Personnel Committee • Constitutional and Nomination Committee • Art Galleries Committee There is also a Standards Committee which is responsible for promoting high standards of conduct by members.

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Executive The Executive is appointed by the Council. It has ten members: the Leader and Deputy Leaders and seven Executive Members each with a special responsibility for a particular area - Culture and Leisure, Education, Planning and Environment, Finance and Human Resources, Health and Social Care, Housing, and Direct Services The Executive is responsible for implementing the budgetary and policy framework and has full authority this respect. This means that most of its decisions do not need approval by Council. Where, however, it is proposing changes to the framework these must be submitted to Council for determination. There is a Standing Consultative Panel, which has a standing invitation to attend public meetings of the executive. Members of the panel can speak at meetings and can make propositions to the Executive but only the Executive has power to make decisions. The panel is politically balanced with five Liberal Democrat members and ten Labour members. The Labour members include seven assistant executive members appointed by the Executive to help individual executive members. The Executive meets in public every four weeks. It may also meet in private. Key decisions can only be taken by the Executive at its public meetings. A key decision is one which either has a significant impact on the local community living in two or more wards or has major financial implications. In Manchester, although there are exceptions and qualifications, this is defined as involving expenditure / income of more than £500,000 or 10% of the particular service budget (subject to a minimum limit of £50,000). Executive functions can be delegated to individual members of the Executive or chief officers. Chief officers may make key decisions and where they do, they are subject to similar rules which apply to key decisions made by the Executive. These require that all future key decisions should be included in a document known as Forward Plan. This sets out what the decision is about, when it will be made, what background documents are available, how the public may make representations, who has been consulted etc.. The plan covers a four month period and an updated version will be published each month as part of a rolling programme. Key decisions not in the Forward Plan cannot be taken unless strict criteria justifying the need for urgency have been met. Once a key decision has been taken it will be published. At this point (again subject to strict criteria relating to urgency) it becomes subject to call-in to one of the Council’s overview and scrutiny committees. The call-in procedures apply to all Executive decisions, key decisions by chief officers and decisions by the Council’s Personnel and Art Galleries Committees. If a decision is called in it would be put on the agenda of the next relevant overview and scrutiny committees.

Overview and Scrutiny There are five such committees: • Children and Young People’s

Manchester 8 • Community Regeneration • Finance and General Purposes • Health and Well-being • Physical Environment • Social Strategy If the committee has no objection to a decision following review it may be acted upon straight away. If the committee has concerns about the decision these will be referred back to the decision maker who must consider the committee’s views before either amending the original decision or reaffirming it. If the committee thinks the decision is contrary to the Council’s budgetary and policy framework it may refer the matter to Council for its views. In addition to their powers to hold the Executive to account in this way, overview and scrutiny committees also having an important role to play in policy development and examining and helping improve the Council’s performance and decision-making procedures. The committees are able to commission independent research and expertise to system with their inquiries as well as questioning members of the Executive and chief officers about the decisions of performance.

Rules and Regulations The constitution also sets out the basic rules and procedures to be followed by the Council and committees when conducting their business, Financial and Contract Regulations, the Scheme of Delegation to Chief Officers, the rights of members of the public to inspect reports and background documents, members interests and members allowances. The Constitution is made up of seven parts: Part 1 - Summary and Explanation Part 2 - Articles of the Constitution Part 3 - Responsibility Functions Part 4 - Rules of Procedure Part 5 - Financial Procedures Part 6 - Codes and Protocol Part 7 - Members Allowances Part 8 - Management Structure

Manchester 9 Part 1 - Summary and Explanation Manchester City Council has agreed a new constitution which sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Some of these processes are required by the law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose. The constitution is divided into 16 articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council’s business. More detailed procedures and codes of practice are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document. What’s in the Constitution? Article 1 of the Constitution sets out the purpose of the Constitution. Articles 2 - 16 explain how the key parts of the Council operate, and the rights of citizens. These Articles are: • Members of the Council (Article 2) • Citizens and the Council (Article 3) • The Council meeting (Article 4) • Chairing the Council (Article 5) • Overview and scrutiny of decisions (Article 6) • The Executive (Article 7) • Regulatory and other committees (Article 8) • The Standards Committee (Article 9) • Area committees (Article 10) • Joint arrangements (Article 11) • Officers (Article 12) • Decision making (Article 13) • Finance, contracts and legal matters (Article 14) • Review and revision of the Constitution (Article 15) • Suspension, interpretation and publication of the Constitution (Article 16)

How the Council Operates The Council is composed of 99 councillors with one-third elected three years in four. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. The overriding duty of councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty to their constituents, including those who did not vote for them. Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. The Standards Committee trains and advises them on the code of conduct.

Manchester 10 All councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. Here Councillors decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each year.

How Decisions Are Made The Executive is part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. The Executive is made up of a Leader appointed by the Council and a cabinet of 9 other councillors whom the Council appoint. When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Executives’ forward plan in so far as they can be anticipated. If these major decisions are to be discussed with council officers at a meeting of the Executive, this will generally be open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. The Executive has to make decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide (except in the case of urgency).

Overview and Scrutiny There are 5 overview and scrutiny committees which support the work of the Executive and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by holding public inquiries into matters of local concern. These lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Executive and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Overview and scrutiny committees also monitor the decisions of the Executive. They can ‘call-in’ a decision which has been made by the Executive but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the Executive reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by the Executive or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy. The Council’s Staff The Council has people working for it (called ‘officers’) to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to-day delivery of its services. Some officers have a specific duty to ensure that the Council acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. A code of practice will be developed to govern the relationships between officers and members of the council.

Citizen’s Rights Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. These are set out in more detail in Article 3. Some of these are legal rights, whilst others depend on the Council’s own processes. The local Citizen’s Advice Bureau can advise on individuals’ legal rights. Where members of the public use specific council services, for example as a parent of a school pupil or as a council tenant, they have additional rights. These are not covered in the Constitution. Citizens have the right to: • vote at local elections if they are registered;

Manchester 11 • Contact their local councillor about any matters of concern to them; • obtain a copy of the Constitution; • attend meetings of the Council, its committees and public meetings of the Executive except where, for example personal or confidential matters are being discussed; • inspect agendas and reports except those which contain, for example, personal and confidential matters; • petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive; • participate in the Council’s question time and contribute to investigations by the overview and scrutiny committees; • find out, from the executive’s forward plan, what major decisions are to be discussed by the executive or decided by the executive or officers, and when; • attend meetings of the executive where key decisions are being discussed or decided; • see reports and background papers, and any record of decisions made by the Council and executive; • complain to the Council under the Council’s own complaints process; • complain to the Ombudsman if they think the Council has not followed its procedures properly. However, they should only do this after using the Council’s own complaints process; • complain to the Standards Board for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a councillor has not followed the Council’s Code of Conduct; and • inspect the Council’s accounts and make their views known to the external auditor. The Council welcomes participation by its citizens in its work

Part 2 - Articles of the Constitution

Article 1 - The Constitution 1.01 Powers of the Council The Council will exercise all its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution. 1.02 The Constitution This Constitution, and all its appendices, is the Constitution of Manchester City Council. 1.03 Purpose of the Constitution The purpose of the Constitution is to: 1. enable the Council to provide clear leadership to the community in partnership with citizens, businesses and other organisations

Manchester 12 2. support the active involvement of citizens in the process of local authority decision making 3. help councillors represent their constituents more effectively 4. enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively 5. create a powerful and effective means of holding decision-makers to public account 6. ensure that no one will review or scrutinise a decision in which they were directly involved 7. ensure that those responsible for decision making are clearly identifiable to local people and that they explain the reasons for decisions; and 8. provide a means of improving the delivery of services to the community

1.04 Review of the Constitution The Council will monitor and evaluate the operation of the Constitution as set out in Article 15.

Part 3 - Responsibility for functions

Responsibility for Local Choice functions

Function Discharged by

1 Any function under a Local Act not specifically excepted. See Annex below

2 The determination of any appeal against any decision made by or on Non-executive behalf of the Authority. (Committee or officer, as provided)

3 Making arrangements with other local authorities for placing of staff at Executive the disposal of those other authorities.

4 Making of arrangements for appeals against exclusion of pupils. Non-executive (City Solicitor)

5 Making arrangements for school admission appeals. Non-executive (City Solicitor)

Manchester 13 6 Making arrangements for appeals by governing bodies. Non-executive (City Solicitor)

7 Making of arrangements for enabling questions to be put on the Full Council discharge of the functions of a police authority.

8 Making appointments of Council Members to police authorities. Full Council

9 The conduct of Best Value Reviews under Section 5 Local Executive Government Act 1999. (in consultation with and subject to review by appropriate O & S Committee)

10 Any function relating to contaminated land. Executive

11The discharge of any function relating to the control of pollution or the Executive management of air quality.

12 The service of an abatement notice in respect of a statutory nuisance. Non-executive (Head of Environmental Services, Director of Housing, Strategic Director (Operations))

13 The passing of a resolution that Schedule 2 to the Noise and Full Council Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 should apply in the City.

14 The inspection of the Authority's area to detect statutory nuisance. Non-executive (Head of Environmental Services, Director of Housing, Strategic Director (Operations))

Manchester 14 15 The investigation of any complaint as to the existence of a statutory Non-executive nuisance. (Head of Environmental Health, Director of Housing, Director of Operational Services)

17 Obtaining particulars of persons interested in land under Section 16 Non- of the Local Govt (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. executive (all chief officers)

18 Making agreements for the execution of highway works. Non- executive (Planning and Highways Committee, Head of Engineering)

19 The appointment of any individual - (a) to any office other than an (i) office in which he is employed by the authority (b) to any body other than Appointments i) The Authority ii) A Joint Committee of 2 or more Authorities or (c) to a to outside Committee or Sub-Committee of such a body, and the revocation of any bodies in such appointment. connection with executive functions - Executive (ii) Other appointments - Full Council, Committee or chief officer, as provided.

Manchester 15 Annex There are a number of functions in the Greater Manchester Act 1981 ('the Local Act') and the responsibility for the discharge of these functions should be as follows:

Full Council Functions • Section 11 Bye-laws as to Leisure Centres • Section 59 Bye-laws with regard to Certain Temporary Structures • Section 120 Market Bye-laws • Section 148 Art Galleries • Non executive functions to be discharged by the Licensing and Appeals Committee (and Relevant Chief Officer*) • Section 30 Hairdressers and Barbers • Section 32 Acupuncturists, Tatooists, Ear Piercers, Electrolysists etc • Section 34 Dust etc from Building Operations • Section 36 Power to Order Alteration of Chimneys • Section 43 Repair of Walls etc of Yards • Section 48 Artificial Lighting Inhabitable Rooms etc • Section 49 Trees impeding Natural Light to Houses, Shops and Offices • Section 50 Weatherproofing of Property • Section 53 Prohibition of Interference with Bird Traps • Section 54 Dealings in Second Hand Goods • Section 55 Safety of Ceilings in Bingo Halls • Section 58 Safety of Stands • Section 60 Touting, Hawking, Photographing etc • Sections 61-66 Fire Precautions • Sections 67-73 Storage of Flammable Material • Sections 74-81 Entertainment Clubs • Section 117 Power to Compound to Payment of Tolls • Section 118 Power to District Council to require information • Section 119 As in Public Meetings etc • Section 136-144 Night Cafes in Manchester • Section 167 Signs on Vehicles [* See Terms of Reference of Licensing and Appeals ]

Manchester 16 Non-Executive Functions to be discharged as indicated • Section 24 Provision of Trees and Shrubs (Planning and Highways Committee and Strategic Director (Operations)) • Section 61-66 Fire Precautions (Head of Planning) • Section 149 Manchester Central Art Gallery (Art Galleries Committee and Director of Art Galleries and Museums Services)

Functions of the Executive • Section 12 Closure of Parks • Section 13 Provision of Parking Places in Parks, etc • Section 14 Provision of Vehicles in Parks etc • Section 15 Contribution towards Provision of Recreational Facilities • Section 21 Recovery of street Works Charges Where Owner Unknown • Section 22 Street Numbers • Section 23 Interference with Property of Local Authorities etc • Section 26 Prohibition of Parking of Goods Vehicles in Residential Streets • Section 27 Control of Verges • Section 28 Temporary Stoppage of Footpaths and Bridleways • Section 29 Vesting of Former highway Land • Section 35 Carrying or Storage of Waste Food • Section 37 Control of Rats and Mice • Section 38 Powers of Entry for Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 • Section 42 Control of Stray Dogs • Section 44 Temporary Repair of Defective premises • Section 47 Urgent Repairs to Water, Gas and Electricity apparatus • Section 98-106 Aviation • Section 152 North Western Museum of Science and industry • Section 162 Restriction on the use of Armorial Bearings • Section 163 Unauthorised Activities on Playing Fields (education) • Section 164 Pedal Cycles • Section 165 Prohibition of Entry of Goods Vehicles in Front Gardens • Section 166 Hackney Carriage Fares

Manchester 17

Part 8 - Management Structure

Chief Officers • Chief Executive* • Deputy Chief Executive / Strategic Director (Corporate Planning and Inclusion)* • Deputy Chief Executive / Strategic Director (Regeneration)* • City Treasurer / Strategic Director (Corporate Services)* • Director of Housing / Strategic Director (Community Services)* • Director of Works / Strategic Director (Operations)* • Chief Education Officer* • City Solicitor* • City Architect • Director of Art Galleries and Museums Services • Director of Hospitality and Trading Services • Director of Libraries and Theatres • Director of Operational Services • Director of Social Services • Head of Leisure [*Members of Strategic Management Team]

Manchester 18