Manchester UK
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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 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 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. 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 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.