Norfolk County Council Constitution 2021
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Constitution Version: Agreed at Council 190421, formatted for website Index Executive summary Page 4 Articles of the Constitution Article 1: The Constitution Page 7 Article 2: Members of the Council Page 8 Article 3: The public and the Council Page 20 Article 4: The Full Council Page 21 Article 5: Overview and scrutiny bodies Page 23 Article 6: The Executive Page 28 Article 7: Regulatory and other committees Page 34 Article 8: Joint Arrangements Page 35 Article 9: Officers Page 36 Article 10: Decision making Page 41 Article 11: Finance, contracts and legal matters Page 44 Article 12: Review and revision of the Constitution Page 46 Article 13: Suspension and publication of the Constitution Page 47 Appendices Appendix 1: Summary of executive arrangements Page 48 Appendix 2: Composition, TOR of Regulatory and Other Committees Page 49 Appendix 2A: Statutory scrutiny Page 57 Appendix 3: Delegations to members of the executive Page 65 Appendix 4: Joint arrangements Page 68 Appendix 5: Scheme of delegated powers to officers Page 75 Appendix 6: Proper officer provisions Page 111 Appendix 7: Council procedure rules Page 114 Appendix 8: Committee procedure rules Page 129 Appendix 9: Cabinet procedure rules Page 141 Appendix 10: Overview and scrutiny procedure rules Page 146 Appendix 11: Councillor call for action CCfA guidance Page 148 Appendix 12: Budget and policy framework procedure rules Page 152 Appendix 13: Access to information procedure rules Page 158 Appendix 14: Officer employment procedure rules Page 165 Appendix 15: Financial regulations Page 172 Appendix 16: Contract standing orders Page 215 Appendix 17: Register of Members’ Interest and Members' code of conduct Page 234 Appendix 18: Planning procedures - code of best practice Page 246 Appendix 19: Members protocol for contracts and purchasing Page 254 Appendix 20: Standards committee - rules of procedure for hearings Page 258 Appendix 21: Protocol on Member/Officer relations Page 262 Appendix 22: Principles and protocols for dealing with the media Page 268 Appendix 23: Members allowances scheme Page 274 Appendix 24: Procedure for appointing Members to serve on internal and Page 288 external bodies Appendix 25: Corporate management structure Page 289 Appendix 26: Public speaking at committees Page 290 Appendix 27: Monitoring Officer Protocol Page 292 Appendix 28: Protocol for use of media equipment at meetings held in Page 297 public County Council Constitution – Executive Summary 1. Introduction This Constitution reflects the Council’s decision on 10 December 2018 to adopt a Leader and Cabinet form of Executive. It came into effect on 07 May 2019 and has been updated since by decisions of Council and under delegations to the Director of Governance. This Constitution 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. 2. Overview How the Council operates The Council is composed of 84 Councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their electoral division. 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 advises them on the code of conduct. 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 and up to nine other Councillors whom the Leader appoints. Together they are known as the Cabinet. When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Cabinet's 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 Cabinet, this will generally be open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. The Cabinet has to make decisions which are in line with the Council's overall budget and the policy framework. 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. Overview and Scrutiny There is a Scrutiny Committee and three Select Committees which together constitute the Council's overview and scrutiny arrangements pursuant to section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000. The Scrutiny Committee monitors the decisions made by the Cabinet, officers making executive decisions on delegated authority and other decisions. The Scrutiny Committee can 'call-in' a decision which has been made by the Cabinet but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the decision maker reconsiders the decision. The Select Committees develop policies and advise the Council or Cabinet on forthcoming decisions. The Select Committees discharge this function through requiring reports to be produced for their consideration, commissioning further work as necessary and reporting to Cabinet and Council. The Select Committees may carry out elements of “scrutiny” in so far as it relates to developing policy, by considering what has worked well, or less well, in the past. The Norfolk Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee includes both County and District Councillors and has powers to scrutinise National Health Service bodies in Norfolk. The role and powers exercised by the Norfolk Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee are detailed in Appendix 2A. The Council's Staff The Council employs officers to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to- day delivery of its services including making decisions delegated to them. Some officers have a specific duty to ensure that the Council acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. A protocol governs the relationship between officers and Members of the Council. The Public's Rights The public have a number of rights in their dealing 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. Members of the public have the right to: • vote at local elections if they are registered; • contact their local Councillor about any matters of concern to them; • obtain a copy of the Constitution; • attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed; • petition to request a referendum on different form of Executive; • ask questions • speak at meetings of the Planning (Regulatory) Committee • find out, from the Cabinet's forward plan, what major decisions are to be discussed by the Cabinet or decided by the Cabinet or officers, and when; • attend meetings of the Cabinet where key decisions are being discussed or decided; • see reports and background papers, and any record of decisions made by the Council and Cabinet; • complain to the Council about any dissatisfaction they have with an action or lack of action by the Council; • 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 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. 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 conferred on them by law. Article 1 – The Constitution 1.1 Powers of the Council Norfolk County Council will exercise all its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution. 1.2 The Constitution This Constitution, and all its appendices, is the Constitution of the Norfolk County Council. 1.3 Purpose of the Constitution The Purpose of the Constitution is to: i. enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively; ii. create a powerful and effective means of holding decision makers to public account; iii. ensure that no one will review or scrutinise a decision in which they were directly involved; iv. ensure that those responsible for decision making are clearly identifiable to local people and that they explain the reasons for decisions; v. support the active involvement of the public in the process of local authority decision- making; vi. provide a means of improving the delivery of services across Norfolk; vii. help Councillors represent their constituents effectively; viii. enable the Council to provide clear leadership to the community in partnership with the people of Norfolk, District, Town and Parish Councils, businesses and other organisations; and ix. to set out the respective responsibilities of members and officers of the Council and how they inter-relate. 1.4 Application and Review of the Constitution Where the Constitution permits the Council to choose between different courses of action, the Council will aim to choose that option which it thinks is closest to the purposes stated above. The Council will monitor and evaluate the operation of the Constitution as set out in Article 14. Article 2 – Members of the Council 2.1 Composition and Eligibility Composition. The Council comprises 84 Members, otherwise called Councillors. One Councillor is elected by the voters of each electoral division in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Local Government Commission and approved by the Secretary of State.