Local government- decision making Flashcards
(24 cards)
What are the three different types of council decision making models?
There are different models, including -
➢ Leader and Cabinet (executive model)
➢ Mayor and Cabinet (executive model)
➢ Committee system (fewer councils are using this system now)
What is standing orders?
Standing orders regulate the conduct of a local authority and how it makes decisions.
They are drawn up by each local authority and contained within the council’s constitution – which is available online.
➢ Standing orders cover –
✓ Decision-making style – executive model or
committee
✓ Frequency of meetings
✓ The number of councillors who must be present
for a decision – the quorum required
✓ Procedure in meetings
✓ Time limits for debate
✓ Voting procedure
✓ Composition and powers of the executive and of committees.
What are three types of council meetings?
Committee meetings –
typically made up of a small number of councillors, reflecting the political make- up of the council.
They either make recommendations to the full council or make decisions (resolve) items.
They are often focused on one particular area – like planning.
Cabinet meetings – usually held by councils with an executive model of governance.
It is a meeting of the executive and generally just contains members of the majority party.
They make many of the major decisions for councils operating this model.
Full council – formal meeting of the authority attended by all councillors. Usually takes place about every eight weeks and is usually chaired by the chairman/mayor of the council
What are the executive models of decision making?
Leader & Cabinet – The full council elects a leader who then appoints and chairs the Cabinet. The leader is usually the leaer of the majority party on the council (a bit like our Prime Ministerial system).
Cabinets are typically made up of no more than 10 councillors, usually from the majority party (or coalition).
Each Cabinet member has a specific area of responsibility or “portfolio” – e.g. transport, housing, children and young people.
Decisions are usually taken by the Cabinet, small-sub groups or individual Cabinet members.
Key decisions must be made in public – those which are significant in terms of spending/impact.
Mayor & Cabinet – mayor elected by voters, Cabinet chosen by the mayor from the council.
They may, or may not, be a member of the majority party on the council.
The mayor is a key policy maker – and a political role.
The Cabinet operates in a similar way to the Cabinet in the leader & Cabinet model.
Scrutiny – The job of councillors outside the executive is to scrutinise the executive, represent their electorate and approve prescribed functions – decisions the Government has decided must be decided by the full council.
The executive makes recommendations for prescribed items (overall policy, budgets and regulatory/legislative functions) which the cabinet then agrees or amends. All principal local authorities must have at least one scrutiny committee.
They reflect the political balance of the authority.
They review decisions/policies and can require people to give evidence.
Other regulatory committees may be set up to deal with issues such as planning and licensing.
What is the committee system?
Councils used to make decisions using this system – now it is usually those with populations under 85,000.
➢ Councillors from all political parties take part in the decision-making process, not just those from the majority party.
➢ Committees consist of councillors chosen by their colleagues and generally reflect the political make-up of the council.
➢ Committees have two main roles –
To do prep work and make recommendations to the full council
To make decisions (resolve an item) without referral to the full
council under delegated powers.
Most councils using the committee system have an “elite” committee
called the policy and resources committee (or similar) which decides on general policy, finance and personnel allocations and plays a key role in setting budgets.
This committee is usually made up of the chairs of other committees, leading opposition councillors and chaired by the leader of the council.
Full council meetings are usually held every 6-8 weeks, chaired by the
mayor or chairman of the council.
It considers recommendations from committees, accepts reports,
questions committee chairs, gives councillors the chance to raise issues
and sets the council tax and budgets.
Councils with an executive model of governance also hold full council
meetings to decide on prescribed items.
What are some pros and cons of the executive and committee model?
Committee system
PROS: Specialisation Efficiency Time for thought More informal
CONS:
Time-wasting
Lack of clarity about decision-making Reduces influence of full council
PROS:
More efficient-decision-making Transparency Accountability
More time to work on behalf of constituents
CONS:
Divisive Ineffective scrutiny Remote decision-making
What are the rules surrounding attending council meetings?
Anyone can attend a council meeting, although they may not be able to speak at it.
➢ Journalists and members of the public have the right to visit council offices to inspect agendas, minutes and relevant
documents relating to decisions (in reality a lot of these are published online or can be requested).
➢ Journalists also have rights to see financial information – much is online as there is a duty on local authorities to publish it.
➢ The media has the right to attend full council, cabinet, committee and sub-committee meetings, but can be excluded if an item is confidential or exempt.
➢ A confidential item is one that contains secret information (i.e. from government departments) or for legal reasons.
➢ Exempt items require a motion to be proposed and seconded before a vote to exclude is taken. These items could be about an
individual, sensitive financial or business information, or related to legal proceedings.
➢ Meetings can be divided into “open” and “closed” but occasionally the media and public may be excluded for individual items that require urgent consideration during the open section.
➢ In 2014, the government published a new order giving journalists the right to film and tweet from council meetings.
➢ Journalists reporting on council meetings are usually protected by qualified privilege (part 2 – right or reply by way of explanation or contradiction).
What are the different types of mayors?
There are different types of mayors.
Elected mayors use a preferential voting system
(candidates put in order of preference) for a four-year term.
➢ The mayor is a key policy decision-maker, not just a
figurehead – and it is a political role.
metro mayors
-leading combined authorities.
The Mayor of London is also elected, under different
legislation.
➢ Boroughs and cities often have ceremonial mayors or even
lord mayors – do not confuse them with elected mayors!
Ceremonial mayors are elected for a one-year term by their
fellow councillors.
It is an honour, usually recognising long service and is a
ceremonial post to represent the community.
➢ The role is non-party political and the mayor usually chairs full
meetings, rules on points of order and ensures fair play.
What is a council leader and a committee chairman?
All local authorities, other than those with elected mayors, have council leaders.
➢ The leader is the chair of the Cabinet (or policy and resources committee) and
usually leads in terms of policy
➢ The role is political
➢ All authorities, including those using an executive model, will have at least some committees and these committees will have a chair.
➢ Committee chairs are usually members of the majority party.
➢ They have a dual role – as politically impartial chairs they will call speakers, rule on points of order etc and as members of the majority party they will lead in terms of policy.
What is a councillor?
Elected politicians to decide on policy, elected for a four-year term
Councillors perform three key roles –
✓ Political (public service and social change)
✓ Representative (of the electorate in their ward/area)
✓ Executive (collective responsibility/accountability)
What is an officer?
Appointed officials (like civil servants in central government)
What is the qualification to stand as a councillor?
British or Commonwealth citizen.
At least 18 years old.
Registered to vote in the area or have lived/worked/owned property there for at least 12 months before an election.
Can’t work for the relevant council
Must not be disqualified through bankruptcy restrictions/convicted of corrupt practices by an election court/subject to a sex offence order.
Must not have been sentenced to prison for at least three months (inc suspended sentence) in the five years before election day.
How do you stand as councillor?
Those standing for a political party need to be a party member and go through the selection process.
To become nominated as a candidate, a completed set of nomination papers have to go to the council by 4pm of the 19th working day before the election.
A candidate needs 10 signatures from ten registered voters in the ward they intend to stand in.
What is the allowances for a councillor?
All councillors except parish councillors are paid allowances.
➢ Each council decides how much to pay and must publish this information.
➢ Councillors receive a basic allowance – a flat-rate payment usually ranging from £8,000-£15,000 a year.
➢ The local authority may also pay –
✓ A special responsibility allowance – paid to
senior councillors such as party leaders, Cabinet
members, committee chairs
✓ Childcare or dependents allowance – for those
who need carers while they attend meetings
✓ Councillors may also be able to claim travel and
subsistence allowances where necessary.
What is the independent remuneration panels?
Each local authority has to set up an remuneration panel made up of three people independent of the council to recommend the basic allowance for members, what duties should attract the special responsibilities allowance, and how much, whether the childcare and dependents allowance should be paid, and how much.
➢ The councillors then decide how much to pay themselves, “paying regard” to the recommendations – they don’t have to stick to this.
➢ Once they have voted to agree payments, these must be published.
➢ At the end of a financial year, each council must published a list stating how much has
been paid to each member, for each allowance. It must be available for public inspection.
➢ All councils have to publish a range of information (usually on their website), including spending over £500 as well as information such as new contracts, salaries of senior staff and organisational charts.
What are members interests?
Councillors are required to register and declare their “interests” – failure to do so is a criminal offence. This includes matters such as their employer, land/buildings they own, shares above a certain amount, gifts received The register is drawn up by the monitoring officer.
Members are required, during meetings, to declare any conflicts of interest. There are two types -
Personal interest – defined as “an interest that is registered but is unlikely to prejudice the councillor’s judgement”.
The councillor must declare the interest but remain in the meeting, speak and vote.
Prejudicial interests - defined as “an interest which would be reasonably regarded as being so significant that it is likely to prejudice the councillor’s judgement”.
The councillor must declare the interest, leave the meeting for that item, not take part in the discussion or vote.
What are councillors abided by to behave by?
Traditionally councillors have had to abide by a code of conduct based on national guidelines which require them to –
✓ Treat people with respect
✓ Register and declare interests
How can you report if a councillor breaches a code?
monitoring officer or standards committee
What is the standards committee responsible for ?
Local standards committees are made up of councillors and non-councillors and oversee ethical issues, give advice and guidance on the code and decide on action if someone has broken the code.
What is the role of a council officer?
Council officers are paid staff of local authorities.
➢ Senior local government officers can command large salaries – with some chief execs earning over
£200,000 a year – which has led to controversy in the past (should they be paid more than the PM?)
➢ With cuts to local government funding, there have been significant job losses and councils have
been encouraged to share senior staff.
➢ Senior officers are like civil servants (though do not call them this!) – they are non-political and serve
all councillors.
➢ They are meant to offer factual honest advice.
➢ They advice councillors on procedure and policy in meetings and prepare reports for cabinet
members and councillors – often making recommendations on decisions to take.
➢ Reports are available before meetings and are used by journalists for stories and to interview
people.
➢ Senior officers are also responsible for the day-to-day running of their departments.
➢ In most cases, a council is free to decide what officers to appoint, and titles differ. There are some
key roles. Officers in politically restricted posts (e.g. senior positions, press officers) cannot become councillors in another authority, hold posts in political parties or speak publicly on political issues.
What is a chief executive ?
Local authorities appoint a chief executive as the senior officer. They may also be called the clerk, principal officer
They are the leader of the management team, principal adviser to the council on policy and have a duty to report on co-ordination of functions and staffing. It is a politically-restricted post.
What is a monitoring officer?
warns councillors of any action which may be illegal, against the code of conduct or could lead to a critical report from the local government ombudsman. An officer has to be appointed by law, It is usually the chief legal officer
What is the treasure/chief financial officer?
is a post every local authority must have by law. They are financially qualified and advise on proposed expenditure, how to finance it etc.
Who is the director of children’s services.
By law, all local authorities responsible for education and children’s services must have one.
