Constitution and decision making

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.

The Council appoints the members of the Cabinet and holds it to account. The Cabinet is made up of the Leader of the Council together with eight other councillors. 

The Council appoints the members of the Scrutiny Committee and all other council committees – for example, the Standards Committee and the Planning Applications Committee. The Council considers recommendations made to it by the Cabinet and the Scrutiny Committee and its Panels as to any changes in policy which might need to be made.

Council meetings provide an opportunity for residents and councillors to ask questions and raise issues.

How are decisions made?

The Cabinet is the part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. When key decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Cabinet’s forward plan.

If these key 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 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.