Contact:
  • Democratic Services
  • Address:

    Riverside, Temple St, Keynsham, BS31 1LA

  • E-mail:
    democratic_services@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 394360
  • Fax:
    01225 394439
  • Minicom:
    n/a
  • Page Updated:
    22/11/2008
  • Author:
    Mike Curtis
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Councillors, Democracy and Elections

The Council's Working Arrangements

  • COUNCILLORS (often called “Members”) are elected, lay persons accountable to the electorate for their actions and performance.
  • OFFICERS are the Council’s paid, professional advisers and are accountable to councillors for their actions and performance.

These are over-simplistic descriptions.  The actual relationship between councillor and public and officer and councillor depends on the roles performed.

The Cabinet Model of Decision Making

There is a cabinet of councillors appointed by the Council.  This Cabinet is responsible for making all the Executive decisions required at member level.  These decisions may be made collectively or individually by the Cabinet Councillors. Executive decisions are those that are concerned with implementing major policies agreed by the Council and setting new service policies. The Council also appoints a councillor to be the Leader of the Council.

Each Cabinet member has a portfolio of responsibilities within which they may take personal decisions.  The Cabinet Councillors also lead discussions at meetings of the Cabinet and at full Council on matters falling within their portfolios.

The Council’s Constitution sets down how many Cabinet Councillors are to be appointed and the portfolio areas of responsibility they have.

The Cabinet is the supreme decision making body for dealing with the Council’s executive functions.  Its business cannot be referred to the Council for a “higher level” decision. However its decisions, and the way it makes them, is open to scrutiny from the internal overview and scrutiny bodies and from individual councillors (eg through the questioning process).

The Cabinet conducts its collective business at formal and open public meetings. Its meetings are generally held in the Guildhall, Bath unless otherwise advertised.

The business of the Cabinet meetings is published 5 working days in advance on an agenda which specifies the items to be considered at its meetings. There are reports from Officers with recommendations.  There are minutes produced following the meetings.

Key decisions

There is a legal requirement for the Council to publish in advance any decisions it is planning over a 4 month period that are categorised as “key” decisions. These are described in the Council’s Constitution as those decisions that have some significance in terms of financial or community impact.

The Executive Forward Plan is the mechanism for publishing these.

The Executive Forward Plan

Each month, Democratic Services (on the Leader’s behalf) publishes a Forward Plan of all Cabinet business.  This covers a rolling 4 month period and starts with the first of a month.  The Plan describes

  • the decisions planned
  • the type of decision
  • whether they are decisions by the Cabinet or an individual Executive Councillor
  • when the decision will be made
  • the Lead Officer
  • who will be consulted and when
  • how that consultation will be undertaken
  • any background papers to be used in decision making

This Plan is used by the overview and scrutiny bodies to identify any forthcoming business they might wish to comment on.  There is a legal requirement to publish this forward business.

Cabinet Councillor decisions ("Single member" decisions)

Details of these items are published in the Executive Forward Plan.  The reports and recommendations are then notified to all councillors in advance on a published Weekly List. Following a 5 day period of publicity, the Cabinet Member is then free to make the decision. That decision is then published in a Weekly List and a further 5 day period is allowed before the decision is actioned. This is to enable any ten Councillors to challenge ("call in") the decision or how it was reached.  The Constitution sets out this process in full.

See Cabinet Decision Register

The Full Council

The Full Council has responsibility for setting what is called the Policy and Budget Framework.  This is a collection of plans and strategies which describe how services covered by them are to be provided and may give some details.  The Cabinet and individual Cabinet Members can only operate within the Framework.  The Council also deals with matters relating to its Constitution (the rule book governing decision making and generally how the Council operates internally and with its other partner bodies).

Overview and Scrutiny

The Council is also required to establish Overview and Scrutiny committees.  In Bath & North East Somerset these are called Panels.

Overview and Scrutiny Panels are responsible for calling the Cabinet (the Cabinet and Cabinet Members) to account for the decisions they take and for helping the Cabinet to develop new policies. Panels can undertake specific reviews of policies, community impacts and decisions.

The Council’s Constitution sets down the agreed structure of overview and scrutiny bodies.

Regulatory Committees

There are a number of Regulatory and Non-Executive Committees. These Committees operate in much the same way as previously under the Committee structure on such matters as planning, licensing, public rights of way and standards.  Such matters fall outside the remit of the Cabinet.

Inspection of the Register of Interests:

 The Council is required by law to maintain available for public inspection a register which contains details of the declarations of interest of the Elected and Co-opted Members of this Council. This register can be inspected,  during normal office hours,  on request by contacting Vernon Hitchman, 3rd Floor, Riverside, Keynsham, Bristol BS31 1LA - Tel. 01225 - 395171.