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We were one of the first District Councils in England to adopt an Executive structure before the Local Government Act 2000.
A Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council and seven other councillors are appointed annually to form the Executive. They are responsible for delivering the policies set by the Council as a whole and take most of the day-to-day decisions. They make recommendations to the Council on strategic and major policies, the budget and council tax levels. Each councillor on the Executive, except the Leader, has a portfolio with responsibility for different areas of the Council.
A Forward Plan listing the key decisions is usually published on the 14th of every month and covers a 25-month period.
Councillors who are not on the Executive sit on the overview and scrutiny committees. There are currently two of these committees that review all aspects of the Council's activities, policies and performance and scrutinise the actions of the Executive, to ensure the Council is delivering what local people want. They are entitled to "call in" a decision made by the Executive to examine it before it is actioned, except recommendations to the Council.
Councillors also sit on Planning and Licensing Committees to decide all planning and licensing applications. A Standards Committee, with two independent non-councillor members as chairman and vice chairman, oversees ethical and probity issues.
Forthcoming dates for Council, Executive and Committee meetings can be found on the Committee Information Page where you can also find copies of the agendas and minutes of the meetings.
There are several opportunities for direct public participation in Council meetings.
Firstly there is a public question time at the start of all Council meetings. This enables any person to ask the Leader of the Council a question about the Council's activities or issues that affect the Borough. The only condition is that they have given a copy of their question to the Chief Executive's office by noon three working days prior to the day of the meeting.
Secondly, when the Council is considering a recommendation made to it by the Executive or a committee, any resident can put forward his or her views on the issues involved by addressing the Council before it discusses the recommendation and makes a decision. Again any one wishing to do this simply has to notify the Chief Executive's office by noon on the day of the Council meeting.
Thirdly the Council now has a procedure to enable petitions to be presented formally at Council meetings and for the person presenting the petition to address the Council for a maximum of three minutes. Again any one wishing to do this simply has to notify the Chief Executive's office by noon on the day of the Council meeting.
There are also different arrangements for public speaking at meetings of the Planning Committee in support or against applications.
Communicating and consulting with local residents on future plans and key local issues is a continuing priority for the Council. At the centre of the Council's consultation structure are five Area Forums covering Staines/Laleham, Stanwell/Stanwell Moor, Ashford, Shepperton and Sunbury. These normally meet twice yearly and provide a platform for informal discussions with residents, to seek their views and comments on key local issues.
For further information the councillors can be contacted directly or to arrange to ask a question or speak at a Council meeting please contact Richard Powell.
Useful Links
LGANet
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM)
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