Council Constitution Summary
CONSTITUTION OF SPELTHORNE BOROUGH COUNCIL
PART 1 – Summary and Explanation
The Council's Constitution
The constitution is the framework within which the Council operates. It sets out how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed. Some of these processes are required by the law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.
What’s in the Constitution?
The Constitution is divided into 16 articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council’s business. More detailed procedures and codes of practice are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document.
Article 1 of the Constitution sets out the Council’s key aims in preparing the Constitution. Articles 2-16 explain the rights of the public and how the key parts of the Council operate. These are:
How the Council operates
The Council is composed of 39 councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. Their overriding duty 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 trains and advises them on the code of conduct.
All councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. It is at Council meetings that councillors decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each year. The Council appoints a councillor as its Leader every year and appoints other councillors to work with the Leader to form the Executive. The Council appoints other committees to deal with issues which the Executive cannot undertake. The Council has agreed procedures to enable the public to take part in Council meetings by asking councillors questions, presenting petitions and also commenting on matters being discussed by the Council before it makes decisions. The procedures are set out in Standing Orders (See Part 4).
HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE
The Executive is the part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. The Executive is made up of the Leader, Deputy Leader and four other councillors. When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Executives’ forward plan in so far as they can be anticipated. These major decisions are made at meetings of the Executive, which are open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. The Executive has to make decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. Whilst it has some flexibility to increase the budget, if it wishes to make a decision outside this or the policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide.
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY
There are 2 overview and scrutiny committees who support the work of the Executive and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by considering matters of local concern. They can make reports and recommendations which advise the Executive and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Overview and scrutiny committees also monitor the decisions of the Executive. They can ‘call-in’ a decision which has been made by the Executive but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the Executive reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by the Executive or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.
In order to give local citizens a greater say in council affairs, 5 area forums have been created. These cover Ashford, Shepperton, Staines and Laleham, Stanwell and Sunbury. They involve councillors for each particular area and meet twice a year to enable local residents and organisations to raise issues of local concern and hear about issues which affect their local area and Spelthorne generally.
The Council’s Staff
The Council employs people (called ‘officers’) to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to-day delivery of its services. Some officers have a specific duty to ensure that the Council acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. A code of practice governs the relationships between officers and members of the Council.
Citizens’ Rights
Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings 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. The local Citizens’ Advice Bureau can advise on individuals’ legal rights.
Where members of the public use specific council services, they may have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.
Citizens have the right to:
- vote at local elections if they are registered on the electoral roll;
- contact their local councillor about any matters of concern to them;
- attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;
- ask questions at Council meetings;
- find out, from the Executive’s forward plan, what major decisions are to be discussed by the Executive or decided by the Executive or officers, and when;
- attend meetings of the Executive where key decisions are being discussed or decided;
- see reports and background papers, and any record of decisions made by the Council and Executive;
- complain to 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 procedure;
- complain to the Standards Board for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a councillor has not followed the Council’s Code of Conduct;
- inspect the Council’s accounts and make their views known to the external auditor;
- petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive; and
- obtain a copy of the Constitution;
The Council welcomes participation by its citizens in its work. For further information on your rights as a citizen, please contact the Head of Corporate Services.
