Articles of the Constitution

Article 11 - Decision making

11.1 Responsibility for Decision making

The Authority operates a Committee system of governance and takes decision in accordance with section 101 and 102 of the Local Government Act 1972. The structure of the Authority is shown in Schedule 1.

The Monitoring Officer will issue and keep up to date a record of the types of decisions or decisions relating to particular areas or functions which are the responsibility of Full Council, delegated by Full Council to a Committee or Sub Committee or delegated to an Officer. This record is set out in Part 3 of this Constitution.

11.2 Types of Decisions

There are different decisions taken in the Authority’s name:

(a) Full Council Decisions – except when acting as a Tribunal (see below) a meeting of Full Council will follow the Council Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution when considering any matter

(b) Committee/Sub-Committee Decisions – Committees and Sub- Committees will follow those parts of Council Procedure Rules as set out in Part 4 of this Constitution as apply to them when making decisions.

11.3 Key Decisions

Some decisions are referred to as ‘Key Decisions’ and can be made by Full Council, a Committee or an Officer acting under delegated authority.

A key decision is a decision which falls within one or more of the following categories:

(a) any decision which is financially significant because it will result in income, expenditure or savings with a gross full year effect of £100,000 or greater;

(b) any decision which may have a significant impact on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards.

A decision is not defined as key in the following circumstances:

(a) a bid of £100,000 or greater for funding made by the Authority (subject to consultation with the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer and Section 151 Officer) to third parties provided that a report will be submitted for approval of the scheme and acceptance of the funding, should the bid be successful;

(b) expenditure which is inevitable (as defined by the Chief Executive) for the day to day provision of services (eg day to day supplies, payment of energy bills etc);

(c) a transaction which is carried out as part of the efficient administration of the Authority’s finances within the Authority’s agreed policies, e.g. Treasury Management activities;

(d) a decision to invite tenders or sign contracts shall not be treated as a key decision insofar as the purpose of the contract is to fulfil the policy intention of a key decision, implement an explicit policy within the approved budget or policy framework, implement a capital project named in the approved capital programme or provide for the continuation of an established policy or service

(e) a decision in which the essential characteristics of the proposal are included in the budget in sufficient detail to allow interested parties to understand it except where proposals have a material impact on those with protected characteristics, as defined in the Equality Act 2010 (as amended) and following a Single Impact Assessment, as determined by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council and relevant Policy Committee Chair;

(f) a decision which is a direct consequence of implementing a previous key decision, except where one of the tests above, has not previously been applied; and

(g) a decision in respect of an individual care package or a service response and associated expenditure for care and accommodation for an individual service users.

(h) Expenditure which is inevitable as a result of the Government providing a Section 31 grant (‘New Burden’ Funding) to help fund the impact of specific legislative commitments where there is no in year cost, or future commitment for the General Fund.

Before a Key Decision is taken, the procedure set out in Rule 17 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules must be followed.

11.4 Principles of Decision Making

All decisions will be made in accordance with the following principles:

(a) Proportionality (i.e. the action must be proportionate to the desired outcome);
(b) In accordance with the purposes of the Constitution;
(c) Having due consultation and the taking of professional advice from Officers;
(d) Respect for Human Rights and Equality and Diversity;
(e) Best Value;
(f) A presumption in favour of openness;
(g) Clarity of aims and desired outcomes;
(h) Due consideration of options available to the decision taker and outlining reasons for recommendations;
(i) Consideration of relevant matters only including any risks;
(j) Subsidiarity (i.e. delegation of decisions to the most appropriate level);
(k) Efficiency (i.e. decisions must not be unnecessarily delayed); and
(l) Reasonableness
(m) Consideration of the Legal and Financial Implications
(n) Consideration of any impact on Crime and Disorder
- (a) Consideration of the tackling of poverty inequality within the Borough and any impact on the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change.

11.5 Scrutiny and Other Decision Making

(a) Consideration of matters when undertaking statutory scrutiny responsibilities

A Committee undertaking statutory scrutiny functions will follow the Scrutiny Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution when considering any matter.

(b) Decision making by Authority bodies acting as tribunals

Full Council, a Committee or a Sub-Committee, an Elected Member or an Officer acting as a tribunal or in a quasi judicial manner or determining/considering (other than for the purposes of giving advice) the civil rights and obligations or the criminal responsibility of any person will follow a proper procedure which accords with the requirements of natural justice and the right to a fair trial contained in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

(c) Decision making in partnership with other bodies

Full Council, an Elected Member or an Officer acting through any partnership arrangement will follow such proper procedures which have been agreed with that body for the purposes of those arrangements.

11.6 Urgent Decisions

The Chief Executive (or in his/her absence the relevant Executive Director/Director), in consultation with the Leader (or in his/her absence the Deputy Leader), Chair of the relevant Committee (or in his/her absence Vice Chair(s), the Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer, may take a decision normally reserved to Full Council or a Committee where:

a) Failure to take the decision promptly would, or would be likely to, harm the interests of the Authority and/or the public.
b) The decision is of such urgency that it cannot be delayed to be considered at a meeting of Full Council or the relevant Committee with delegated authority.

Such decision must be taken in accordance with the urgent decision procedure set out at Part 3 (CE8 and CE9)

11.7 Record of decisions

All decisions of Full Council and its committees and sub-committees; and any officers exercising delegated powers will be recorded in accordance with Part 4 Access to Information Rules of Procedure.