The Council’s Constitution
Alnwick District Council agreed at a meeting held on 9th April, 2002 a new Constitution to take effect from 21st May, 2002 which sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Some of these processes are required by the law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.
The Constitution is divided into 15 articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council’s business together with more detailed procedures and codes which are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document.
What is in the Constitution?
Article 1 of the Constitution commits the Council to provide clear community leadership and to ensure that it operates with transparency, efficiency and accountability. Articles 2-15 explain the rights of citizens and how the key parts of the Council operate. These are:
· Members of the Council (Article 2)
· Citizens and the Council (Article 3)
· The Full Council (Article 4)
· Chairing the Council (Article 5)
· Scrutiny and Overview Committees (Article 6)
· Executive and Regulatory Committees (Article 7)
· The Standards Committee (Article 8)
· Area Committees and Forums (Article 9)
· Joint Arrangements (Article 10)
· Officers (Article 11)
· Decision Making (Article 12)
· Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters (Article 13)
· Review and Revision of the Constitution (Article 14)
· Suspension, Interpretation and Publication of the Constitution (Article 15)
The following procedures, codes, etc. are also set out in the Constitution:
· Responsibility for Functions and Scheme of Delegation
· Rules of Procedure:
× Council Procedure Rules
× Access to Information Procedure Rules
× Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules
× Scrutiny and Overview Procedure Rules
× Financial Regulations
× Officer Employment Procedure Rules
· Codes and Protocols:
× Members’ Code of Conduct
× Employees’ Code of Conduct
× Protocol on Member/Officer Relations
· Members’ Allowances Scheme (as approved by Council)
· Management Structure
· Committee Structure
How the Council Operates
The Council is composed of 30 Councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. The over-riding duty of Councillors 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. Here Councillors decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each year. The Council appoints the Executive, Regulatory and Scrutiny and Overview Committees detailed later in the Constitution. It may hold Public Question Times and special public debates on matters of concern relating to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the District. It also acts as arbiter of last resort in the event of disputes between Committees or disagreements between an Executive or Regulatory Committee and a Scrutiny and Overview Committee.
How Decisions Are Made
Most policy decisions are made by Executive Committees. The Council has two Executive Committees – the Policy Executive Committee and the Operations Executive Committee.
The Policy Executive Committee deals with issues relating to finance, personnel, resources, land and property, asset management, budgets, the capital programme, Best Value, the Community Strategy, the Best Value Performance Plan, partnerships and community safety. The Operations Executive Committee deals with issues relating to housing, environmental health, planning policy, economic development, tourism, land charges, repairs and renewals, specific projects and joint working/service delivery, car parking, technical services. These remits may change from time to time to reflect the needs of the organisation and the community it serves.
The Council has two more decision-making Committees – the Development Control Committee, which deals with planning matters, and the Licensing Committee, which deals with licensing matters. The Development Control Committee is a Regulatory Committee whereas the Licensing Committee exercises both policy-making and regulatory functions.
Meetings of the Council’s Committees are open to the public except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed.
Scrutiny and Overview
There are two Scrutiny and Overview Committees who support the work of the Executive Committees and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by holding public inquiries into matters of local concern. These can lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Executive Committees and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Scrutiny and Overview Committees also monitor the decisions of the Executive Committees. They can ‘call-in’ a decision which has been made by an Executive Committee but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider the merits of a decision. They may recommend that the Executive Committee or full Council reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by Executive Committees on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.
The Council’s Employees
The Council has people working for it (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 protocol 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.
Where members of the public use specific Council services, for example as a Council tenant, they have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.
Citizens have the right to:
· Vote at local elections, if they are registered;
· Contact their local Councillor about any matters of concern to them;
· Obtain a copy of the Constitution;
· Attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;
· Petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive;
· Participate in the Council’s Public Question Time and contribute to investigations by the Scrutiny and Overview Committees ;
· Address committees within the provisions of the Public Speaking arrangements;
· Complain to the Council about any service provided by the Council by means of the Complaints Procedure, details of which are available at Council offices;
· 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 process;
· 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; and
· Inspect the Council’s accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.
The Council welcomes participation by its citizens in its work. For further information on rights as a citizen, please contact The Committee Section at Allerburn House, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1YY, Tel 01665 511212 or 511213 e-mail Customerservices@alnwick.gov.uk