The Council operates a Leader and Cabinet model of decision making.  Under this model, the Leader, Councillor Ian Bates, chairs a Cabinet which comprises eight other Councillors appointed by the Council.  All Cabinet Members are members of the majority Conservative Group.  The Cabinet takes most day-to-day decisions in line with the policy and strategic framework approved by the Council.  Part 3 of the Constitution describes which decisions can be taken by the Cabinet and which can be delegated to Council Officers (please see linked documents).

Each Member of the Cabinet has responsibility for a number of Council services.  Decisions can be taken by individual Cabinet Members in accordance with the Scheme of Delegation.

The Leader is required to publish a Forward Plan once a month (please see Related Documents).  This contains the significant or key decisions expected to be taken by the Cabinet in the forthcoming four-month period.  Key decisions are those likely to incur significant expenditure/result in significant savings or have a significant impact on those living or working in two or more wards.

The Cabinet meets every three weeks and all meetings are held in public.  The Agenda, Reports and Minutes are also publicly available.  (See our Meetings Section).

All decisions taken by the Cabinet and Cabinet Members are based on reports which must be published 5 clear working days before the meeting or decision is taken.  (See decisions link on the right hand side.)

Decisions taken by individual Executive Councilors must also be formally recorded and published.  On occasions, the Cabinet is required to consider reports which contain exempt or confidential information.  This means that Members of the public and press are required to leave the meeting during the consideration of this business.  Information which usually cannot be publicly disclosed is set out in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and is reproduced in the Constitution.

The decisions taken by the Cabinet are subject to call-in.  This is a mechanism which allows the Overview and Scrutiny Panels to challenge a decision within 5 working days of its publication.

The Council also has a range of non-executive decisions that need to be taken.  For example - determining planning and licensing issues.  The Council delegates these decisions to the Development Control and Licensing & Protection Panels.

Overview and Scrutiny

There are three Overview and Scrutiny Panels who support the work of the Cabinet and Council as a whole.  The Panels act as a 'critical friend' and are the main way by which the Cabinet is held to account for the decisions it takes. 

The Panels can 'call in' a decision which has been made by the Cabinet (but not yet implemented).  This enables the Panels to consider whether the decision is appropriate.  They may recommend that the issue is reviewed.  Once a decision has been called in the Cabinet Member responsible may be required to attend and answer questions put to them by the Overview and Scrutiny Panels.

The Panels allow residents and other stakeholders to have a greater say in Council matters by inviting their participation in selected studies on issues of local concern.  These can lead to reports to the Cabinet on future policy, the budget and service delivery. The Panels are also consulted by the Cabinet on the development of policy and the budget.

For an indication of the workload of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels during the previous year - view their Annual Report (available on the right hand side) and the dedicated Overview and Scrutiny pages.

The Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules are contained in Part 4 of the Constitution.  See our Meetings Section to view the Agenda, Reports and Minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels.