Rother District Council

THE COUNCIL'S CONSTITUTION

1. The Constitution of Rother District Council 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 law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.

2. The Constitution is divided into 16 Articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council's business.

3. More detailed procedures and codes of practice are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document.

WHAT IS IN THE CONSTITUTION?

4. Article 1 of the Constitution commits the Council to exercise all its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution. The Council's Mission Statement further commits the Council to "Working with the community to improve the overall well-being of the District".

5. Articles 2 – 16 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)

• Overview and Scrutiny Committees (Article 6)

• The Executive (Article 7)

• Regulatory and other Committees (Article 8)

• The Standards Committee (Article 9)

• Area Committees and Forums (Article 10)

• Joint Arrangements (Article 11)

• Officers (Article 12)

• Decision Making (Article 13)

• Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters (Article 14)

• Review and Revision of the Constitution (Article 15)

• Suspension, Interpretation and Publication of the Constitution (Article 16)

HOW THE COUNCIL OPERATES

6. The Council is currently composed of 38 Councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their Ward. The overriding 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.

7. Councillors have to agree to observe a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. It is the responsibility of the Standards Committee to train and advise them on the code of conduct.

8. 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 Leader and Members of the Cabinet. It holds to account the Executive and other Committees of the Council. Periods of up to 30 minutes are allowed for both members of the public and Members of the Council to ask questions of the Executive. At the instigation of the Leader of the Cabinet, meetings of the Council may include the opportunity for informal debate on a specified issue affecting the governance of the District, arising otherwise than out of the formal reports presented to the Council. Provision also exists for an annual State of the District debate to be held.

HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE

9. The Executive is the part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. The Executive is to be made up of the Leader and 7 other Members of the Council. It may, however, appoint as required up to a maximum of 9 Members to the Cabinet.

10. When key decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Executive's forward plan in so far as they can be anticipated. Key decisions include any Executive decision which is likely to result in the local authority incurring expenditure which is, or the making of savings which are, significant (£100,000) having regard to the local authority's budget for the service or function to which the decision relates; or be significant in terms of its effect on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more wards in the area of the local authority. If these key decisions are to be discussed with council officers at a meeting of the Executive, this will be open for the public to attend except where exempt information or confidential matters are being discussed. The Council has also decided that all other meetings where decisions other than key decisions are to be taken will also be open for the public to attend, again save only where exempt information or confidential matters are to be discussed. The Executive has to make decisions which are in line with the Council's overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide.

OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY

11. Two Overview and Scrutiny Committees support the work of the Executive and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters and will, where appropriate, consult the public on matters of local concern. The Overview and Scrutiny Committees conduct most of their detailed work through the formation of working parties / groups which consist of a smaller number of Councillors and other interested parties. These lead to reports and recommendations which advise Cabinet and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. The Overview and Scrutiny Committees also monitor the decisions of the Cabinet. They can 'call-in' a decision which has been made by Cabinet but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. For details of the call-in procedure see the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules at Part 4 of this Constitution.

12. They may recommend that Cabinet reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by the Cabinet or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.

AREA COMMITTEES OR FORUMS

13. Outside the area of Bexhill-on-Sea, three tiers of local government exist enabling the views of the public to be represented. In the absence of a Parish or Town Council in Bexhill-on-Sea to represent their views and in order to give Bexhill citizens an equal say in council affairs, the Bexhill Town Forum has been created. The Forum has no executive decision-making powers. All meetings of the Forum are held in public and comprise local organisations representing the community, voluntary and business sectors of the town, together with an open invitation to all elected District Members and the County Councillors for the Bexhill County Electoral Divisions.

THE COUNCIL'S STAFF

14. The Council employs staff ("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

15. Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. These are set out 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.

16. Members of the public using specific Council services may also have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.

17. 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, Cabinet, Committees and Sub-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 question time and contribute, by invitation, to investigations by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees;

• find out, from the Executive's forward plan, what key decisions are to be discussed by the Executive or decided by the Executive or officers, and when;

• attend public meetings of the Executive when both key and non-key decisions are being discussed or decided;

• see reports and background papers, and any records of decisions made by the Council and Executive, excluding exempt or confidential information;

• complain to the Council if they are dissatisfied with the action or lack of action taken by the Council on a matter which is the Council's responsibility in accordance with the Council's Corporate Complaints Procedure;

• 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 Standards for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a Councillor has not observed the Members' Code of Conduct; and

• inspect the Council's accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.

18. The Council welcomes participation by its citizens in its work. For further information on your rights as a citizen, please contact the Council's Democratic Services Section at the Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea, TN39 3JX (tel. 01424 787811; e-mail: democraticservices@rother.gov.uk or visit the Council's Website at www.rother.gov.uk.

• Print This Page