Council Constitution

COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

2003

Revised February 2013

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COUNCIL CONSTITUTION

C O N T E N T S

/ Page No /
Part 1 /

Summary & Explanation

/ 1
Part 2 /

Articles of the Constitution

Article 1 /

The Constitution

/ 7
Article 2 /

Members of the Council

/ 9
Article 3 /

Citizens and the Council

/ 11
Article 4 /

The Full Council

/ 12
Article 5 /

Chairing the Council

/ 16
Article 6 /

Policy Development and Scrutiny

/ 17
Article 7 /

The Executive Committee

/ 22
Article 8 /

Regulatory and Other Committees

/ 24
Article 9 /

The Standards Committee

/ 25
Article 10 /

Area Arrangements

/ 27
Article 11 /

Joint Arrangements

/ 29
Article 12 /

Officers

/ 31
Article 13 /

Decision Making

/ 35
Article 14 /

Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters

/ 37
Article 15 /

Review and Revision of the Constitution

/ 38
Article 16 /

Suspension, Interpretation & Publication of the Constitution

/ 39
Schedule 1 /

Description of Executive Arrangements

/ 40
Part 3 /

Responsibility for Functions

Responsibility for Executive Functions

/ 43

Executive Committee's Terms of Reference

/ 45

Appointments Committee

/ 49

Audit Committee

/ 50

Council Tax Setting Committee

/ 51

Planning Committee

/ 52

Licensing Committee

/ 57

Regulatory Services Committee

/ 60

Standards Committee

/ 65

Policy and Scrutiny Committees

/ 67

Joint Arrangements

/ 68

Scheme of Delegation to Officers

/ 69

/ 91
Part 4 /

Rules of Procedure

Council Procedure Rules

/ 92

Access to Information Procedure Rules

/ 119

Budget & Policy Framework Procedure Rules

/ 129

Executive Committee Procedure Rules

/ 133

Policy and Scrutiny Committee Procedure Rules

/ 137

Financial Procedure Rules

/ 149

Contracts Procedure Rules

/ 217

Officer Employment Procedure Rules

/ 246
Part 5 /

Codes & Protocols

Members' Code of Conduct

/ 251

Officer Code of Conduct

/ 252

Planning Matters Guidance Note

/ 253

Protocol on Member/Officer Relations

/ 255

Local Code of Corporate Governance

/ 262
Part 6 /

Members' Allowances Scheme

/ 272
Part 7 /

Management Structure

/ 284
APPENDICES TO THREE RIVERS DISTRICT COUNCIL CONSTITUTION
page
APPENDIX
Part 2 /

Articles of the Constitution

Election of Chairman of the Council

/ 294
Part 3 /

Responsibility for Functions

Joint Shared Services Agreement

/ 295
West Herts Crematorium Joint Committee – terms of reference, membership etc / 335
Three Rivers Community Safety Forum – terms of reference / 351

Hertfordshire Highways Joint Member Panel

/ 353

Joint Staff Employer Forum

/ 360
Part 4 /

Rules of Procedure

Recruitment and Selection Policy and Procedure

/ 363

Disciplinary Policy and Procedure

/ 374

Grievance Policy and Procedure

/ 389

Bullying and Harassment Policy

/ 402

Managing Employee Performance and Capability

/ 409

Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy

/ 418

Whistleblowing Policy

/ 424

Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit Fraud Policy

/ 428

Sanctions Policy

/ 433

Non–Benefit Fraud

/ 437
Part 5 /

Codes and Protocols

Three Rivers District Council Members’ Code of Conduct

/ 451

Officer Code of Conduct

/ 456

Revised December 2012

Summary and Explanation

The Council’s Constitution

The Three Rivers District Council has agreed a new constitution 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 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.

What’s in the Constitution?

Article 1 of the Constitution commits the Council to provide informed community leadership in pursuit of the needs and aspirations of the wide diversity of individuals and communities it serves. 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 Council meeting (Article 4).

• Chairing the Council (Article5).

• Overview and scrutiny of decisions (Article 6).

• The executive (Article 7)

• Regulatory and other committees (Article 8).

• The Standards Committee (Article 9).

• Area 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

The Council is composed of 48 Councillors with one third elected three years in four. 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 all their Ward.

Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. The Standards Committee arranges training and advises Councillors 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. Every four years the Council appoints the Leader, who then appoints a Deputy Leader and may appoint an Executive Committee of between 2 and 9 councillors and allocate to them specific areas of responsibility (Portfolios). The Council also appoints committees each year to handle non-executive business. The Council holds the Leader, the Executive Committee and the other committees to account. It will also hold debates on issues which affect the District generally. The Leader can make an oral report on relevant District matters. Members of the public may, on notice, put written questions to Council.

How Decisions are Made

The Leader is responsible for most day-to-day policy decisions. The Leader has delegated his/her executive functions to an Executive Committee appointed by the Leader, which is made up of the Leader and up to 9 councillors representing the Political Groups existing at the time, who nominate their own representatives, to individual Portfolio Holders and to officers. In this Constitution the phrase Leader/Executive Committee is used with this meaning. When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Council’s forward plan in so far as they can be anticipated. If these major decisions are to be discussed with council officers at a meeting of the Executive Committee, this will generally be open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. The Leader/Executive Committee has to make decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If they wish to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide.

Policy and Scrutiny Committees

There are four Policy and Scrutiny Committees which support the work of the Leader/Executive Committee and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have access in Council matters by holding inquiries in public into matters of local concern. These lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Leader/Executive Committee and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Policy and Scrutiny Committees may also be consulted by the Leader/Executive Committee or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy. The Policy and Scrutiny Committees monitor the decisions of the Leader/Executive Committee and can ‘call-in’ a decision which has been made by the Leader/Executive Committee but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the Leader/Executive Committee reconsider the decision.

Revised April 2011

The Council’s Staff

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 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 procedures. The Council or local Citizens’ Advice Bureau can advise on individuals’ legal rights. 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, its committees and Panels except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;

• petition either electronically or in print to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive;

• participate in any public question time sessions introduced by the Council or committees and contribute to investigations by the committees;

• find out, from the Council’s forward plan, what major decisions are to be discussed by the Leader/Executive Committee or decided by the Leader/Executive Committee or officers, and when;

• see reports and background papers, and any record of decisions made by the Council and Leader/Executive Committee;

• make a compliment, a comment or complaint to the Council about the way we provide our services;

• 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 your rights as a citizen, please contact the Democratic Services Manager. Citizens’ rights to inspect agendas and reports and to attend meetings are set out in the Council’s Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution.

Revised April 2011

Part 2

Articles of the Constitution

Article 1 – The Constitution

1.01 Powers of the Council

The Council will exercise all its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution.

1.02 The Constitution

This Constitution, and all its appendices, is the Constitution of the Three Rivers District Council.

1.03 Purpose of the Constitution

The Council exists to serve the people who live and work in the District of Three Rivers. The Council has set itself a guiding vision that “Three Rivers should be a prosperous, safe and healthy place where people want and are able to live and work.”

The Council’s long-held vision is that the District should remain a prosperous, safe and healthy place where people want and are able to live and work.

The purpose of the authority is therefore well expressed in the seven core aims, which the Council has adopted in pursuit of that vision and which underpin corporate planning in the authority. They are: -

1. Protect and enhance the environment

2. Give the vulnerable a better deal

3. Develop safe, secure communities

4. Achieve open, accessible and effective government

5. Support the sustainable development of the local economy and promote prosperity for all

6. Provide quality services that meet local needs and provide value for money

7. Be a good employer

Revised April 2011

Three Rivers is however an area of contrasts. Located on the edge of London, with urban, suburban and rural areas including some green belt, it includes some of the wealthiest wards in Hertfordshire and also some of the most deprived.

In response to the inevitable diversity of needs and aspirations that are to be found in such circumstances, the Council works with a wide range of partners on both District wide and locality specific initiatives, providing informed community leadership.

Elected Members have therefore long felt it important to adopt an inclusive approach to local government for Three Rivers, an ethos that guides the Constitution and is seen reflected in the membership of the Executive Committee.

The purpose of the Constitution for Three Rivers District Council then is to:

1. enable the Council to provide clear leadership to all its communities in partnership with citizens, businesses and other organisations able to contribute;

2. facilitate and encourage the active involvement of all citizens in the process of local authority decision making;

3. help councillors represent all their constituents more effectively;

4. enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively;

5. create a powerful and effective means of holding decision-makers to public account;

6. ensure that no one will review or scrutinise a decision in which they were directly involved;

7. ensure that those responsible for decision making are clearly identifiable to local people and that they explain the reasons for decisions; and

8. provide a means of improving the delivery of services to all parts of the community.

1.04 Interpretation and Review of the Constitution

Where the Constitution permits the Council to choose between different courses of action, the Council will always choose that option which it thinks is closest to the greatest number of the purposes stated above, provided it is within its resources.

The Council will monitor and evaluate the operation of the Constitution as set out in Article 15.

Article 2 – Members of The Council

2.01 Composition and Eligibility

(a) Composition. The Council will comprise 48 members, otherwise called councillors. One or more councillors will be elected by the Local Government voters of each ward in accordance with The Local Government England and Wales The District of Three Rivers (Parishes and Electoral Changes) Order 1998 S11998 No 2556.