Council is responsible
for setting the Budget and Policy Framework. The Budget and Policy
Framework sets out the Council’s key policies and agreed
budget for each year. All decisions must be taken in accordance
with these agreed documents. Only Council can change the Budget and
Policy Framework. Council also sets the Council’s budget each
year.
Council also appoints
a number of committees to deal with regulatory and non- executive
functions such as Planning and Licensing. See details of the
Council’s Committees in Part 2).
Meetings of the
Council and other decision-making bodies are open to the public,
except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed
(see Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 3).
The Council has
adopted an executive form of governance. This means that the
Council appoints a Leader of the Council. The Leader then appoints
a minimum of 2 and no more than 9 other Councillors
who, together with the
Leader, form the Cabinet and are responsible for certain decisions
such as policy matters (including recommending the Budget and
Policy Framework to Council), housing, education, highways and
transport, social care, land and property and economic
regeneration.
Councillors that are
not part of the Cabinet are largely responsible for the scrutiny of
cabinet/ executive decisions and for making the types of decisions
which are not permitted to be made by the Cabinet and may sit on
the Council’s Committees.