Local government- decision making Flashcards
What is a councils arrangements for decision making called?
their ‘governance’
What is a standing order?
A standing order regulates a local authority and it’s decision making process.
They are drawn up by each local authority and contained within the council’s constitution and available online.
A standing order covers
-the local authority’s decision making model
-frequency of meetings,
-the number of councillors who must be present for a decision to be made (the quorum required).
What types of council meetings are there?
Full council meeting-formal meeting of the authority, attended by all councillors and usually happen once every eight weeks.
It is usually chaired by the chairmen/mayor of the council.
Committee meetings-typically made up of a small amount of councillors that reflect the political make up of that council. They normally make recommendations to the full council or resolve items.
They are often focused on one particular area-planning.
Cabinet meetings- usually held by councils with an executive model of governance. They normally consist of the executive and generally contains members of the majority party. They make many of the major decisions operating in this model.
What is the executive model of governance, the leader and cabinet?
The full council elects a leader who appoints the chair of cabinet, the chair of the cabinet is usually the leader of the majority party in the council.
-cabinets are usually made up from no more than 10 councillors in the majority party on the council
-Each cabinet member has a specific area of responsibility e.g transport
Decisions are usually taken by the cabinet or sub groups, any major decisions with impact and spending should be made in public.
What is the mayor and cabinet model?
The mayor is elected and the cabinet is chosen by the mayor from the council.
There may not be a member of the majority party on the council.
The mayor is key policy maker (a political role) and the cabinet operates similarly to the cabinet and leader executive model.
What is the scrutiny?
The job of councillors outside the executive is to scrutinise the executive’s decisions and represent their electorate.
All local authorities must have one scrutiny committee.
They reflect the political balance and review policy and decisions.
What is the alternative model, the committee system?
This system is usually for populations with 85,000 or less.
Councillors from all parties take part in decision making not just the majority.
The committee members are selected by their colleagues and usually reflect the political make up of the council.
The two main roles for the committee are to do prep work and make recommendations to the full council and make decisions without referral to the full council under delegated powers.
Committee systems usually have an elite committee called the policy and resource committee. These make decisions on policy, finance and plays a key role in setting budgets.
Full council meetings, held every 6-8 weeks hear committee recommendations.
What are pros and cons of executive model?
