Public meetings

The Cabinet is responsible for carrying out the majority of the Council's functions and making all decisions (except those reserved to Council, the Standards Committee, Appeals Committee, Employment Committee and the Planning Applications Committees and those delegated to officers.) The decisions the Cabinet make must not conflict with the Council's approved policy. There are four Review Boards responsible for overview and scrutiny and monitoring the decisions made by the Cabinet.

Officers

Officers are paid employees of the Council. The role of an officer attending the Cabinet or Review Board meeting is to offer professional advice to councillors before decisions are made. The elected councillors make the decisions. A committee administrator also attends the meeting to take notes and records the outcome in the minutes.

Having your say

You can have your say on an issue before it goes to Council, Cabinet, a Review Board or a Committee by discussing it with your ward councillor and the councillors on the Cabinet or by sending comments to the relevant Council department.

You can find details of forthcoming key decisions to be made by Council and the Cabinet by viewing the forward plan (see the relevant documents section of this page).

You can attend the Council, Cabinet, Review Board and Committee meetings and listen to the discussions. At meetings of the Council, you may ask a question of a member of the Cabinet in public question time at the start of the meeting.

The question must be submitted in writing or by e-mail to the Head of Democratic Services no later than midday three working days before the Council Meeting. Each question must give the name and address of the questioner and the name of the organisation they represent (if applicable) and must name the councillor to whom it is put.

At any one meeting, no person may submit more than three questions and no more than three such questions may be asked on behalf on one organisation.

Questioners are invited to read their question at the meeting and may ask one supplementary question which arises directly out of the original question or the reply.

For more detailed information relating to public question time see pages D5 and D6 of the Constitution (see the relevant documents section of this page).

Agenda

The agenda is a list and order of things that will happen during the meeting. Copies of detailed reports from the officers are attached to the agenda. Copies of the agenda are available on the Council's website, at the Council's Offices and at libraries. Copies of the agenda are also available at the meeting on the seats set aside for the public.

What happens at the meeting?

The Chair opens the meeting and asks for any apologies for absence. The meeting then agrees the minutes of the last meeting and councillors are asked to declare any interests they may have in any items on the agenda. This is followed by the main business of the meeting.

Confidential items

If there are items that need to be discussed in private session, the meeting is able to vote to exclude the public and press from the meeting. These items are usually at the end of the agenda. The reasons for excluding the public and press are laid down in law and must be given to the public.

Call-In Procedure following a decision being made

When a decision is made by the Cabinet or with the authority of the Cabinet, any councillor may request that a decision be called in by the relevant Review Board for consideration and this will happen if five members of the Review Board indicate that they are in favour of calling in the decision.

For more detailed information relating to the call-in procedure see page H4 of the Constitution.