Essex County Council is structured to allow the elected councillors to make decisions effectively, with a degree of oversight that, in addition to public scrutiny, ensures that decisions are made fairly and in the best interest of the people of the county.
The Council as a political decision making body can be divided into five main areas:
Although it is the elected councillors who are responsible for strategic decision making, the Council has people working for it (known as officers of the Council) to give advice, implement the decisions that are made 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 relationship between officers and members of the Council.
Residents' dealings with the Council
Residents have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. Some of these are legal rights, while others depend on the Council’s own procedures.
Residents have the right to:
- Vote at local elections if they are registered
- Contact their local councillor about any matters of concern to them.
- View a copy of the constitution
- Attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed
- Petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of cabinet
To contribute to investigations by overview and scrutiny committees
- Find out from the cabinet’s forward plan what major decisions are to be discussed by the cabinet or decided by cabinet members and when
- Attend meetings of the cabinet where decisions are being discussed or decided
- See reports and background papers and any record of decisions made by the Council and the cabinet
- Complain to the Council about any matters relating to its responsibilities with which they are dissatisfied. The Council has a complaints procedure details of which are available on request
- Complain to the Ombudsman if they think that 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 Council’s Standards Committee if they have evidence which they think shows that a Councillor has not followed the Council’s code of conduct
- Inspect the Council’s accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.
The Structure of Essex County Council
The Council is composed of 75 councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to the residents of their electoral division. 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.
Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. The Standards Committee trains and advises them on the code of conduct.
All councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are open to the public. Here councillors decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget for each year. The Council appoints the Leader of the Council and nine other councillors who together make up the Cabinet. It also appoints members to committees concerned with overview and scrutiny of the actions of the Cabinet and to deal with matters of a regulatory nature.
Role
- To be responsible for matters reserved to the Council by law
- To set a budget
- To determine corporate and service strategies, policies and standards
- To determine the political and officer structures of the Council
- To elect a leader of the Council
- To appoint the members of the Cabinet
- To appoint overview and scrutiny committees
- To adopt or amend the constitution
- To receive recommendations and reports from the cabinet and committees
- To debate issues of major significance in committee
- To adopt an allowances scheme
(Note: By law the Council has to elect a Chairman at its annual meeting from the members of the Council.)
Meetings
The Council meets five times a year and deals with the budget in February each year.
Council in "Committee"
The Council has the opportunity for wide-ranging debates in public on matters of general importance outside the confines of the Council's procedure rules. These debates are conducted by the Council resolving to go into committee. Such debates may be initiated in three ways: by requisition from an Overview and Scrutiny Committee, by requisition from the Cabinet and by requisition signed by a member.
Council Agenda
Typically the Council Agenda will consist of the following business:
- Procedural business
- Motions
- Reports and Recommendations from the Cabinet
- Reports and Recommendations from overview and scrutiny committees
- Questions
- Matters reserved to Council fro decision
- Report of the police authority
- Report of the fire authority
- Council in committee debates
(Note: With the exception of essential procedural business, the order of the other business can be varied by the Chairman.)
The Cabinet is the part of the Council that is responsible for most day to day decisions. The Cabinet is made up of a leader, and nine other councillors who each have specific areas of responsibility. When major decisions are to be discussed or made these are published in the Cabinet’s forward plan insofar as they can be foreseen. If these major decisions are to be taken at a meeting of the Cabinet this will generally be open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. The Cabinet has to make decisions that are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision that is outside the budget or policy framework this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide.
The Cabinet will comprise the Leader of the Council, who will be its Chairman, and 9 other members appointed by the Council. The Leader and nine other members of the Cabinet will have a defined portfolio of responsibilities for the discharge of the Council’s business.
Portfolios
- Leader of the Council and Chairman of the Cabinet
- Deputy Leader and Finance and Transformation Programme
- Highways and Transportation
- Economic Development, Waste and Recycling
- Children's Services
- Education and the 2012 Games
- Adults, Health and Community Wellbeing
- Procurement, Property and Major Projects
- Communities and Planning
- Environment and Culture
Role
The role of the Cabinet is to exercise the powers and duties of the Council except where these are reserved to the Council or delegated to a committee or to an officer.
Meetings
The Cabinet meets approximately 10 times a year according to a published calendar with provision for the Leader of the Council or any two members of the Cabinet to requisition an emergency meeting. The requirements of the Access to Information legislation apply to meetings of the Cabinet. Public notice of meetings will be given and the agenda will be on deposit for public inspection at least five clear days before the relevant meeting. Meetings will be open to the public and press who may be excluded when confidential business, as defined in the legislation, is to be transacted. The agenda for meetings of the Cabinet will be made available to any member of the public who requests it and are posted on the Intranet and the Internet.
Agenda
Typically a Cabinet Agenda will consist of the following business:
- key and other significant issues of a crosscutting nature
- decisions to make recommendations to the Council on the budget or policy framework
- urgent decisions outside, or not in accordance with, the budget or policy framework
- issues affecting more than one portfolio when agreement cannot be reached
- sensitive issues
- significant issues relating to officer structures
Key Decisions and Forward Plan
The Council produces a Schedule of Key Decisions and Forward Plan of business for the Cabinet. This is updated each month.
There are three Policy and Scrutiny Committees, an Executive Scrutiny Committee and a Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by holding investigations in public into matters of local concern. These lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Cabinet and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Any of the three Policy and Scrutiny Committees and the Executive Scrutiny Committee can call in a decision made by the Cabinet but not yet implemented. This enables it to consider whether the decision is appropriate. It may recommend that the Cabinet reconsiders the decision. Policy and Scrutiny Committees may also be consulted by the Cabinet or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.
The committees are as follows with a brief explanation of their roles.
Executive Scrutiny Committee
- To scrutinise the financial arrangements and performance of the Council including considering the budget and accounting processes.
- To scrutinise performance against the Corporate Plan and to review and To scrutinise the performance of the Council in relation to its policy objectives, performance targets, corporate risk management and/or particular service areas.
- To review and/or scrutinise the discharge of any functions by Council, Cabinet, Cabinet Members and Council Officers both in relation to individual decisions and over time.
- To scrutinise any area of the Council’s service provision or performance deemed appropriate by the Committee, particularly those areas which affect the whole Council, save that it cannot scrutinise any issue which a Policy and Scrutiny Committee has scrutinised in the immediately preceding 12 months without the agreement of the Scrutiny Board.
- To consider any matters referred to the Committee by full Council or Cabinet.
- To contribute to the delivery of the Council’s objectives in relation to the overall strategic direction, programmes, policies and priorities of the Cabinet and of the Council, including the overall corporate revenue and capital budget strategy and the performance management of the authority; Change Management, “value for money” and “improving our services”; Transformation Strategy and Direction of Travel; Essex Transformation Programme; Equalities and Diversity; public communications and engagement, including media and marketing strategy and liaison with MP’s; Customer Services; Information Services and Technology; Human Resources, employee services and internal communications; Procurement and Commercial Services; Capital Programme Governance; Major Projects and Investment (excluding Waste and BSF); Legal Services (including Coroner and Registration Services); Asset Management and Land and Property (acquisition and disposal); Essex Partnerships; developing policy on more local working; and Member support.
- In relation to the above, to report and make recommendations to the Cabinet or Council as appropriate.
- To agree a rolling work programme for policy development and scrutiny within the Committee’s remit.
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Community and Older People Policy and Scrutiny Committee
- To contribute to the delivery of the Council’s objectives in relation to Adult Social Care; the support and assistance of people with learning or physical disabilities, or sensory impairment, people with mental health problems, older people and the homeless; joint commissioning and contracting; community wellbeing, healthier communities and health partnerships; health inequalities; Public Health; Supporting People; relations with the voluntary sector, police and fire authorities and district councils; Community Safety (including Essex Drug and Alcohol Action Team); Adult Community Learning; and Libraries; Arts, Heritage and Culture – (including Cressing Temple); Quality of Life; community leadership, community strategy;
- To scrutinise areas of the Council’s policy, service provision or performance within the Committee’s remit and make recommendations to the Cabinet or Council as appropriate.
- To agree a rolling work programme for policy development and scrutiny within the Committee’s remit.
Economic Development, Environment and Highways Policy and Scrutiny Committee
- To contribute to the delivery of the Council’s objectives in relation to matters of strategic, regional or County-wide significance relating to integrated spatial development and transportation planning; highways (including bridleways, footpaths and byways), all car parking, traffic and vehicle registration and public transport; Road Safety and school crossing patrols; delivery of highways capital programme; Essex Transport; the promotion of recycling and waste minimisation and the disposal of waste; Environmental strategy; delivery of waste capital programme; Country Parks (except Cressing Temple); Natural Environment; gypsies and travellers; sustainable development; Built environment; regional and local planning including dealing with consultation responses and statements of general conformity in relation to other Councils’ local plans; local planning; policies and development documents for minerals and waste; trading standards, weights and measures, food safety, consumer protection, animal health, performing animals and explosives licensing; regeneration, economic development and enterprise;; Lee Valley Regional Park Authority; Thames Gateway; tourism; Rural affairs; international relations and European funding programmes; Emergency Planning and Flood Management.
- To scrutinise areas of the Council’s policy, service provision or performance within the Committee’s remit and make recommendations to the Cabinet or Council as appropriate.
- To agree a rolling work programme for policy development and scrutiny within the Committee’s remit.
Children and Young People Policy and Scrutiny Committee
- To contribute to the delivery of the Council’s objectives in relation to schools and early years, including: diversity, organisation, planning and admissions, standards and achievement, and attendance; transport for educational purposes (mainstream); awards and benefits (in respect of further and higher education);•14 - 19 provision; Youth services; leadership for Children’s Service and the Children’s Trust Arrangements; Children’s social care, including: the safeguarding of children, looked after children, services to vulnerable children and young people and their families and adoption and fostering; behaviour and education welfare services; specialist and complex services (SENCAN); Children’s Centres; Special Schools (including transport provision); Youth offending; joint commissioning and all health-related matters; asylum seekers; Delivery of Building Schools for the Future; sport, recreation and Olympics; and Skills (including vocational centres, Train to Gain and Work Based Learning).
- To scrutinise areas of the Council’s policy, service provision or performance within the Committee’s remit and make recommendations to the Cabinet or Council as appropriate.
- To agree a rolling work programme for policy development and scrutiny within the Committee’s remit.
Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee
To discharge the functions conferred by the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (as updated by the Local Government Involvement in Health Act 2007), namely:
- to review and scrutinise the totality of local services planned and provided as part of the Council’s wider responsibility to seek health improvements and reduce health inequalities;
- to review and scrutinise the operation of the health service in the Council’s area and to make reports and recommendations to NHS bodies;
- to refer contested proposals for major service changes to the Secretary of State;
- to scrutinise the social care services provided or commissioned by NHS bodies exercising local authority functions under section 31 of the Health Act 1999.
- To review or scrutinise health services commissioned or delivered in the Council’s area within the framework set out below:
- arrangements made by local NHS bodies to secure hospital and community health services to the inhabitants of the authority’s area;
- the provision of such services to those inhabitants;
- the provision of family health services, personal medical services, personal dental services, pharmacy and NHS ophthalmic services;
- the public health arrangements in the area; e.g. arrangements by NHS bodies for the surveillance of, and response to, outbreaks of communicable disease or the provision of specialist health promotion services;
- the planning of health services by NHS bodies, including plans made in co-operation with local authorities setting out a strategy for improving both the health of the local population and the provision of health care to that population and;
- the arrangements made by NHS bodies for consulting and involving patients and the public:
- to review and scrutinise the totality of local services e.g. social services, planned and provided as part of the Council’s wider responsibilities to seek health improvements and reduce health inequalities;
- to act as consultee to an NHS body within the Council’s area on substantial developments of the health service in the Council’s area and any proposals to make any substantial variation to the provision of such services.
Roles and functions
Within their terms of reference, the Overview and Scrutiny Committees will:
- Engage in policy review and policy development, with a focus on improvement and how it can best be achieved.
- Scrutinise decisions made or actions taken in connection with the discharge of the Council’s and the Cabinet’s functions.
- Scrutinise the performance of the Council.
- Conduct research and consult.
- Engage with the community and encourage community engagement.
- Question and engage with Members of the Cabinet and / or Committees and Chief Officers.
- Look outwards and show community leadership by providing constructive challenge to other public bodies particularly those with whom the Council delivers services in partnership.
- Consider any matter affecting the area or its inhabitants.
- Consider any matters referred by full Council or Cabinet.
- Make recommendations to the Cabinet and/or Council arising from the outcome of the scrutiny process.
There are certain types of function that it would not be appropriate to allocate to the Cabinet. Broadly, these are regulatory functions, semi-judicial functions and matters related to standards of conduct. The Council has established the following committees to deal with these functions.
Appeals Committee
Function: To exercise the powers and duties of the Council on the cases in which there is a right of appeal against decisions taken by or on behalf of the Council in relation to any of its functions.
Audit Committee
Functions:
- To review the effectiveness of Financial Control arrangements.
- To approve the Statement of Accounts in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003.
- To review the work of Internal Audit.
- To review the work of External Audit.
- To review the effectiveness of risk management arrangements
- To receive and review reports relating to audit prepared by other bodies.
- To prepare an annual report for submission to Council on the work of the Committee, including an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control system.
- To approve the Council’s annual statement of accounts in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003.
The Chief and Deputy Chief Officers Committee
Functions:
- to be responsible for the appointment and dismissal of chief / deputy chief officers with the power (a) to appoint a sub-committee of 3 Members consisting of 2 Conservatives and 1 Labour or Liberal Democrat to deal with particular appointments and (b) to authorise a specific officer to deal with a particular appointment;
- to resolve any issue relating to the terms of conditions of employment of chief/deputy chief officers not already covered by the Council's officer employment procedure rules; and
- to decide the level of performance pay to be awarded to the Chief Executive and Members of the Senior Management Board.
Development and Regulation Committee
Functions: To exercise the Council’s powers and duties in respect of the following local choice functions:
(i) any functions under a local Act;
(ii) obtaining information as to interests in land under Section 330 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;
(iii) the obtaining of particulars of persons interested in land under Section 16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976;
(iv) the making of agreements for the execution of highway works under Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980.
To exercise the Council's powers and duties in respect of the following Council functions which are not the responsibility of the Council's Cabinet.
(i) Town and Country Planning and Development Control matters as specified in paragraphs 5-31 of Schedule 1A of the Regulations and paragraph 47 of Schedule 1I of the Regulations.
(ii) Registration of common land or town and village greens as specified in Schedule 1B paragraphs 37, 38 and 72 of the Regulations.
(iii) Highways and rights of way matters as set out in Schedule 1B paragraphs 41, and 46A, 47-55 and in Schedule 1I paragraphs 1-34 of the Regulations.
(iv) Licensing and registration matters as set out in Schedule 1B paragraphs 22, 26, 27, 31, 42-46 and 56 of the Regulations.
- To exercise on behalf of the Council all of the powers and duties of the Council in relation to its functions as Administering Authority of the Essex Pension Fund except where they have been specifically delegated by the Council to another Committee or to an officer; this will include the following specific functions:
- To monitor and oversee the work of the Investment Steering Committee through its quarterly reports.
- To monitor the administration of the Pension Scheme, including the benefit regulations and payment of pensions and their day to day administration including the Internal Disputes Resolution Procedures, and ensure that it delivers best value and complies with best practice guidance where considered appropriate.
- To exercise Pension Fund discretions on behalf of the Administering Authority.
- To determine Pension Fund policy in regard to employer admission arrangements.
- To determine the Pension Fund's Funding Strategy and approve its Funding Strategy Statement
- To receive periodic actuarial valuation reports from the Actuary
- To co-ordinate Administering Authority responses to consultations by Central Government, professional and other bodies.and
- To consider any views expressed by employing organisations and staff representatives.
Investment Steering Committee
- to approve and annually review the content of the Statement of Investment Principles
- to appoint and review investment Managers, Custodian and Advisors
- to assess the quality and performance of each Investment Manager annually in conjunction with investment advisers and the Chief Financial Officer
- to set the investment parameters within which the Investment Managers can operate and review these annually
- to monitor compliance of the investment arrangements with the Statement of Investment Principles
- to assess the risks assumed by the Fund at a global level as well as on a manager by manager basis
- to approve and review the asset allocation benchmark for the Fund and
- To submit quarterly reports on its activities to the Essex Pension Fund Board.
Standards Committee
Main Functions:
- to promote and maintain high standards of conduct for members
- to help members to follow the Code of Conduct
Specific functions
- to give the council advice on adopting a local Code
- to monitor the effectiveness of the Code
- to train members on the Code, or arrange for such training
- to assess and review complaints about members
- to conduct determinations’ hearings
- to grant dispensations to members with prejudicial interests
- to grant exemptions for politically restricted posts.
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