Part 2 - Articles of the Constitution

Schedule 1   Description of Executive Arrangements
Schedule 2   Plans and Strategies forming the Policy Framework
Schedule 3   Tables
                  A   Overview and scrutiny committees
                  B   Area committees and forums
                  C  Chief officers
                  D  Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer

The County Council, as a corporate body, will exercise all its powers and duties in accordance with the law and this Constitution.

This Constitution, and its various Parts, (but excluding any explanatory Notes which appear in italics) is the Constitution of the Leicestershire County Council.

The purpose of the Constitution is to:

(a)   enable the County Council to provide clear leadership to the community in partnership with citizens, businesses and other organisations;
(b)   support the active involvement of citizens in the process of local authority decision-making;
(c)   help county councillors represent their constituents more effectively;
(d)   enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively;
(e)   create a powerful and effective means of holding decision-makers to public account;
(f)    ensure that no one will review or scrutinise a decision in which they were directly involved;
(g)   ensure that those responsible for decision-making are clearly identifiable to local people and that they explain the reasons for decisions; and
(h)   provide a means of improving the delivery of services to the community.

Where the Constitution permits the County Council to choose between different courses of action, the County Council will always choose that option which it thinks is closest to the purposes stated above. The County Council will monitor and evaluate the operation of the Constitution as set out in Article 15.

(a)   Composition. The County Council will comprise 55 members, otherwise called County Councillors.  County Councillors will be elected by the voters of each electoral division in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Electoral Commission.  

(b)   Eligibility. Only registered voters of the County area or those living or working there will be eligible to hold the office of county councillor.

The regular election of county councillors will be held on the first Thursday in May every four years beginning in 2001.  The terms of office of county councillors will start on the fourth day after being elected and will finish on the fourth day after the date of the next regular election.

(a)   Key roles. All county councillors will:

(b)   Rights and duties:

County councillors will at all times observe the Members’ Code of Conduct and the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations set out in Part 5 of this Constitution.

County councillors will be entitled to receive allowances in accordance with the Members’ Allowances Scheme set out in Part 6 of this Constitution.

Citizens have the following rights. Their rights to information and to participate are explained in more detail in the Access to Information Rules in Part 4B of this Constitution:

(a)   Voting and petitions. Citizens on the electoral roll for the County have the right to vote and sign a petition to request a referendum for an elected mayor form of Constitution.

(b)   Information. Citizens have the right to:

(c)   Participation. Citizens have the right to participate in question time at, and submit petitions to, meetings of the standing overview and scrutiny committees and the boards and committees in the Regulatory area, provided that they follow the correct procedure.

(d)   Complaints. Citizens have the right to complain to:

Citizens must not be violent, abusive or threatening to county councillors or officers and must not wilfully harm things owned by the County Council, county councillors or officers.

(a)   Policy Framework. The Policy Framework means the Plans and Strategies listed in Schedule 2 to these Articles.  [Note: the Plans listed in the note following Schedule 2 will not require the approval of the full County Council and will not, therefore, form part of the Policy Framework].

(b)   Budget. The Budget includes the allocation of financial resources to different services and projects, proposed contingency funds, the County Council tax base, setting the County Council tax and decisions relating to the control of the County Council’s borrowing requirement, the control of its capital expenditure and the setting of virement limits.

Only the full County Council will exercise the following functions:

(a)    adopting and changing the Constitution;

(b)    approving or adopting the Policy Framework and the Budget;

(c)    subject to the urgency procedure contained in the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4B of this Constitution, making decisions about any matter discharging an Executive function which is covered by the Policy Framework or the Budget where the decision-maker is minded to make it in a manner which would be contrary to the Policy Framework or contrary to, or not wholly in accordance with, the Budget;

(d)    appointing the Leader and Cabinet Support Members.

(e)    agreeing and/or amending the terms of reference for committees, deciding on their composition and making appointments to them;

(f)    appointing representatives to outside bodies unless the appointment is an Executive function or has been delegated by the County Council;

(g)    adopting an allowances scheme under Article 2.05;

(h)    changing the name of the area;

(i)    confirming the appointment of the Head of Paid Service;

(j)    making, amending, revoking, re-enacting or adopting bylaws and promoting or opposing the making of local legislation or personal Bills;

(k)    all local choice functions set out in Part 3 of this Constitution which the County Council decides should be undertaken by itself rather than the Executive; and

(l)    all other matters which, by law, must be reserved to County Council.

There are three types of County Council meeting:

(a)    the Annual Meeting;
(b)    ordinary meetings (including the Budget Meeting); and
(c)    extraordinary meetings,

and they will be conducted in accordance with the Meeting Procedure Rules (Standing Orders) in Part 4A of this Constitution.

The County Council will maintain the information in Part 3 of this Constitution setting out the responsibilities for the County Council’s functions which are not the responsibility of the Executive.  Part 9 of this Constitution sets out the responsibilities for such functions delegated to officers either under the general scheme of delegation to officers or as the result of specific decisions.

The Chairman and Vice-chairman will be elected by the County Council annually.  The Chairman and, in his or her absence, the Vice-chairman, will have the following responsibilities:

The County Council will appoint the overview and scrutiny committees and subcommittees set out in Table A in Schedule 3 to discharge the functions conferred by Section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000 and Section 7 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001.

Overview and scrutiny committees will conduct their proceedings in accordance with the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules set out in Part 4E of this Constitution.

Within their terms of reference, overview and scrutiny committees will:

(a)    review and/or scrutinise decisions made or actions taken in connection with the discharge of any of the County Council’s functions or relating to the health service in the County, as appropriate;

(b)    make reports and/or recommendations to the full County Council and/or the Executive and/or any joint or area committee in connection with the discharge of any County Council functions;

(c)    in the case of scrutiny committee(s) with the function of scrutinising the health service, may make reports and recommendations to local NHS bodies, the County Council, Rutland Council, District Councils and in appropriate circumstances, the Secretary of State;

(d)    consider any matter affecting the County or its inhabitants; and

(e)    exercise the right to call-in, for reconsideration, decisions made but not yet implemented by the Executive and/or any policy or area committees.

(a)   Policy development and review.  Overview and scrutiny committees may:

(b)   Scrutiny.  Overview and scrutiny committees may:

(c)   Finance. Overview and scrutiny committees may exercise overall responsibility for the finances made available to them.

(d)   Annual report. Overview and scrutiny committees (or the Scrutiny Commission in a single report on their behalf) will report annually to full County Council on their workings and make recommendations for future work programmes and amended working methods if appropriate.

(e)   Officers. Overview and scrutiny committees may exercise overall responsibility for the work programme of the officers employed to support their work.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Commission will be the Leader of the largest opposition group.  Where there are two opposition groups with an equal number of seats, chairmanship of the Scrutiny Commission shall rotate between those groups on an annual basis, normally effective from the annual meeting of the Council.  Unless agreement is reached otherwise, the order in which the Chairmanship is allocated between the opposition groups will be determined by the toss of a coin.

6.06   Call-in Procedure

The Call-in procedure described in the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules in Part 4E of this Constitution requires that at least one person who is either the Chairman or a Spokesman of the Scrutiny Commission should concur with it being invoked.

In addition to the Scrutiny Commission and the other standing overview and scrutiny committees there will be a Scrutiny Reference Group with a membership determined by mutual agreement between the political groups.  The Scrutiny Reference Group will not constitute an overview and scrutiny committee but will meet informally and in private.  The role of the Scrutiny Reference Group will be to consider matters relating to the overall management and operation of overview and scrutiny and the work programme of the Scrutiny Commission.

6.08    Health Service functions

(a) General Role

Health overview and scrutiny committees will act as a lever to improve the health of local people, ensuring that the needs of local people are considered as an integral part of the delivery and development of health services.  A committee may review and scrutinise any matter relating to the planning, provision and operation of health services in the area of the County Council, including:-

(a)    arrangements made by local NHS bodies to secure hospital and community health services for the inhabitants of the area and the services that are provided;

(b)    arrangements made by local NHS bodies for public health, health promotion and health improvement (including addressing health inequalities) in the area;

(c)    the planning of health services by local 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;

(d)    arrangements made by local NHS bodies for consulting and involving patients and the public under the duty placed on them by section 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001;

(e)    any matter referred to the committee by a patients’ forum;

(f)    responding to consultation from a local NHS body on a particular issue including proposals for a substantial development of the health service or a substantial variation in the provision of such service (in the latter circumstance it may be necessary for the response to be made through a joint overview and scrutiny committee).

In carrying out the review and scrutiny of a particular matter, a health overview and scrutiny committee:-

(a)    shall have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State with regard to these functions;

(b)    shall invite interested parties to comment on the matter;

(c)    shall take account of relevant information available to it and in particular relevant information provided by a patients’ forum or district-based health forum;

(d)    may seek further information from a local NHS body;

(e)    may require the attendance of an officer of a local NHS body to answer such questions as appear to the committee to be necessary for discharging its functions, subject to providing reasonable notice to that officer;

(f)     may require the attendance of an executive member or officer of the County Council;

(g)    may question and gather evidence from any other person with their consent;

(h)    may conduct research and community and other consultation

(i)     would normally be expected to produce an annual overview and scrutiny plan

(j)    may make reports and recommendations to local NHS bodies, the County Council, Rutland Council, District Councils and in appropriate circumstances to the Secretary of State.

The County Council will set up a joint committee with the Leicester City Council and Rutland Council to review and scrutinise the activities of local health bodies with responsibilities for health service functions across the area of the three authorities.  Where the Joint Committee is unable to exercise these powers they shall be exercised by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee responsible for scrutiny of health services in the area of the County.

The Executive will carry out all of the County Council’s functions which are not the responsibility of any other part of the County Council, whether by law or under this Constitution.

7.02   Form and composition

The Executive will consist of the Leader together with at least two, but not more than nine, county councillors appointed to the Executive by the Leader of the County Council.  When the Executive meets formally it will be referred to as the Cabinet.

7.03   Leader

The Leader will be a county councillor appointed to the position of Leader by the County Council.  In addition to his or her significant role as Leader of the Council, the Leader will also act as Leader of the Executive. The Leader will hold office until:

(a)   he or she resigns from the office; or
(b)   he or she is suspended from being a county councillor under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 (although he or she may resume office at the end of the period of suspension); or
(c)   he or she is no longer a county councillor; or
(d)   he or she is removed from office by resolution of the County Council; or
(e)   the Annual Meeting of the County Council next following the County Council elections.

The Leader of the Council may, if he/she considers it appropriate to do so, appoint one of the Executive Members to the position of Deputy Leader.

The Leader will also designate two members of the Executive respectively to act as Lead Member for the Children and Young People's Service and Lead Member for Adult Social Care and Health.

The designation of members of the Executive to act as Lead Members for other purposes will be at the Leader's discretion.

7.05   Executive members

Executive members shall hold office until:

(a)   they resign from office; or
(b)   they are suspended from being county councillors under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 (although they may resume office at the end of the period of suspension); or
(c)   they are no longer county councillors; or
(d)   they are removed from office, either individually or collectively, by the Leader of the County Council.

(a) Decision making meetings. Any meeting of the Executive at which an executive decision is to be made, irrespective of whether or not that executive decision is a Key Decision, shall be held in public; provided that the Executive shall exclude the media and public if confidential information is likely to be disclosed or may exclude the media and public if exempt information is likely to be disclosed.

(b) Meetings generally. Subject to paragraph (a), proceedings of the Executive shall take place in accordance with the Executive Procedure Rules set out in Part 4D of this Constitution.

The Leader will maintain a list in Part 3 of this Constitution setting out which individual members of the Executive, committees of the Executive, officers or joint arrangements are responsible for the exercise of particular Executive functions

Individual members of the Executive (including the Leader and Deputy Leader) shall not be responsible for the exercise of any Executive functions.  Executive functions may be exercised only by the Executive or by a committee of the Executive or by officers or by any area committee or under joint arrangements.

[Note: In adopting this Constitution, the County Council decided, with the concurrence of the then Executive, that no individual member of the Executive will be authorised to take an executive decision;  such decisions will be taken either by the Executive collectively at a properly convened meeting of the Cabinet or by professional officers under the published schemes of delegation. Articles 7.06(a) and 7.08 reflect these decisions]

7.09   Cabinet Support Members

(a) The County Council may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, appoint such elected members as it considers appropriate to provide support and assistance to particular Cabinet Members.  These members will be known as “Cabinet Support Members”.  Persons occupying such positions will not themselves be members of the Executive, neither will they be entitled to act as a member of any Overview and Scrutiny Committee dealing with County Council functions.
(b) Cabinet Support Members shall hold office until

   (a) they resign from office; or
   (b) they are suspended from being County Councillors under Part III of the Local Government Act 2000 (although they may resume office at the end of the period of suspension); or
   (c)  they are no longer County Councillors; or
   (d) they are removed from office, either individually or collectively, by resolution of the County Council; or
    (e) the Annual Meeting of the County Council next following their appointment.

The full County Council will appoint the committees set out in Part 3 of this Constitution, to discharge the functions described in that Part.

The full County Council will establish a Standards Committee.

The Standards Committee will be composed of at least two County Councillors (who may not include the Leader) and at least two people who are not County Councillors or officers of the County Council or any other body having a Standards Committee (the Independent Members).  Temporary appointments of Independent Members from another Standards Committee may be made as permitted under the relevant  Regulations. The Independent Members will be entitled to vote at meetings.  A member of the Executive may not chair the committee.  The statutory prohibition against the Leader being a member of the Standards Committee is extended, as a matter of local choice, to encompass the Deputy Leader, where one has been appointed.

The Standards Committee will have the following roles and functions:

(a)    promoting and maintaining high standards of conduct by county councillors, co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives; assisting the county councillors, co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives to observe the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(b)    advising the County Council on the adoption or revision of the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(c)    monitoring the operation of the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(d)    advising, training or arranging to train county councillors, co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives on matters relating to the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(e)    granting dispensations to county councillors and co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives from requirements relating to interests set out in the Members’ Code of Conduct;

(f)    assessing and reviewing complaints about members and conducting determinations hearings;

(g)    making payments or providing other benefits in cases of maladministration under section 92 of the Local Government Act 2000;

(h)    designating posts within the County Council as politically sensitive and determining applications for exemptions;

(i)    exempting members from vacation of office by failure to attend meetings;

(j)    considering and determining representations seeking the removal of any LEA appointed school governor; and

(k)    advising as necessary on the establishment of a local code of conduct for employees and procedures relating to the handling of complaints, including “whistleblowing”.

The full County Council will establish a Corporate Governance Committee.

(a)   The Corporate Governance Committee will reflect the political balance on the Council as a whole and may not include the Leader of the Council.  The Committee may not include more than one member who is either a member of the Executive or a Cabinet Support Member and that member may not act as Chairman.

(b)   The Lead Member of the Executive responsible for resources, performance management and risk management will be entitled to attend meetings in an observer/advisory capacity unless appointed to the Committee under paragraph (a) above.

The Corporate Governance Committee shall have the following general role and functions:

(a)   The promotion and maintenance within the Authority of high standards in relation to the operation of the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance with a particular emphasis on ensuring

(b)   To ensure that the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance is reviewed and amended by the County Council as necessary to ensure that it remains relevant to the Council’s work and practices.

(c)   To satisfy themselves that the County Council’s Statement of Accounts and those relating to the Leicestershire Pension Fund have been prepared in accordance with best practice.

The detailed terms of reference of the Corporate Governance Committee can be found in the Section on Responsibility for Functions contained in Part 3 of this Constitution.

(a)   The County Council may appoint area committees as it sees fit, if it is satisfied that to do so will ensure improved service delivery in the context of Best Value and more efficient, transparent and accountable decision-making.
(b)   The County Council will consult with relevant borough, district, parish and town councils and the chairmen of relevant parish meetings when considering whether and how to establish area committees.

(a)   Table of area committees. The County Council will appoint the area committees as set out in the first column of Table B in Schedule 3, composed as set out in the second column of that Table and with the terms of reference set out in the third column.
(b)   Delegations. The County Council and the Executive will include details of any delegations to area committees in Part 3 of this Constitution, including the functions delegated showing which are the responsibility of the Executive and which are not, the composition and membership of the committees, budgets and any limitations on delegation.

(a)   Conflict of interest. If an overview and scrutiny committee is scrutinising specific decisions or proposals in relation to the business of the area committee of which the county councillor concerned is a member, then the county councillor may not speak or vote at the overview and scrutiny committee meeting unless a dispensation to do so is given by the Standards Committee.

(b)   General policy reviews. Where the overview and scrutiny committee is reviewing policy generally the member must declare his or her interest before the relevant agenda item is reached, but need not withdraw.

(a)   Area committees will comply with the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4B of this Constitution.
(b)   Agendas and notices for area committee meetings which deal with both functions of the Executive and functions which are not the responsibility of the Executive will state clearly which items are which.

A member of the Executive may serve on an area committee if otherwise eligible to do so as a county councillor.

The County Council or the Executive in order to promote the economic, social or environmental well-being of its area, may:

(a)   enter into arrangements or agreements with any person or body;
(b)   co-operate with, or facilitate or co-ordinate the activities of, any person or body; and
(c)   exercise on behalf of that person or body any functions of that person or body.

(a)   The County Council may establish Joint Arrangements with one or more local authorities and/or their Executives to exercise functions which are not Executive functions in any of the participating authorities, or advise the County Council. Such Arrangements may involve the appointment of a joint committee with these other local authorities
(b)   The Executive may establish Joint Arrangements with one or more local authorities to exercise functions which are Executive functions. Such Arrangements may involve the appointment of joint committees with these other local authorities.
(c)   Except as set out below, the Executive may only appoint Executive members to a joint committee and those members need not reflect the political composition of the County Council as a whole.
(d)   The Executive may appoint members to a joint committee from outside the Executive and, where it does so, the circumstances will be specified in Part 3 of this Constitution in respect of that joint committee.
(e)   Details of any Joint Arrangements including any delegations to joint committees are described in the County Council’s Scheme of Delegations in Part 3 of this Constitution.

(a)   The Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4B of this Constitution apply.
(b)   If all the members of a joint committee are members of the Executive in each of the participating authorities then its access to information regime is the same as that applied to any Executive.
(c)   If the joint committee contains members who are not on the Executive of any participating authority then the access to information rules in Part VA of the Local Government Act 1972 will apply.

(a)   The full County Council may delegate non-Executive functions to another local authority or, in certain circumstances, the Executive of another local authority.
(b)   The Executive may delegate Executive functions to another local authority or the Executive of another local authority in certain circumstances.
(c)   The decision whether or not to accept such a delegation from another local authority shall be reserved to the full County Council.
(d)   Details of any delegations from another authority are described in the County Council's Scheme of Delegations in Part 3 of this Constitution.

The Executive may contract out to another body or organisation functions which may be exercised by an officer and which are subject to an order under section 70 of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994, or under contracting arrangements where the contractor acts as the County Council’s agent under usual contracting principles, provided there is no delegation of the County Council’s discretionary decision-making.

(a)   General. The County Council may engage such staff (referred to as officers) as it considers necessary to carry out its functions.
(b)   Chief Officers. The County Council will appoint persons for the posts set out in Table C of Schedule 3, who will be designated chief officers.
(c)   Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The County Council will designate the posts shown in Table D of Schedule 3 as the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer respectively.  Such posts will have the functions described in Article 12.02–12.04 below.
(d)   Structure. The Head of Paid Service will determine and publicise a description of the overall departmental structure of the County Council showing the management structure and deployment of officers. This is set out at Part 7 of this Constitution.

(a)   Discharge of functions by the County Council. The Head of Paid Service will report to full County Council on the manner in which the discharge of the County Council’s functions is co-ordinated, the number and grade of officers required for the discharge of functions and the organisation of officers.
(b)   Restrictions on functions. The Head of Paid Service may not be the Monitoring Officer but may hold the post of Chief Financial Officer if a qualified accountant.

(a)   Maintaining the Constitution. The Monitoring Officer will maintain an up-to-date version of the Constitution and will ensure that it is widely available for consultation by members, staff and the public.
(b)   Ensuring lawfulness and fairness of decision-making. After consulting with the Head of Paid Service and Chief Financial Officer, the Monitoring Officer will report to the full County Council or to the Executive in relation to an Executive function if he or she considers that any proposal, decision or omission would give rise to unlawfulness or if any decision or omission has given rise to maladministration. Such a report will have the effect of stopping the proposal or decision being implemented until the report has been considered.
(c)   Supporting the Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer will contribute to the promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct through provision of support to the Standards Committee.
(d)   Receiving reports. The Monitoring Officer will receive and act on reports made by ethical standards officers and decisions of the case tribunals.
(e)   Conducting investigations. The Monitoring Officer will conduct investigations into matters referred by ethical standards officers and make reports or recommendations in respect of them to the Standards Committee.
(f)    Proper Officer for access to information. The Monitoring Officer may require the Proper Officer (for this purpose the Chief Executive) to satisfy him or her that effective arrangements are in place to ensure that Executive decisions, together with the reasons for those decisions and relevant officer reports and background papers are made publicly available as soon as possible.
(g)   Advising whether Executive decisions are within the Budget and Policy Framework. The Monitoring Officer will advise whether decisions of the Executive are in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework.
(h)   Providing advice. The Monitoring Officer will provide advice on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration, financial impropriety, probity and Budget and Policy Framework issues to all county councillors.
(i)   Restrictions on posts. The Monitoring Officer cannot be the Chief Financial Officer or the Head of Paid Service.

(a)   Ensuring lawfulness and financial prudence of decision-making. After consulting with the Head of Paid Service and the Monitoring Officer, the Chief Financial Officer will report to the full County Council or to the Executive in relation to an Executive function and the County Council’s external auditor if he or she considers that any proposal, decision or course of action will involve incurring unlawful expenditure, or is unlawful and is likely to cause a loss or deficiency or if the County Council is about to enter an item of account unlawfully.
(b)   Administration of financial affairs. The Chief Financial Officer will have responsibility for the administration of the financial affairs of the County Council.
(c)   Contributing to corporate management. The Chief Financial Officer will contribute to the corporate management of the County Council, in particular through the provision of professional financial advice.
(d)   Providing advice. The Chief Financial Officer will provide advice on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration, financial impropriety, probity and budget and Policy Framework issues to all county councillors and will support and advise county councillors and officers in their respective roles.
(e)   Giving financial information. The Chief Financial Officer will provide financial information to the media, members of the public and the community.
(f)   Acceptance of Grant Conditions.  The Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972, will have the power to enter into binding financial agreements including, but not limited to, applying for grants or making grant claims and accepting conditional or non-conditional grants.

The County Council will provide the Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer with such officers, accommodation and other resources as are in their opinion sufficient to allow their duties to be performed.

Officers will comply with the Officers’ Code of Conduct and the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations set out in Part 5 of this Constitution.

The recruitment, selection and dismissal of officers will comply with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules set out in Part 4H of this Constitution.

The County Council will issue and keep up to date a record of what part of the County Council or individual has responsibilities for particular types of decisions or decisions relating to particular areas or functions. This record is set out in Part 3 and Part 9 of this Constitution.

All decisions of the County Council will be made in accordance with the following principles:

(a)   proportionality (i.e. the action should be proportionate to the desired outcome);
(b)   due consultation and the taking of professional advice from officers;
(c)   respect for human rights;
(d)   a presumption in favour of openness;
(e)   clarity of aims and desired outcomes; and
(f)    an explanation of the options considered and the reasons for decisions.

(a)   Decisions reserved to full County Council. Decisions relating to the functions listed in Article 4.02 will be made by the full County Council and not delegated.
(b)   Key Decisions. A Key Decision is an executive decision which is likely:

A decision maker may only make a Key Decision in accordance with the requirements of the Executive Procedure Rules set out in Part 4D of this Constitution.

[Note: Key Decisions should normally feature in the Forward Plan which is described in Rule 14 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4B. The current local working definition of a Key Decision adopted by the County Council is described in Rule 8 of the Executive Procedure Rules set out in Part 4D of this Constitution]

Subject to Article 13.08, the County Council meeting will follow the Meeting Procedure Rules (Standing Orders) set out in Part 4A of this Constitution when considering any matter.

Subject to Articles 7.08 and 13.08, the Executive will follow the Executive Procedure Rules set out in Part 4D of this Constitution when considering any matter.

Overview and scrutiny committees will follow the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules set out in Part 4E of this Constitution when considering any matter.

Subject to Article 13.08, other County Council boards, committees and sub-committees will follow those parts of the Meeting Procedure Rules (Standing Orders) set out in Part 4A of this Constitution as apply to them.

The County Council, a county councillor or an officer acting as a tribunal or in a quasi-judicial manner or determining/considering (other than for the purposes of giving advice) the civil rights and obligations or the criminal responsibility of any person will follow a proper procedure which accords with the requirements of natural justice and the right to a fair trial contained in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The management of the County Council’s financial affairs will be conducted in accordance with the Financial Procedure Rules set out in Part 4F of this Constitution.

Every contract made by the County Council will comply with the Contract Procedure Rules set out in Part 4G of this Constitution.

The County Solicitor is authorised to institute, defend or participate in any legal proceedings in any case where such action is necessary to give effect to decisions of the County Council or in any case where the County Solicitor considers that such action is necessary to protect the County Council’s interests.

(a)   Where any document is necessary to any legal procedure or proceedings on behalf of the County Council, it will be signed by the County Solicitor or other person authorised by him or her, unless any enactment otherwise authorises or requires, or the County Council has given requisite authority to some other person.
(b)   Any contract with a value exceeding the limit provided for in the Contract Procedure Rules in Part 4G entered into on behalf of the County Council in the course of the discharge of an Executive function shall be made in writing. Such contracts must either be signed or made under the Common Seal of the County Council.

The Common Seal of the County Council will be kept in a safe place in the custody of the Chief Executive. A decision of the County Council, or of any part of it, will be sufficient authority for sealing any document necessary to give effect to the decision. The Common Seal will be affixed to those documents which in the opinion of the County Solicitor should be sealed. The affixing of the Common Seal will be attested by the Chief Executive or some other person authorised by him or her.

The Chief Executive will monitor and review the operation of the Constitution to ensure that the aims and principles of the Constitution are given full effect.  In undertaking this task the Chief Executive may:

(a)   observe meetings of different parts of the member and officer structure;
(b)   undertake an audit trail of a sample of decisions;
(c)   record and analyse issues raised with him or her by members, officers, the public and other relevant stakeholders; and
(d)   compare practices in the County Council with those in other comparable authorities, or national examples of best practice.

Approval.  Changes to the Constitution will only be approved by the full County Council after consideration of the proposal by the Chief Executive and the Constitution Committee and/or Corporate Governance Committee as appropriate; provided that the Chief Executive is authorised to update Table C in Schedule 3 of these Articles, Part 7 of this Constitution in respect of changes in the Management Structure and Part 9 of this Constitution for the purpose of formally recording any changes in, or additions to, the specific delegations to officers made by the County Council, the Executive or a Regulatory Board or committee.  Proposals for changes to the Meeting Procedure Rules in Part 4(A) of this Constitution must comply with the process prescribed in those Rules.

(a)   No suspension of Articles. The Articles of this Constitution may not be suspended.
(b)   Suspension of Rules. The Rules specified in paragraph (d) below may be suspended either to the extent permitted within them or by the full County Council.  Any suspension shall be within the law.  The extent and duration of suspension will be proportionate to the result to be achieved, taking account of the purposes of the Constitution set out in Article 1.
(c)   Procedure to suspend. A suspension permitted within the Rules themselves shall follow any procedure, and shall be subject to any restrictions, specified in those Rules. A suspension by the full County Council will not be moved without notice unless at least one half of the whole number of county councillors is present.
(d)   Rules capable of suspension. The following Rules may be suspended in accordance with Article 16.01 and in compliance with any restrictions contained within them:

Meeting Procedure Rules (Standing Orders) - Part 4A
Financial Procedure Rules - Part 4F
Contract Procedure Rules - Part 4G

The ruling of the Chairman of the County Council as to the construction or application of this Constitution or as to any proceedings of the County Council shall not be challenged at any meeting of the County Council. Such interpretation will have regard to the purposes of this Constitution contained in Article 1.

(a)   The Chief Executive will give a printed copy of this Constitution to each member of the County Council upon delivery to him or her of that individual’s declaration of acceptance of office on the member first being elected to the County Council.

(b)   The Chief Executive will ensure that copies are available for inspection at County Council offices, libraries and other appropriate locations, and can be purchased by members of the local media and the public on payment of a reasonable fee.

(c)   The Chief Executive will ensure that the summary of the Constitution is made widely available within the County and is updated as necessary.

The following parts of this Constitution constitute the Executive Arrangements for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2000:

[end of Note]