EXTRACTS FROM THE CONSTITUTION IN RELATION TO THE FORWARD PLAN

FROM THE SECTION DEALING WITH THE PROTOCOL ON THE COUNCIL’S DECISION MAKING PROCESS

The Role of the Scrutiny Committee

The role of the Scrutiny Committee is to support service improvement by scrutinising proposals and decisions of the Cabinet and Cabinet Members. The Scrutiny Committee does not make decisions, but makes recommendations to improve the quality and efficiency of council services.

Advance notice of Key Decisions

The Cabinet is required to publish a forward plan of Key Decisions that it intends to make within the following four months. This will enable the Scrutiny Committee to consider which items they wish to examine and consider in good time before they are determined by the Cabinet.

A Key Decision is one that is likely either:

to result in the authority incurring additional expenditure or a reduction in expenditure exceeding £250,000 in any one year or any individual service or function to which that decision relates; or

it is otherwise significant in terms of any individual service to the public. (In Article 12 – Decision making - significant is described as something likely to have a permanent impact on the amenity of an identifiable community or communities)

The forward plan must identify all those items about which it is known that the Cabinet is to make a decision within the following 4 months. The forward plan will be updated on a monthly basis. Not all key decisions will be known 4 months in advance and so advance notice of decisions will be included as soon as they become known.

There is a mechanism for taking urgent decisions not on the forward plan. This is an exceptional process for use in genuinely urgent circumstances and when the report supporting the decision sets out why the decision did not appear on the forward plan and why the decision cannot wait until the next forward plan is published.

If an item which is a key decision arises which is not in the forward plan and has to be taken at short notice, the Strategic Director, Corporate Services will ensure that the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee is notified - or in his or her absence, the Chairman of the Council - and that a minimum of three days notice has been given that the Cabinet intend to consider the item. Such an item can only be considered with less than three days notice where agreement has been obtained from the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee or, in his or her absence, the Vice Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee or if both are absent the Chairman of the Council.

FROM THE SECTION DEALING WITH ACCESS TO INFORMATION RULES


1.	PROCEDURE BEFORE TAKING KEY DECISIONS

Subject to Rule 15 (general exception) and Rule 16 (special urgency), a key decision may not be taken unless:

(a)	a notice (called here a forward plan) has been published in connection with the matter in question

(b)	at least 3 clear days have elapsed since the publication of the forward plan; and

(c)	where the decision is to be taken at a meeting of the Cabinet, notice of the meeting has been given in accordance with Rule 4 (notice of meetings).


2.	THE FORWARD PLAN

(a)	Period of forward plan

Forward plans will be prepared by the leader to cover a period of four months, beginning with the first day of any month. They will be prepared on a monthly basis and subsequent plans will cover a period beginning with the first day of the second month covered in the preceding plan.

(b)	Contents of forward plan

The forward plan will contain matters which the leader has reason to believe will be subject of a key decision to be taken by the Cabinet, a Cabinet Committee of the individual Cabinet members or officers during the period covered by the plan. It will describe the following particulars in so far as the information is available or might reasonably be obtained:

the matter in respect of which a decision is to be made;

where the decision taker is an individual, his/her name and title, if any and where the decision taker is a body, its name and details of membership;

the date on which, or the period within which, the decision will be taken;

the identity of the principal groups whom the decision taker proposes to consult before taking the decision;

the means by which any such consultation is proposed to be undertaken;

the steps any person might take who wishes to make representations to the Cabinet or decision taker about the matter in respect of which the decision is to be made, and the date by which those steps must be taken; and

a list of the documents submitted to the decision taker for consideration in relation to the matter.

The forward plan must be published at least 14 days before the start of the period covered. The Proper Officer will publish once a year a notice in at least one newspaper circulating in the area, stating:

that key decisions are to be taken on behalf of the Council;

that a forward plan containing particulars of the matters on which decisions are to be taken will be prepared on a monthly basis;

that the plan will contain details of the key decisions to be made for the four month period following its publication;

that each plan will be available for inspection at reasonable hours free of charge at the Council's offices;

that each plan will contain a list of the documents submitted to the decision takers for consideration in relation to the key decisions on the plan;

the address from which, subject to any prohibition or restriction on their disclosure, copies of, or extracts from, any document listed in the forward plan is available;

that other documents may be submitted to decision takers;

the procedure for requesting details of documents (if any) as they become available; and

the dates on each month in the following year on which each forward plan will be published and available to the public at the Council's offices.

Exempt information need not be included in a forward plan and confidential information cannot be included.


3.	GENERAL EXCEPTION

If a matter which is likely to be a key decision has not been included in the forward plan, then subject to Rule 16 (special urgency), the decision may still be taken if:

the decision must be taken by such a date that it is impracticable to defer the decision until it has been included in the next forward plan and until the start of the first month to which the next forward plan relates;

the Proper Officer has informed the chair of the Scrutiny Committee, or if there is no such person, each member of that Committee in writing, by notice, of the matter to which the decision is to be made;

the Proper Officer has made copies of that notice available to the public at the offices of the Council; and

at least 3 clear days have elapsed since the Proper Officer complied with (a) and (b).

Where such a decision is taken collectively, it must be taken in public.

4.	SPECIAL URGENCY

If by virtue of the date by which an Cabinet decision must be taken Rule 15 (general exception) cannot be followed, then the decision can only be taken if the officer, Cabinet member, (if an individual) or the leader of the Council of the body making the decision, obtains the agreement of the Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee that the taking of the decision cannot be reasonably deferred. If there is no chair of the Scrutiny Committee, or if the Chair (and the Vice Chair in the absence of the Chair) is unable to act, then the agreement of the Chair of the Council, or in his/her absence the Vice Chairman will suffice


5.	REPORT TO COUNCIL

If the Scrutiny Committee concludes that a key decision has been taken which was not:

included in the forward plan; or

the subject of the general exception procedure; or

the subject of the special emergency procedure.

the committee may require the Cabinet to submit a report to the Council within such reasonable time as the committee specifies. The power to require a report rests with the committee, but is also delegated to the Proper Officer, who shall require such a report on behalf of the committee when so requested by resolution passed at a meeting of the Scrutiny Committee.

Page last updated on: 05/06/2007