The Constitution sets out how the Council operates, how
decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure
that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local
people. Some of these processes are required by the law, while
others are a matter for the Council to choose.
You can view the Constitution in sections by selecting
the links below. Follow this link for
help
with downloading and opening PDF files.
Constitution sections
Index (new window PDF
27KB).
Part 1: Summary and explanation (new
window PDF 34KB).
Part 2: The Constitution (new window PDF
212KB).
- Article 1 - The Constitution
- Article 2 - Members of the Council
- Article 3 - Citizens and the Council
- Article 4 - The Full Council
- Article 5 - Chairing the Council
- Article 6 - Scrutiny
- Article 7 - The Executive 'Cabinet'
- Article 8 - Regulatory and other committees
- Article 9 - The Standards Committee
- Article 10 - Area Committees and Area Forums
- Article 11 - Joint arrangements
- Article 12 - Officers
- Article 13 - Decision making
- Article 14 - Finance, contracts and legal matters
- Article 15 - Review and revision of the Constitution
- Article 16 - Suspension, interpretation and publication of
the Constitution
- Schedule 1 - Description of executive
arrangements
Part 3: Responsibility for functions
(new window PDF 295KB).
- Section A - Functions
- Section B - Scheme of delegation
Part 4: Rules of procedure (new window
PDF 565KB).
- Council procedure rules
- Procedure relating to committees
- Access to information procedure rules
- Budget and policy framework rules
- Executive (Cabinet) procedure rules
- Scrutiny procedure rules
- Financial procedure rules
- Contracts procedure rules
- Officer employment procedure rules
Part 5: Codes and protocols (new window
PDF 275KB).
- Members' code of conduct
- Officers' code of conduct
- Protocol on member/officer relations
- Monitoring officer protocol
- Code of good practice in rights of way
- Code of good practice in planning
Part 6: Members' allowances scheme (new
window PDF 44KB).
Part 7: Management structure (new window
PDF 32KB).