PART 1 SUMMARY and EXPLANATION Oadby and Wigston Borough Council has agreed a Constitution which is regularly reviewed. 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. The Constitution is divided into 15 Articles, which set out the basic rules governing the Council's business. More detailed procedures and codes of practice are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document. What is in the Constitution? Article 1 of the Constitution commits the Council to certain corporate objectives. Articles 2 - 15 explain the rights of Residents and how the key parts of the Council operate. These are: Members of the Council (Article 2). Residents and the Council (Article 3). The Council Meeting (Article 4). Chairing the Council. (Article 5). Overview Panel (Article 6). Policy and other Committees (Article 7). The Standards Committee (Article 8). Area Forums, Task Groups, Local Strategic Partnership (Article 9). – Joint arrangements (Article 10). Officers (Article 11). Decision Making (Article 12). Finance, contracts and legal matters (Article 13). Review and revision of Constitution (Article 14). Suspension, interpretation and publication of the Constitution (Article 15). HOW THE COUNCIL OPERATES The Council is composed of 26 Councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. 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 normally open to the public. Here Councillors decide the Council's overall planning and other policies and sets the budget each year. The Council encourages public participation by liaison with and involvement of community groups representing all aspects of life in the borough. The creation of Area Forums and Task Groups giving local citizens, partner organisations and interested parties a greater say in Council and local community affairs HOW DECISIONS ARE MADE Most day to day decisions are made by the policy committees. The Council has 2 policy committees which deal with Services and Policy. Committees also carry out a number of regulatory functions, including dealing with planning applications, licensing and most other regulatory business. Meetings of the Council and the Council's committees are open to the public except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed. OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY PANEL There is one Overview and Scrutiny Panel, which support the work of the policy committees and the Council as a whole. It allows Residents to have a greater say in Council matters by holding public inquiries into matters of local concern. These can lead to reports and recommendations, which advise the policy committees and the Council as a whole on its policies, budgets and service delivery. The Overview and Scrutiny committees also monitor the decisions of the policy committee. It can ‘call in’ a decision which has been made by a policy committee and area forums but not yet implemented. This enables it to consider whether the decision is appropriate. It may recommend that the policy committee or full Council reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by the policy committee on a forthcoming decision and the developments of policy. TASK GROUPS LOCAL STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP/AREA AGREEMENT AND FORUMS In order to give local citizens and partner organisations a greater say in Council and local community affairs, a Local Strategic Partnership (LSP); and area forums have been created. The Local Strategic Partnership is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Community Strategy for the Borough, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of life of Oadby & Wigston’s citizens. In order to do this, it will oversee and co-ordinate the work of any issue-based forums it may wish to establish. Before such forums are put in place, however the LSP will consult with the Borough Council regarding proposed terms of reference. In this way, the LSP and the Borough Council will ensure that duplication is minimised, and that a forum is not being established for a task that would be better undertaken by a task group or other body. No forum may be established without the approval of the appropriate body, either the LSP or the Borough Council. In addition in order to give citizens a greater say in council affairs, 3 area community forums have been created. These cover Oadby, Wigston and South Wigston areas of the borough and are responsible for a range of area-based decisions and advising the Council of local people’s aspirations in order that they can help inform the decision making process. A detailed breakdown of the responsibilities of the Area Forums is included in Article 9. They involve Councillors for each particular area and are held in public. In addition to the area forums both the policy committees and Overview and Scrutiny committee are underpinned by task groups which are small groups of Councillors , officers and other stakeholders working together on time limited, specific tasks/issues. THE COUNCIL’S STAFF The Council has people working for it (called ‘officers’) to give advice, implement decisions 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-Members of the Council as set out in Part 5 RESIDENTS’ RIGHTS Residents have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. These are set out in more detail in Article 3. Some of these are legal rights whilst others depend on the Council’s own processes. A Citizens’ Advice Bureau or the local Helping Hands Community Trust can advise on an individual’s legal rights. Where members of the public use specific Council services, for example as a Council tenant, they have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution. Residents have the right to: • vote at local elections if they are registered; • contact their local Councillor about any matters of concern to them; • obtain a copy of the Constitution; • attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed; • speak at open meetings of the Overview Panels , subject to guidelines; - • at the discretion of the Chair, ask questions of members at Council meetings • petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive or any other matter; • request a deputation; • complain to the Council about any matter concerning the delivery in accordance with complaints procedure of any service, what the Council has done or not done or the way any Resident has been treated; • complain to the Ombudsman if they think 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 Standards Board for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a Councillor has not followed the Council's Code of Conduct; and • inspect the Council's accounts and make their views known to the external auditor. inspect and take copies of reports, agendas and minutes of meetings of the Council and its standing committees, unless they are exempt from disclosure or confidential. The Council welcomes participation by its Residents in its work. For further information on rights as a Residents , please contact the Legal & Licensing Section at the Council Offices, Station Road, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 2DR, Tel 0116 288 8961, email legal@oadby-wigston.gov.uk A copy of the Constitution is available on the Council’s website at www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk Details on Access to Information provisions are contained in Articles 3 and Part 4 – Access to Information Procedure Rules Reference to Legislation shall include any amending legislation