3. Full Council

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In this section:

Meetings of the Full Council

3.1

All county councillors meet together as the Full Council. Full Council meets at least six times each year in accordance with the calendar of meetings agreed annually.

3.2

There are five types of Council meeting:

a) Annual meetings are called in a year where there is an ordinary election of members to the Council, the Annual Council meeting takes place within 21 days of the retirement of the existing members. In any other year, the Annual Council meeting will take place in March, April or May.

b) Budget meetings occur before 11 March each year to determine the Council’s financial commitments and set the Council Tax.

c) Ordinary meetings usually occur in March, July, October and December each year to receive reports on key priorities, debate issues and take decisions that can only be made by Full Council.

d) Extraordinary meetings are called when urgent business arises that must be dealt with by Council before the next scheduled Ordinary meeting.

e) Special meetings are called for the appointment of Honorary Aldermen and Alderwomen.

3.3

Meetings are open to the public but they may be excluded where information of an exempt or confidential nature is being discussed – see the Access to Information Rules.

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Executive and Non-Executive Functions

3.4

Decisions taken by the Council are divided by law into two types: Executive and non-Executive. The law specifies which functions are the responsibility of the Full Council, which are the responsibility of the Executive (Cabinet), and which may (but need not) be the responsibility of the Executive (Local Choice functions). All other functions not specified are the responsibility of the Executive.

3.5

Only Full Council will exercise the following functions (insofar as they are not delegated to officers by Council under the Scheme of Delegation to Officers).

a) Approving the Constitution and any subsequent amendments, including all Standing Orders and Financial Rules applying to the Full Council, the Cabinet and all committees of the Council.

b) Electing the Chair and appointing the Vice Chair of the Council at its Annual Meeting.

c) Appointing and removing the Executive Leader. The Leader shall be appointed at the first Annual Meeting after an ordinary Council election and also as a vacancy arises.

d) Determining the Council's Budget and Policy Framework, which includes the Revenue Budget, Capital Programme, Treasury Management Policy and Council Tax levels.

e) Specifying, before the beginning of each financial year, the amounts of expenditure and savings that shall be regarded as significant for the purposes of Key Decisions.

f) Considering reports which the Cabinet, a Cabinet Member, a Cabinet committee or any other committee may submit to it.

g) Determining all matters that are normally reserved for the Cabinet to decide which are not in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework, and making appropriate arrangements in the Standing Orders for such matters to be dealt with where those matters cannot await the next meeting of the Full Council.

h) Reviewing and determining whether any decision by or on behalf of the Cabinet, not yet implemented and referred to it by the Scrutiny Management Board, should be re-considered by the appropriate decision taker.

i) Approving a programme of Ordinary Council meetings and committee meetings for the year.

j) Establishing non-Executive committees to carry out any of its functions and also working groups and panels to provide advice and make recommendations.

k) Determining the constitution and membership, including any co-opted members, of the non-Executive committees, including the appointment of Chairs and Deputy Chairs.

l) Determining whether Local Choice functions should be reserved to the Council or exercised by the Cabinet or officers acting under delegated powers.

m) Appointing representatives to outside bodies, unless the appointment is an Executive function or has been delegated by the Council.

n) Before the beginning of each financial year, to approve a Members’ Allowance Scheme, and to determine the allowances payable to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Council.

o) Changing the name of the area.

p) Conferring the title of Honorary Alderman or Honorary Alderwoman.

q) Determining the terms and conditions on which staff hold office (including procedures for their dismissal), unless otherwise delegated to a committee or officer.

r) Confirming the appointment of and designating the positions of the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer.

s) Establishing a committee of the Full Council comprising eight county councillors (at least one of whom shall be a Member of the Cabinet) to deal with the appointment and dismissal of the Chief Executive, Corporate Directors, the Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer (subject to paragraph (s) above), and to deal with the appointment of the Director of Children's Services, the Director of Adult Services and the Director of Public Health.

t) Approving the Pay Policy Statement.

u) Approving any discretionary sums of £100,000 or more paid to employees on termination of employment in addition to statutory and contractual redundancy or severance terms.

v) Making, amending, revoking, re-enacting, adopting or enforcing bylaws and promoting or opposing the making of local legislation or personal bills.

w) Determining all matters relating to local government boundaries, including any future proposals for local government reorganisation.

x) Determining any matter relating to changes in the areas, status or functions of local authorities, the revision of county electoral divisions and matters relating to elections.

y) Receiving an annual report from the Pension Fund Committee on the state of the Pension Fund and on investment activities during the preceding year.

z) Receiving an annual report from the Scrutiny Management Board on the work and recommendations of Overview and Scrutiny during the preceding year.

aa) Receiving reports from the Combined Fire Authority.

ab) Considering and responding to petitions in accordance with the Council's Petitions Scheme.

ac) Approving variations and virements in relation to the approved revenue and capital budgets in accordance with the Financial Rules

3.6

All Council meetings will follow the Council's Procedural Standing Orders and any other procedural rules that apply to them when considering any matter.

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Local Choice Functions

3.7

The law describes the decisions that are a matter of local choice. It is up to the Council to decide whether or not these functions should be the responsibility of the Executive. The Council has decided that Local Choice functions will be Executive or non-Executive as set out in the table below:

LOCAL CHOICE FUNCTION

STATUS OF FUNCTION

DELEGATION TO OFFICERS

DELEGATION TO NON-EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES

1. Any function under a local Act other than a function specified or referred to in Regulation 2 or Schedule 1.

Executive

Delegated to Directors within their areas of responsibility

-

2. Other than those reserved to a non-Executive committee, the determination of appeals against any decision made by or on behalf of the authority.

Executive

Delegated to Directors within their areas of responsibility, other than those reserved to non-Executive committees

School Appeals Panels, Employment Committee

3. The appointment of review boards under regulations under s.34(4) (determination of claims and reviews) of the Social Security Act 1998.

Executive

Director of Finance

-

4. The making of arrangements pursuant to s.67(1) of, and Schedule 18 to, the 1998 Act (reviews of exclusion of pupils). This is now s.51A of the Education Act 2002.

Executive

Director of Education, Culture and Skills

-

5. The making of arrangements pursuant to s.94(1) and (4) of, and Schedule 24 to, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (admission appeals).

Executive

Director of Education, Culture and Skills

-

6. The making of arrangements pursuant to s.95(2) of, and Schedule 25 to, the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 (children to whom s.87 applies: appeals by governing bodies).

Executive

Director of Education, Culture and Skills

-

7. Any function relating to contaminated land.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

8. The discharge of any function relating to the control of pollution or the management of air quality.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

9. The service of an abatement notice in respect of a statutory nuisance.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

10. The passing of a resolution that Schedule 2 to the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 should apply in the authority's area.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

11. The inspection of the authority's area to detect any statutory nuisance.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

12. The investigation of any complaint as to the existence of a statutory nuisance.

Executive

Director of Environment and Planning

-

13. The obtaining of information under s.330 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as to interests in land.

Executive

Directors within their areas of responsibility

-

14. The making of agreements for the execution of highways works.

Executive

Director of Highways and Transport

-

15. The obtaining of particulars of persons interested in land under s.16 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976).

Executive

Directors within their areas of responsibility

-

16. The appointment of any individual:

(a) to any office other than an office in which they are employed by the authority;

(b) to any body other than:

(i) the authority;

(ii) a joint committee of two or more authorities; or

(c) to any committee or sub-committee of such a body.

Executive / non-Executive

Directors within their areas of responsibility

-

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Budget and Policy Framework

3.8

Full Council is responsible for considering proposals put to it by Cabinet on the policies and budgets that capture the authority’s priorities and how it allocates its resources. Once a Budget or a policy within the Policy Framework is adopted by the Council, it is the responsibility of the Cabinet to implement it.

3.9

In determining the Policy Framework and the Revenue Budget, Capital Programme, the Treasury Management Policy and Council Tax levels, the Full Council must consider the detailed proposals of the Cabinet including the views of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

3.10

In respect of each of these plans, policies and strategies, the Full Council may set limits within which the Cabinet may make variations (including Budget virement) without reference back to the Full Council.

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Budget

3.11

The Budget is the identification and allocation of financial resources by the Council to different services and functions, including:

a) Revenue expenditure;

b) Contingency and reserve funds;

c) Council Tax;

d) Borrowing requirements and limits;

e) Capital expenditure;

f) Medium Term Financial Strategy; and

g) Any limitations to, conditions on or rules governing, the management of budgets, virement between budgets, treatment of underspends, windfall income or reserves contained within the Finance and Procurement Rules.

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Policy Framework

3.12

The Council has agreed that the following list of plans and strategies will sit within the Policy Framework, some of which are required by law to be decided by Full Council, usually on the recommendation of Cabinet:

a) Corporate Strategy (lancashire.gov.uk);

b) Children and Young People’s Plan (lancashire.gov.uk);

c) Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy (lancashire.gov.uk);

d) Development plans, documents and alterations contained in the Minerals and Waste Development Framework (lancashire.gov.uk), including the following functions under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004:

i) Approving or modifying a Development Plan document for the purposes of submission to the Secretary of State for independent examination;

ii) Approving the making of an agreement to prepare one or more joint Development Plan documents;

iii) Approving the making of an agreement to establish a joint committee to be the local planning authority; and

iv) Approving adding to the functions of a joint committee previously established and approve the making of a request to the Secretary of State for the revocation of an order constituting a joint committee;

e) Local Transport Plan (PDF - lancashire.gov.uk);

f) Youth Justice Plan [LINK]; and

g) Pay Policy Statement (lancashire.gov.uk).

3.13

In considering for adoption plans and strategies for which the Council does not have the sole responsibility (such as the Minerals and Waste Development Framework), the Full Council shall bear in mind the responsibility and involvement of those other bodies.

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