How councils operate and plan. Part 1 Council operations.
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Transcript of How councils operate and plan. Part 1 Council operations.
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How councils operate and plan
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Part 1
Council operations
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What are councillors?• Elected• Lay people• Part of a political party or independent• Unpaid (except allowances)• Potentially only in power for the short term• Also known as members• Vote on policies• Answer to the leader of the council
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What are officers?
• Headhunted or applied for job• Paid • Usually full time staff• Professional (lawyers, engineers, town
planners, managers etc.)• Long term positions• Recommend policies• Answer to the council chief executive
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Political vs operational structure
• Leader of the council• Cabinet leaders• Full Council• Voters
• Chief Executive• Chief officers• Officers• Council employees
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Councillor Conduct
1. Code of conduct2. Standards Committee
3. Declaring interests
NB: Coalition govt cutting Standards Board for England and Comprehensive Area Assessment
http://www.guardianpublic.co.uk/coalition-programme-for-government-proposals
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Open conduct
• Code of conduct: each council must draw this up and formally adopt it. It sets out rules of behaviour of councillors and officers and penalties incurred for misbehaving.
• Standards Committee: oversees code of conduct and members’ interests. Must have at least one lay person. Operates outside of council and chair/deputy are independent.
• http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/council-meetings/standardscommittee
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Can the standards committee bite?
• Anyone can report a member to the committee
• Not always: penalties can include attending training courses, or apologising
• Source of good stories: Looking at porn not a breach of code of conduct
• Which can ultimately put additional pressure on councillors: Astragate
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Councillor interests• Declaration of interest: councillors must declare at the
beginning of a meeting if they have a vested interest on an issue due to be discussed or voted on. They then leave meeting for that item.
• Personal interest: if related to family / association but they still stay and/or vote
• Register of members’ interests: statutory duty to keep list of outside business and interests of all members, available to the public
• Monitoring officer: responsible for making sure councillors comply with Code of Conduct / interests register
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From committees to cabinet
• Old system of committees being superseded• Committees (education, transport, finance etc.)
made up of cross party groups who made decisions together but majority of committee from ruling party
• Now a cabinet made up of a small number of ruling party members who are each given a specific portfolio (housing, children’s services, culture etc.)
• Big decisions being put forward by a few people, cabinet members hold a lot of power
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Sheffield City Council Cabinet
• 10 members plus additional advisors (who are also councillors and may be cross party)
• 8 portfoliosCabinet chair (also leader of the council)
Deputy leaderHousing, regeneration and planning
CommunitiesFinance
Climate ChangeChildren and Young People’s Services
Culture Sport and TourismIndependent and Healthy LivingBusiness, development and skills
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Cabinet decision making
• Cabinets have to publish a forward plan one month in advance of key decisions which identifies issues they wish to deal with over a period – and they must abide by that plan.
• Key decisions is a policy which affects two or more wards or involve a significant amount of money - above £50,000
• They must be presented to full council for a final say and to be voted on
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Overview and scrutiny committee
• Also known as Scrutiny Management Committee• Oversees sub-scrutiny committees that scrutinise the
work of the cabinet• Made of cross party members who are the
equivalent of backbenchers• A decision can be referred back to the cabinet for a
second look with scrutiny committee recommendations
• If the cabinet refuses to change its mind, it is up to the full council to take the final decision
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Policy and resources committee
• The most powerful sub-scrutiny committee• Scrutinises council budget and major decisions • Has to approve funding decisions • Known as
Strategic Resources and Performance Scrutiny Committee at Sheffield City Council
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Full council
• Made up of all council members• The full council has a number of prescribed
functions ( ie roles they must carry out): the policy framework, budget , Local Transport Plan, the Education Development Plan, consideration of any by-laws the authority may want to introduce
• Key decisions must be passed through the full council
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The rule book
• Council constitution: each council adopts one which outlines its form of decision making and rules of governance
• Standing orders: rules of day to day business such as the number and power of committees, the time limit for speakers in debates and the procedures for making amendments and voting
• Resolved items: matters agreed at the end of a meeting (committee, cabinet, full council) usually by a vote
• Prescribed functions: roles and responsibilities given to a committees/subcommittees/cabinet/ cabinet members etc.
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Other terms
• Agenda• Minutes must be public and • Background paper available in advance• By-law• Local Government Associations• UNISON• Commissioner for Local Administration
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A note on mayors
• Mayor: ceremonial title, rotated between councillors, non-political role, chairs full council meetings, attends civic events, raises money
• Directly elected mayor: an alternative to the cabinet approach
• System voted in by a local referendum
• Mayor runs the council and appoints a cabinet
• Mixture of chief executive and council leader
• The rest of the councillors are there to scrutinise the work of the mayor
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Quality of Service
• Audit Commission: quango that employs district auditors to award councils star ratings for performance, particularly financial
• BUT soon to be scrapped – what will replace them?
• District Auditor: employed by Audit Commission to monitor performance of councils using the comprehensive area assessment which monitors key services provided in each local authority
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Further help
• Cabinet and scrutiny: http://www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/yourcouncil/meetings/
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Part 2
Planning
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Planning tiers
• Planning remains one of the key functions of local councils
• District / unitary authorities are responsible for planning
• Planning divided into strategic long term plans and short term plans for controlling development
• The long term planning is divided into three tiers: national, regional and local
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National guidance• Planning Guidance Notes which tell local councils what the country's
planning priorities are e.g - increasing house building or encouraging development on brownfield sites
• Major developments like motorways or airport runways decided by central government
• The Department for Communities and Local Government supports plan-making and development management, through the provision of planning legislation, national planning policy and guidance
• Secretary of State has power to 'call in' planning applications for determination rather than letting the local authority decide (e.g, if they conflict with national policies)
• More details here: http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningsystem/
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Regional planning
• NB: this is about to change with scrapping of regional planning bodies + regional spatial plans
• Currently regional development agencies decide how they would like to see the region develop - where new industry should be encouraged, where new housing or roads are needed. Their emphasis is on economic development, transport , housing, the environment, the social infrastructure and action on climate change.
• http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/ • Be aware of the changes from regional planning
bodies into Local Enterprise Partnerships
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Local planning
• The regional strategy provides the basis on which councils produce the long term plans which form the basis on which planning applications are judged
• Council must produce Local Development Frameworks (guidance on long term planning aims) – based on Local Development Documents (also known as local development schemes)
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Local Development Documents
*Development Plan Documents subject to independent testing. These will be the basis on which planning applications are made + decided.*The Development Opportunities Document which outlines potential sites and kinds of development the council wishes to see there* A Sustainability Appraisal* The Core Strategy
• These documents must enable community involvement and address issues of climate change
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Using development documents• If you want to build, extend or change the use of
an existing building (e.g from a bank to a wine bar) you have to apply for planning permission
• Planning permission is the consent given by the council to carry out these changes
• Your plans must fit in with the local development framework i.e you will not be able to build a factory in an area designated for housing
• Planning applications can be turned down, given conditional (i.e build 10 flats on the plot rather than 15) or unconditional permission
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Planning terms• Planning applications are usually decided by planning committees
rather than cabinet or full council• Outline Planning Permission: permission 'in principle' subject to full
planning permission at a later date. It is used where someone wants to sell land or property which they think might be attractive to developers if it has outline planning permission.
• Planning contribution (gain): offer by a developer of added value for being granted planning permission for a major project, e.g fund a new playground or build a community centre in return for being able to build a housing estate or a supermarket
• Planning blight: Planning decisions that can have a dramatic impact on property values. If it is known that a row of houses is to be demolished to make way for a motorway, it may become impossible to sell such a house and market values can collapse. Compensation at the full market value is available.
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Compulsory purchase order
• Statutory order used by councils (planning authorities) to force home owners / businesses to sell up and move out of property
• Properties are then demolished and make way for new development
• Owners can be compensated for their loss
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Planning inquiry
• If there is strong opposition to a development proposal then an independent inspector can be appointed by the Secretary of State
• This inspector compiles a report and speaks to objectors and then reports decision to the Secretary of State
• This is not the same as a planning appeal when planning consent is turned down and the applicant lodges an appeal
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Limits on development
• Building permission: additional consent required on top of planning permission usually relating to structural alterations, to attain this developers must meet building regulations
• Building regulations: ensure safety and design standards are observed. Any new building -or alterations or extensions to existing ones - must comply with regulations on materials, method of construction, fire precautions and sanitation.
• NB: if planning permission or building permission is not obtained the council can order for a property to be demolished and then send the bill to the owner / developer
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Conserving sites• Listed buildings: protection on a building against alteration or
demolition because of its historical importance (personalities, events or architectural movements). Three levels: grade I, II* and II, with varying levels of restrictions. Sheffield Arts Tower is Grade II*.
• English Heritage: quango responsible for managing historical monuments/properties inc. listed buildings (safe but may merge with Heritage Lottery Fund)
• Conservation areas: Like listed buildings but it applies to whole neighbourhoods which have special architectural or historical interest. Protects character of an area and planning applications have to be measured against it
• The Green Belt – introduced after WW2 to combat urban sprawl. By 1958 every council had defined green belt – land where no development was allowed.
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More terms
• Brownfield site: derelict buildings / land usually in urban areas that have been developed before
• Greenfield site: an area of land with no prior development, particularly rural areas such as fields
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty: Has legal protection from development due to natural beauty or rare flora and fauna. 36 in England including Nidderdale in Yorkshire Pennines
• Natural England: quango responsible for AONB and protecting natural environment, advise central govt
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A note on National Parks
• There are currently 14 National Parks in the UK • Each UK National Park is administered by its own
National Park Authority and are independent bodies funded by central Govt
• Most National Parks are planning authorities with the same powers as local councils to allow or refuse new developments
• BUT coalition government wants to sell off all National Parks and a consultation is currently underway
• This is a hugely unpopular proposal• Leading to possible u-turn
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Useful planning links
• http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1804403
• http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/planning-and-city-development/planning-documents/sdf
• NB: You will also need to know general information about the stages of the planning process, so look carefully at Table 16.4 on p.500 of Morrison