How decisions are made and scrutinised

How we make decisions.

How decisions are made

The council is made up of 57 councillors, who all attend Full Council

The Leader and the Cabinet

The council is led by the Leader, who is elected by councillors from the majority party, currently the Labour party.

Decisions on how the council is run are taken by the Leader and a group of councillors known as the Cabinet. The Cabinet is where most council decisions are made. All decisions that have been made are published on our decisions page.

Decisions are also made through various other council committees and boards.

The Forward Plan

The Forward Plan lists all decisions that the Cabinet will take and is published monthly, covering a 4 month period.  

Delegated decision making 

Decisions can also be delegated to officers. Officers manage the day to day activities of the council and are not politically appointed. Find out more about council management.

Decisions that are delegated to officers are described in Part 3, Section E of the council's constitution.

Officers making delegated decisions must complete a written statement containing details of the decision taken. These statements are available on the decisions page.

Decisions that officers must make

Certain types of decision must by law be delegated to an officer rather than being determined by councillors. These include:

  • appointing and dismissing officers below deputy chief officer level
  • discharging duties of the returning officer in elections
  • the proper officer functions

For most council functions, the council can decide whether they are done by councillors or delegated to officers.