How councils operate and plan

Part 1

Council operations

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

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

Political vs operational structure

• Leader of the council• Cabinet leaders• Full Council• Voters

• Chief Executive• Chief officers• Officers• Council employees

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

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

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

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

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• Old system of committees being superseded• Committees (education, transport, finance etc.)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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Other terms

• Agenda• Minutes must be public and • Background paper available in advance• By-law• Local Government Associations• UNISON• Commissioner for Local Administration

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

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

Further help

• Cabinet and scrutiny: http://www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/yourcouncil/meetings/

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Part 2

Planning

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

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/

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

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)

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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