11.01 Management Structure
(a) General. The full Council may engage such staff (referred to as officers) as it considers necessary to carry out its functions.
(b) Chief Officers. The full Council will engage persons for the following posts, who will be designated chief officers:
|
Post |
Functions and areas of responsibility |
|
Chief Executive (and Head of Paid Service) |
Overall corporate management and operational responsibility (including overall management responsibility for all officers)
Provision of professional advice to all parties in the decision making process.
Together with the Monitoring Officer and the Head of Customer and Information Services, responsibility for a system of record keeping for all the Council's decisions.
Representing the Council on partnership and external bodies
(as required by statute or the Council).
The Chief Executive is also the Electoral Registration Officer and Acting Returning Officer/Local Returning Officer/Deputy Returning Officer/Returning Officer in respect of Parliamentary/European/County Council/District and Parish Council elections. |
|
Corporate Directors |
Efficient and effective delivery of the Council's services to its customers, front line services to the public and provision of strategic executive leadership of the Council's policies. |
|
|
(c) Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Council will designate the following posts as shown:
|
Post |
Designation |
Statutory Requirement |
|
Chief Executive |
Head of Paid Service |
Section 4 Local Government & Housing Act 1989 |
|
Head of Customer, Legal and Member Services |
Monitoring Officer |
Section 5 Local Government & Housing Act 1989 |
|
Head of Finance |
Chief Finance Officer |
Section 151 Local Government Act 1972 |
Such posts will have the functions described in Article 11.02-11.04 below.
(d) Structure. The Head of Paid Service will determine and publicise a description of the overall departmental structure of the Council showing the management structure and deployment of officers. This is set out at Part 7 of this Constitution.
11.02 Functions of the Head of Paid Service
(a) Discharge of functions by the Council. The head of paid service will report to full Council on the manner in which the discharge of the Council's functions is co-ordinated, the number and grade of officers required for the discharge of functions and the organisation of officers.
(b) Restrictions on functions. The Head of Paid Service may not be the Monitoring Officer but may hold the post of Chief Finance Officer if a qualified accountant.
11.03 Functions of the Monitoring Officer
(a)
Maintaining the Constitution. The Monitoring Officer will maintain an up-to-date version of the Constitution and will ensure that it is widely available for consultation by members, staff and the public.
(b) Ensuring lawfulness and fairness of decision making. After consulting with the Head of Paid Service and Chief Finance Officer, the Monitoring Officer will report to the full Council or to the Cabinet in relation to a Cabinet function if he or she considers that any proposal, decision or omission would give rise to unlawfulness or if any decision or omission has given rise to maladministration. Such a report will have the effect of stopping the proposal or decision being implemented until the report has been considered.
(c) Supporting the Standards Committee. The Monitoring Officer will contribute to the promotion and maintenance of high standards of conduct through provision of support to the Standards Committee.
(d) Receiving reports. The Monitoring Officer will receive and act on reports made by ethical standards officers (appointed by the Standards Board for England) and decisions of the case tribunals.
(e) Conducting investigations. The Monitoring Officer will conduct investigations into matters referred by ethical standards officers (appointed by the Standards Board for England) and make reports or recommendations in respect of them to the Standards Committee.
(f) Proper officer for access to information. The Monitoring Officer will ensure that Cabinet decisions, together with the reasons for those decisions and relevant officer reports and background papers are made publicly available as soon as possible (see the Access to Information Procedure Rules - part 4, section 2).
(g) Advising whether Cabinet decisions are within the budget and policy framework. The Monitoring Officer will advise whether decisions of the Cabinet are in accordance with the budget and policy framework.
(h) Providing advice. The Monitoring Officer will (in association with the Chief Finance Officer where necessary) provide advice to all Councillors on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration, financial impropriety, probity and budget and policy framework issues and will support and advise Councillors and officers in their respective roles.
(i) Restrictions on posts. The Monitoring Officer cannot be the Chief Finance Officer or the Chief Executive (Head of Paid Service).
11.04 Functions of the Chief Finance Officer
(a) Ensuring lawfulness and financial prudence of decision making. After consulting with the Head of Paid Service and the Monitoring Officer, the Chief Finance Officer will report to the full Council or to the Cabinet in relation to a Cabinet function and the Council's External Auditor if he or she considers that any proposal, decision or course of action will involve incurring unlawful expenditure, or is unlawful and is likely to cause a loss or deficiency or if the Council is about to enter an item of account unlawfully.
(b) Administration of financial affairs. The Chief Finance Officer will have responsibility for the administration of the financial affairs of the Council.
(c) Contributing to corporate management. The Chief Finance Officer will contribute to the corporate management of the Council, in particular through the provision of professional financial advice.
(d) Providing advice. The Chief Finance Officer will (in association with the Monitoring Officer where necessary) provide advice to all Councillors on the scope of powers and authority to take decisions, maladministration, financial impropriety, probity and budget and policy framework issues and will support and advise councillors and officers in their respective roles.
(e) Give financial information. The Chief Finance Officer will provide financial information to the media, members of the public and the community.
11.05 Duty to provide sufficient resources to the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer
The Council will provide the Monitoring Officer and Chief Finance Officer with such officers, accommodation and other resources as are in their opinion sufficient to allow their duties to be performed.
11.06 Conduct
Officers will comply with the Officers' Code of Conduct and the Protocol on Member/Officer Relations set out in Part 5 of this Constitution.
11.07 Employment
The recruitment, selection and dismissal of officers will comply with the Officer Employment Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution.
