Article 04 - The Full Council

4.01 Functions of the full Council

Only the Council can exercise the following functions (see Article 12.03):

(a) adopting and changing the Constitution and all its constituent parts;

(b) approving, adopting or amending the policy framework, or the budget and making any application to the Secretary of State in respect of any Housing Land Transfer;

(c) subject to the urgency procedure contained in the Access to Information Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution, making decisions about any matter in the discharge of a Cabinet function which is covered by the policy framework or the budget where the decision maker is minded to make it in a manner which would be contrary to the policy framework or contrary to/or not wholly in accordance with the budget;

(d) appointing the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council for a one year term, and the Leader of the Council for a two year period subject to Article 7.03;

(e) approving the appointment of an Acting Leader of the Council from any member of the Cabinet where it is anticipated that the Leader of the Council will be unable to hold office for a continuing period of two months or more. The Deputy Leader of the Cabinet will assume the role of Acting Leader of the Council for up to two continuous months, terminating on the return of the Leader or the appointment of an Acting Leader by the Council;

(f) agreeing and/or amending the terms of reference for committees, panels and other meetings not appointed by the Cabinet, deciding on their composition, deciding the allocation of seats to political groups in accordance with political balance rules and appointing a pool of substitutes for the Development Control Committee in accordance with Rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules set out in Part 4, Section 1 of this Constitution.

(g) appointing representatives to outside bodies unless the appointment is a Cabinet function or has been delegated by the Council;

(h) adopting a Members' allowances scheme (the current scheme is set out in part 6);

(i) changing the name of the area or conferring the title of honorary alderman;

(j) confirming the appointment or dismissal of the head of the paid service;

(k) establishing joint arrangements with other local authorities to exercise functions which are not the responsibility of the Cabinet (see Article 10);

(l) the appointment of any officer:

    (i) to any office other than an office in which he is employed by the authority

    (ii) to any body other than

• the authority

• a joint committee of two or more authorities; or

   (iii) to any committee or sub-committee of such a body, and the revocation of any such appointment

(m) making, amending, revoking, re-enacting or adopting bylaws and promoting or opposing the making of local legislation or personal Bills;

(n) all other matters which, by law, must be reserved to Council (see part 3, section 1).

4.02 Meanings

(a) Policy Framework. The policy framework means the following plans and strategies:-

• Financial Plan (long term policy);

• Best Value Performance Plan;

• Community Strategy;

• Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy;

• Local Transport Plan;

• Plans and strategies which together comprise the Development Plan including any supplementary planning guidance which contains policy rather than merely guidance;

• Corporate Plan;

• Food Law Enforcement Plan;

• The Housing Strategy and Business Plan;

• Local Agenda 21 Strategy;

• Asset Management Plan;

• Tenant Participation Compact;

• Recycling Strategy; and

• Supporting People Strategy.

(b) Budget. The budget includes:

• the allocation of financial resources to different services and projects;

• proposed contingency funds;

• the methodology of calculating the council tax base;

• setting the council tax;

• the Housing Revenue Account;

• the Capital Programme investments and financing;

• Construction Services Unit estimates; and

• decisions relating to the control of the Council's borrowing requirement (including setting the prudential indicators), the control of its capital expenditure, the setting of virement limits and the setting of limits on expenditure permitted in excess of the set budget by the executive decision-makers.

(c) Housing Land Transfer. Housing Land Transfer means the approval or adoption of applications (whether in draft form or not) to the Secretary of State for approval of a programme of disposal of 500 or more properties to a person under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 or to dispose of land used for residential purposes where approval is required under sections 32 or 43 of the Housing Act 1985.

4.03 Council meetings

There are three types of Council meeting:

(a) the annual meeting;

(b) ordinary meetings; and

(c) extraordinary or special meetings (as defined in Rule 3 Council Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution).

and they will be conducted in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution.

4.04 Responsibility for functions

The Council will maintain the tables in Part 3 of this Constitution setting out the responsibilities for the Council's functions which are not the responsibility of the Cabinet.