Proposals for new executive arrangements
Summary
In accordance with the Local Government & Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the Council has drawn
up proposals to adopt the new style Leader and Cabinet Executive (England) form of governance.
The main features of the proposals are:
- Election of the Leader and the term of office;
- Appointment of Cabinet Executive members and the Scheme of Delegation;
- Appointment of Deputy Leader;
- Absence and Removal of Leader;
- Timetable for implementation of new arrangements.
The Council is statutorily required to adopt its preferred model of governance by 31 December 2010, and have the new arrangements in place ready for the District elections in May 2011.
Further information
The Local government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 requires Blaby District Council to make changes to its current governance and decision making arrangements. The new arrangements will come into operation immediately after the elections in May 2011. The Council is required under the Act to publish its proposals following the conclusion of the consultation exercise.
Proposed Executive Arrangements
It is proposed that, with effect from the third day after the May 2011 elections, the District Council of Blaby adopts the Leader and Cabinet Executive (England) model, as set out in the provisions of the Local Government Act 2000 (as amended). The key elements of the proposals are:
- Election of Leader
The Leader is elected by full Council at its post-election annual meeting (or, if the Council fails to elect a leader at that meeting, at a subsequent meeting of the Council). The term of office of the Leader starts on the day of his/her election as Leader and ends on the day of the next post election annual meeting (under whole Council elections) or the day when the Council holds its first annual meeting after the normal day of retirement as a Councillor (under elections by thirds) unless he/she:
- is removed from office or resigns;
- ceases to be a Councillor, or
- is disqualified from being a Councillor before that day.
- Appointment of the Cabinet (Executive) and Scheme of Delegation
The Leader determines the size of and appoints between 2 and 9 members of the Council to be the Cabinet (Executive) in addition to himself/herself, allocates any areas of responsibility (portfolios) to them, and may remove them from the Cabinet (Executive) at any time. The Leader determines the scheme of delegation for the discharge of the executive functions of the Council.
The Leader will report to the Council on all appointments and changes to the Cabinet (Executive). - Appointment of Deputy Leader
The Leader appoints one of the Members of the Cabinet (Executive) to be his/her deputy, to hold office until the end of the term of office as Leader (unless the person resigns as Deputy Leader, ceases to be a Councillor or is disqualified or removed from office by the Leader). The Leader may, if he/she thinks fit, remove the Deputy Leader from office, but must then appoint another person in his/her place.
- Absent Leader
If for any reason the Leader is unable to act or the office of Leader is vacant, the Deputy Leader must act in his/her place. If the Deputy Leader is unable to act or the office is vacant, the Cabinet (Executive) must act in the Leader’s place or arrange for a member of the Cabinet (Executive) to do so.
- Removal of Leader
Section 44c of the Local Government Act 2000 (amended) states that the executive arrangements which provide for a Leader and Cabinet Executive may include provision for the Council to remove the Leader by resolution. It is proposed that Blaby District Council should have the power to remove the Leader by way of resolution by a simple majority, with provision for the removal of the Leader to be included in the Constitution of the Authority.
The Act specifies that, if the Council passes a resolution to remove the Leader, a new Leader is to be elected –- at the meeting at which the leader is removed from office, or
- at a subsequent meeting.
- Referendum
Under the Act, the Council has the option whether or not to make its proposals subject to a referendum. A referendum would require registered electors to endorse the Council’s proposals. The cost of a referendum would be significant (approximately £100,000) and given the low level of interest shown by the public about the leadership arrangements, it is felt that there is insufficient justification to undertake a referendum in addition to the consultation exercise. Accordingly, it is proposed that no referendum as to the Executive form of Blaby District Council should be held.
- Timetable for Implementation
Date Action Required February 2010 Initial report to Council outlining key issues and consultation process. March 2010 Consultation process begins. May/June 2010 Consultation process ends. June 2010 Draw up proposals for preferred governance model June 2010 Report to Cabinet on results of consultation process and to agree recommendations to Council for adoption of preferred governance model. July 2010 Specially convened Meeting of Council to pass resolution adopting preferred governance model (or to pass a resolution requesting that a referendum be held) July/August 2010 If no referendum is to be held, then the Council publishes its proposals as statutorily required. September 2010 Referendum to be held (if the Council has resolved to hold one). October 2010 Specially convened Meeting of Council to pass resolution to adopt the preferred governance model. (If the Council has held a referendum on this, then the resolution must be to adopt the model favoured as per the results of the referendum.) 31 December 2010 Statutory deadline by which the Council must pass a resolution adopting a new governance model. February 2011 Report to Cabinet Executive and Council to make necessary changes to the Constitution. May 2011 District Council Elections. May 2011 New Executive Arrangements come into effect May 2011 Annual Council - Transitional Arrangements
Under the Act, the Council must agree transitional arrangements for the period following the local elections up until the annual meeting of Council. Under these proposals, it is recommended that the existing Leader would remain in place (providing, of course, he/she is still a Councillor) until the Annual Meeting after the 2011 elections, at which the new Leader will be elected. Whoever acts in place of the new Leader will have to act in accordance with the existing constitution and within the parameters of the relevant regulations and statutory provisions.
- General Information
There is little evidence of the benefits of either model in fact the research available from the previous government does not indicate one model as being more preferable.
Researchers have concluded that strong executive leadership and strong scrutiny, with a high degree of independence between the two has been the model most closely identified with effective performance.
Vibrant Local Leadership ODPM (2005)Under the current options for executive arrangements only 12 Councils in England and Wales have operated a Mayoral model. There is some evidence that a directly elected Mayor of a Council has a higher profile that a Leader and has an increased ability to act as a focal point for debate (How are Mayors measuring up – July 2004) but there is no evidence that this translates toa more effective style of Leadership.
There are some perceived advantages and disadvantages of the two systems. For example, under the Leader model, the Leader is elected by the members of the Council and therefore enjoys the support of the majority of the members of the Council. A Mayor is not elected by the Council but by the voter directly. He or she could be an independent member, or a member of a group that does not enjoy the support of the majority of members on the Council and this may, in some situations, lead to conflict between the Mayor, who is responsible for executive functions, and the Council, who broadly speaking is responsible for setting the budget and the policy framework. The personality of the Mayor can be a positive factor, but it can also be viewed that individual interests may distract from the Council’s business. There are also divided views on whether the public or the Council are better placed to choose a suitable leader. - Continuous Improvement
In drawing up the proposals, the local authority must consider the extent to which the proposals, if implemented, would be likely to assist in securing continuous improvement in the way in which the local authority’s functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
The current executive arrangement of Leader and Executive closely resembles the new style Leader and Cabinet model and has been used by the Council since 2000. The Council over the last 3 years has shown significant improvement under this style with 72% of its National Indicators in 2008/09 showing improvement.
It is considered that the Council will continue to demonstrate improvement under the proposals set out above and that the Leader and Cabinet (Executive) model offers the best value for the residents of Blaby District. - The Constitution
Detailed changes to the Council’s existing Constitution to include the above proposals will be agreed by the Council prior to the date on which the proposals come into effect.
The Act makes clear that the Council must state the extent to which the functions specified in the Local Government Act 2000 (S13(3)(b)) are to be the responsibility of the Executive which will be operated if the proposals are implemented. The Council proposes that the allocations of functions will continue as for the current Council until revised by the Leader or Council under the new governance arrangements.
As required by the legislation, notice of these proposals has been advertised. The proposals are available for public inspection at the address below.
Contact us
| Officer / Team | Democratic Service Team |
|---|---|
| Postal address | Blaby District Council Council Offices Desford Road Narborough Leicester LE19 2EP |
| E-mail address | committees@blaby.gov.uk |
| Telephone | 0116 272 7638 |
| Fax | 0116 272 7596 |
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This page was last updated on 10th September 2010
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