Local leadership, local choice

Chapter 3 - Strong leadership for communities

The legislation would be for every council to move to one of a range of new forms of local governance with:
a clearly identified executive to give strong leadership to communities, and clarity to decision taking; and
powerful roles for all councillors to ensure transparency and local accountability.
The White Paper identified these new forms as falling within three broad types:
a directly elected mayor with a cabinet;
a cabinet with a leader; and
a directly elected mayor and council manager.
To put in place the new forms of local governance councils are to adopt new constitutions.

New local governance

3.1 The legislation which the Government will introduce when Parliamentary time allows

is for every council to move to one of a range of new forms of local governance which give strong leadership for local communities. Within this range there are many possible forms of local governance. As explained in the previous chapter it is for local people to choose which particular form they have for their council and community. All the possible new forms for which the legislation is to provide are to have:

a clearly identified and separate executive to give leadership and clarity to decision taking; and
powerful roles for all councillors to ensure transparency and local accountability.

3.2 The Government believes that such forms of local governance, which provide for a separation of the executive, will be efficient, transparent and accountable. They will give communities the leadership they need, and provide the management structures for the delivery of quality local services.

3.3 All councillors will have powerful roles, acting together in the full council, or as members of the executive or powerful overview and scrutiny committees. People will know who is responsible for decisions, and communities will have a clear focus for leadership. Decisions will be scrutinised in public, and those who take them and implement them will be called publicly to account for their performance.

3.4 Whilst there is a wide range of new forms of local governance involving a separation of the executive, the White Paper concluded that all of those it had identified could be categorised under three broad models, although it recognised that there might also be other such forms of local governance which fell outside this categorisation. These three models are:

a directly elected mayor with a cabinet;
a cabinet with a leader; and
a directly elected mayor and council manager.

3.5 Under the legislation, a council is to draw up a formal detailed proposal for the new form of local governance it is proposing to adopt. Chapter 2 describes how the council is to involve its local community, and when binding referendums are to be held on these proposals. The detailed proposal when implemented becomes a "new constitution" for the council.

3.6 The legislation, either on the face of the Bill or through statutory instruments made under it, is to specify the key broad parameters with which any "new constitution" for a new form of local governance must comply. These parameters would set out a number of basic requirements as to political and officer positions, their roles and relationships. The following boxes show a broad summary of these key parameters for each of the three broad models at paragraph 3.4 above.

Figure 6 Directly elected mayor with cabinet

Figure 7 Cabinet with a leader

Figure 8 Directly elected mayor and council manager

3.7 Within these parameters a council's new constitution is to be a matter of local choice.It would define the new form of local governance the council adopted. It would set out the key political and officer positions in the modernised council and their roles and duties, making clear who takes what decisions, how they are held to account, and how they are to be appointed. It would include the standing orders underpinning the new constitution. It would also include transitional measures including the timetable for adopting the new form of governance.

Figure 9 The new constitution checklist

Before adopting its new constitution, a council will need to address:

the model for its new constitution;
the functions of the executive and whether any should be subject to conditions or limits;
how the executive should be structured and which individuals or groups within it should have which responsibilities;
who should perform the ceremonial roles on behalf of the council;
how the overview and scrutiny role should be structured;
what committees there should be for functions which are not to be discharged by the executive;
how parent governor and church representatives will play their roles in the new structure;
what standing orders there should be to define the relationship between the executive and the rest of the council (e.g. mayoral veto and other forms of resolving differences);
how changes to the new constitutional arrangements will be developed and agreed;
what should be the relationship between councillors and officers;
who should appoint the chief executive and who should appoint other officers;
how appointments to other bodies should be determined;
what direct support any mayor or scrutiny function might need from a small group of officers allocated specifically to this role;
any transitional arrangements needed (e.g. seeking nominations for candidates wishing to stand as a mayor);
the timetable for moving to the new constitution.

Powerful roles for all councillors

3.8 Under all of the new forms of local governance a council is to remain a single legal corporate entity. It would have a constitution where the council consisted of all the councillors elected to it, including any directly elected mayor. One councillor would chair the proceedings of the council. A small number of other councillors, including any directly elected mayor, would comprise an executive, and the remaining majority of the council would have other powerful roles to perform.

3.9 There will be important roles for all councillors. Under the legislation, with all of the new forms of local governance, all councillors, acting together as the full council, are to be required to:

agree the council's overall community strategies, including such key plans as its education development plans, land use development plans, local transport plans and its local performance plans;
determine each year its revenue and capital budgets;
take those decisions which would represent a departure from the strategies and budgets which the council had previously agreed;
adopt the form of local governance under which the council operates;
make appointments to such committees and sub-committees as the council's new constitution provides, and to the executive where the new constitution so provides; and
make or confirm appointments of the council's chief executive and chief officers as the council's new constitution provides.

3.10 The legislation is also to require, in all the new forms of local governance, that regulatory responsibilities, such as licensing or the granting of planning permission, are not to be functions of the executive but are to be carried out by the full council, or delegated as permitted under the council's new constitution, for example to a committee (see paragraph 3.23). Depending on local choice, a council's new constitution could also provide for other matters to be the responsibility of the full council (or to be delegated by it to, say, a committee), where these matters were not required by the legislation to be the responsibility of the executive.

Chairing the council

3.11 A councillor is to be appointed to chair the full council. He or she is to be elected by the full council. To preserve the separation of roles and the impartiality of the chair, the legislation is to require that the chair cannot be a member of either the executive or an overview and scrutiny committee (see paragraph 3.16 below). As a matter of local choice under a council's new constitution the person chairing the full council could undertake ceremonial duties.

Figure 10 The title of mayor

The councillor chairing some councils today is known as the mayor. Most mayors are so called either as a result of provisions in the Local Government Act 1972 or charters made under that Act. If, in such a case, a new form of local governance with a directly elected mayor was adopted, this elected person would have the title of mayor. The person who chaired the council would have a different title. Who undertook ceremonial duties would be for local choice.

In a very few cases, the title of mayor is derived from an ancient charter and local custom and practice. In these circumstances, this title would continue whichever new form of local governance is chosen. It would be for local choice to decide who under the new form of governance held this ancient title.

3.12 The person who chairs the council will need a deputy. The legislation is to require that this deputy cannot be a member of the executive. He or she, as decided by local choice, may serve on an overview or scrutiny committee (see paragraph 3.16 below). He or she will typically be elected in the same way as the chair, but other arrangements could be possible depending on local choice.

The new role for most councillors

What councillors do
3.13 The Government believes that under the new forms of local governance the majority of councillors will have greater freedom and a greater impact on the direction of the council and the services it provides to local people than is currently often the case. They will have:

a freer role in the review of policy and the formulation of future policy;
a duty to question and evaluate the impact of the decisions and actions of the executive, even if they are in the same political party; and
more time to undertake these roles and to consult directly with those they represent because day to day decision taking will be by the executive.

3.14 As provided for in a council's new constitution, councillors in their representational role can play a significant part in the consultations on:

the development of local performance plans;
fundamental reviews of best value;
other local initiatives, for example on community safety; or
the community planning process more generally.

Councillors will be able to concentrate on bringing the views of their neighbourhoods and local people to bear on the council's decision taking process, rather than, as is so often the case today, spending their time on justifying the council's decisions, in which they often have no real say, to their people.

Overview and scrutiny committees
3.15 The legislation is to require that in all the new forms of local governance a council must set up one or more overview and scrutiny committees. These committees would be required to have the same political balance as the full council, and to meet in public (with the same rules for public access as currently apply to committees). The overall shape of these arrangements, including the number of these committees and their size, would be for local choice. It would, however, be a requirement that the work of a council's overview and scrutiny committees covered all the matters which were the responsibility of its executive.

3.16 The membership of a council's overview and scrutiny committees would be for local choice, except that the legislation is to require:

the councillor chairing the full council cannot be a member of such a committee(see paragraph 3.11);
any councillor who is a member of the executive cannot be a member of such a committee; and
representatives of the churches¹⁶ and of parent governors are to be full voting members of any such committee dealing with education, in recognition of their important interests in the council's education responsibilities. Such representatives could chair the committee where the council's new constitution so provided.

As decided by local choice there could also be non-voting co-opted members. Such members might strengthen the links between the council and the community it serves and help the committee to be more effective and informed in its work.

3.17 A council's new constitution would need to provide the basis for appointing one member of each overview and scrutiny committee to chair it. This would be for local choice.

A council may consider it helpful for some overview and scrutiny committees to be chaired by members of its minority parties, or in certain cases by a co-opted member of the committee having full voting rights. Whilst members of the executive cannot be members of overview and scrutiny committees, they are likely to be asked to attend regularly to support the review of policy and to give evidence as required.

3.18 The legislation is to require that in all the new forms of local governance each of a council's overview and scrutiny committees would, in relation to the area of work given to it by the council's adopted new constitution, review and make recommendations and reports on:

such issues; and
such plans, policies, and decisions of the executive

as it is decided in accordance with the council's new constitution the committee should consider. The legislation would also require that a council's new constitution could not empower any overview and scrutiny committee to take decisions and exercise responsibilities on behalf of the full council.

3.19 Accordingly, an overview and scrutiny committee would:

consider and investigate broad policy issues and make reports and recommendations to the executive or council as appropriate;
consider the budget plans, proposed policy framework and other plans of the executive, and make reports and recommendations, including recommendations proposing amendments, to the executive or council as appropriate;
provide advice to the executive on major issues before final decisions are made; and
review decisions taken by the executive and how it is implementing council policy, and make reports and recommendations, including proposals for changes to policies or practices, to the executive or council as appropriate.

Councils might also choose forms of local governance allowing their overview and scrutiny committee to request a debate at full council before a particular decision is made or implemented by the executive.

3.20 These committees would therefore be able to address cross cutting issues, inviting input from representatives of other organisations and making a key input to the council's policy development process. They would also tackle issues to do with the policy framework for a particular council service, and the effectiveness of the delivery of that service. These overview and scrutiny committees would make reports and recommendations on future policy and practice to the council or its executive as appropriate.

3.21 For example, an overview and scrutiny committee dealing with education could expect to be consulted by the executive on the draft education budget and other major policy issues before the executive made proposals on these matters to the full council. It would be open to an overview and scrutiny committee in such a case to make its own report, with recommendations, to the council. The council would then consider those recommendations alongside the executive's proposals before coming to its decision. In other cases, where a decision was to be taken by the executive, the overview and scrutiny committee could make recommendations to the executive.

3.22 The legislation is to require that in any council's new constitution, all its overview and scrutiny committees, in order to fulfil their roles, would be:

able to require members of the executive and council officers to attend their meetings and invite others (including other organisations) to do so;
required to meet and to examine all these people in public (with the same rules for public access as currently apply to committees);
able to have the facilities, training, mentoring, information, guidance and officer support needed for their members if they are to have full knowledge of what their local communities need and want and the necessary skills to represent those people fully effectively; and
required to include in their standing orders provisions to ensure that any minority (including representatives of the churches and parent governors) on the committee would be able to get its concerns on to the agenda and fully considered.

Other council committees
3.23 Under any of the new forms of local governance there would be matters for which the executive is not responsible (for example, taking planning decisions - see paragraph 3.10) and for which responsibility could be delegated by the full council to a committee or sub-committee as currently.

Figure 11 Planning decisions

Decisions relating to individual sites should continue to be the responsibility of a planning committee which includes councillors outside the executive, with non-controversial decisions continuing to be delegated to officers.
The development plan will be prepared and proposed by the executive; guidance will encourage the executive to involve other councillors in the process.
Successive drafts and the final development plan should be adopted by the full council.
Other planning responsibilities are to be for the executive (see 3.35 below), with safeguards to ensure propriety on land disposals and the promotion of specific developments.

3.24 A council's new constitution would provide:

which such committees and sub-committees the council is to put in place;
the basis of appointment of their membership, including in each case the appointment of one of their members to chair their proceedings; and
the roles and responsibilities of these committees and sub-committees.

3.25 These matters would be for local choice except that legislation is to require all these committees and sub-committees to have the same political balance as the full council, and the current rules for public access and conduct of business would apply.

3.26 Councils would also decide as a matter of local choice what area committees or neighbourhood forums they would have. A council's new constitution would set out the roles and responsibilities of these, and their relationship with the executive and with the overview and scrutiny committees. The decentralised structures a council adopted would be tailored to best fit its local circumstances, and the Government expects there to be a wide variety of different arrangements put in place.

3.27 The Government believes that such decentralised structures could be important in advising a council's executive, particularly in such matters as the community planning process. These decentralised structures could also play an important part, assisting the overview and scrutiny committees, in undertaking the scrutiny role and achieving best value and bringing a new perspective to how local communities are being served by the range of agencies operating locally.

The role of the executive

3.28 A council's new constitution would set out:

the form of the executive, its membership and basis of appointment;
its roles and responsibilities; and
how it is to conduct its business and its relationship with the full council, overview and scrutiny committees, other committees and the council's Chief Executive, Chief Officers and other employees.

There would be great scope for councils to design arrangements which they and their citizens believe reflect local needs and circumstances, and provide the best improvement in the quality of local leadership and government possible.

What an executive does
3.29 In all the new forms of local governance, the executive will have wide ranging leadership roles. It will:

lead the community planning process;
lead the preparation of plans and strategies;
consult on and draw up the annual budget, including capital plans, for submission to the full council;
lead the search for best value;
take in-year decisions on resources and priorities to deliver the strategies and budget approved by the full council, consulting with other councillors and stakeholders in the local community as necessary; and
be the focus for forming partnerships with other agencies and the business and voluntary sectors locally to address local needs.

This means that statutory requirements for there to be certain committees are to be changed. In particular, as the White Paper "Modernising Social Services"¹⁷ recognised, the current legal requirement for a social services committee is not compatible with the new forms of local governance. Under the legislation, therefore, that requirement is to be abolished as councils move to the new forms of local governance. As set out in "Modernising Social Services" (paragraphs 7.31-7.34), certain requirements are to remain in place to ensure that there are proper management and accountability arrangements for social services.

3.30 Under the new forms of local governance the executive would be responsible for effective implementation of council policy and delivering services in line with the council's approved budget and policy framework. Any executive would be likely to have its own policy agenda, and a directly elected mayor would have a direct mandate for his or her agenda. Nevertheless, the executive would also need to respond to any recommendations made by overview and scrutiny committees. Where these differed from its own policy agenda, the executive would need to justify its own policies in the full council, or propose changes to its agenda where it so wished, seeking where necessary approval of the full council.

3.31 The executive could also seek advice from any overview and scrutiny committee or from the full council, as provided for in the council's new constitution, before taking a major decision even if it lies within the council's agreed strategic policy framework and has been allowed for in the budget. Frequent and effective dialogue between the executive and other councillors would be essential.

Policy formulation
3.32 The executive, and particularly a directly elected mayor, would have a great influence over the priorities of the council and the policy framework and budget within which it will be required to operate. The executive must be outward looking and engaged with those it serves, not inwardly focused. In the new forms of local governance, an executive would shape the agenda, but would do so in the light of the views of the community, other local stakeholders, including potential partners, and the recommendations of councillors outside the executive. An elected mayor would be ideally placed to make these links.

3.33 The executive would need to develop a clear strategy on how to involve the electorate and other local stakeholders in decisions and the development and review of policy. A directly elected mayor would be well placed to do this. It might be desirable to reach an understanding - a local concordat - with other councillors on the respective roles of all councillors, including those in the executive, in this process of local consultation. There are many options, including involving the overview and scrutiny committees, area committees or neighbourhood forums, for example.

3.34 In their own new constitutions councils would design their own policy processes to fit local circumstances and different issues might demand different approaches even within the same council. Many different ways of working are currently in place even within the current single legislative framework. But one possible policy process in a new constitution is illustrated in the box below.

Figure 12 Policy process in a new constitution

Responsibilities of the executive
3.35 The legislation is to require that a council's new constitution is to provide for its executive to have the roles outlined above. In short, any new constitution is to be required by the legislation to provide for the council's executive to be responsible for all matters of council business other than those which are:

required by legislation to be the responsibility of the full council (see paragraph 3.9);
required by the legislation not to be the responsibility of the executive(see paragraph 3.10); or
permitted by the legislation not to be the responsibility of the executive.

A council's new constitution would set out how responsibilities in this last category would be handled. An example of this might be spending on an item for which specific provision was not included in the council approved budget, although it could be accommodated without overspending. The legislation could put this kind of spending decision in the third category; a particular council might decide in their new constitution for this decision to be one for their executive if certain conditions were met.

The size of the executive
3.36 In the council manager form, the executive consists of the council manager and the directly elected mayor. However, other forms are likely to include a cabinet. The executive should always be a relatively small part of the council. The Government envisages a maximum of 15% of the council (rounded down) or 10 councillors, whichever is the smaller. Councils or mayors may feel that executives would be even more effective if they were still smaller than this, and they will be able to have smaller executives if they wish.

3.37 However, an executive mayor or a leader responsible for the allocation of responsibilities in the executive must have a deputy. This is to provide for times when there is a vacancy in the mayor or leader post, for example. It may also be desirable for there to be an odd number of councillors in the executive, especially where there are to be decisions taken by the full executive acting together. So while the Government does not intend to define a minimum cabinet size for all forms of local governance, it intends that executives with a cabinet and a leader or directly elected mayor should have at least three members.

Members of the executive
3.38 Depending upon the council's new constitution, the executive:

would not normally reflect the political balance of the authority but be formed by the majority party or a coalition;
would usually give specific portfolios to individual members of the executive; and
would take decisions either as a whole cabinet, in sub-groups, as individuals, or combinations of these.

In the cabinet with leader form of governance, the cabinet would be appointed by either the leader or the council. In the latter case it would be for the council by majority vote to decide the make up of the cabinet, according to its new constitution.

3.39 In most cases, the responsibilities of the executive would be in the first instance those of the directly elected mayor or leader who would then determine the size and structure of the rest of the executive, and the associated delegations, and invite councillors to serve in the executive. In these circumstances the mayor or leader would be able to change the structure or membership of the executive at any time, as provided in the council's new constitution.

3.40 Voters would clearly expect an elected executive mayor to be free to determine how the programme on which the mayor was elected should be taken forward and to be able to adapt structures to respond to events. Similarly, if a council wanted to have a relatively strong form of leadership in the leader/cabinet model they would adopt this approach to determining the size, structure and responsibilities of the cabinet. This approach is likely to maximise managerial effectiveness and responsiveness and to provide the clearest leadership to the council and the local community.

3.41 The mayor, leader or council could establish an executive in which all decisions were taken collectively. However, experience abroad and simulations with councils in this country suggest that models with a cabinet work better where the members have distinct portfolios. It speeds up decision taking and clarifies responsibilities, improving accountability.

3.42 Delegations are therefore likely to include delegations to individual members of the executive, groups of executive members or the whole executive. They may be subject to conditions or limits.

3.43 Any delegations made by the mayor are subject to the mayor being able to call back to himself a particular decision which might otherwise be taken by another member of the executive or a group of executive members. This mirrors current arrangements in which the full council can take a decision which might normally be taken by one of its committees under current arrangements (cf. s.101 of the Local Government Act 1972). Once responsibilities and delegations are determined they must be made public.

3.44 However, some councils may choose a new constitution where the full council determines the shape of the executive, the councillors who will serve within it and their respective responsibilities. There should still be significant benefits arising from streamlined decision taking, but there would be little scope for the executive to reassess its own structure and working methods to maximise its effectiveness.

Co-option to council bodies
3.45 The Government is inclined to the view that the legislation should prevent formal co-option by the executive. This could lead to a council embedding into its decision taking arrangements a large group of political advisers who cannot be held accountable for their influence on its decisions through the formal structures of the council. It could also lead to slower decision taking if there were many "outsiders" contributing to the formal debate in the executive.

3.46 However, a directly elected mayor would have the benefit of a political adviser paid for by the council in addition to those available to each of the three largest political groups. That adviser could attend (but not vote at) any meetings of the executive.

3.47 It can be argued that this policy could reduce the ability of the executive to work closely with key interest groups, for example. However, the Government believes that the executive will remain capable of seeking and obtaining independent advice from whatever source it chooses without the formality of co-option.

3.48 Some councils already operate consultative bodies such as partnership forums and the community planning process will provide an umbrella for close consultation with all local stakeholders. It would also be possible for overview and scrutiny committees to co-opt members from outside the council who are experts in a particular field and they would be available to give the executive advice alongside the councillors on that overview and scrutiny committee.

Electing a mayor
3.49 Where there is a directly elected mayor the legislation is to provide that he or she would be elected directly across the whole of the council's area, just as the new mayor for London will be elected across the whole of Greater London. The Bill currently before Parliament to create the new Greater London Authority proposes that that mayor should be elected under the supplementary vote (SV) system.

3.50 Under this system, voters simply mark their ballot paper using an 'X', as is usual in other elections, but if there are more than two candidates, they may register both a first and a second preference (if they wish) in separate columns. Voters' first preferences are counted and if a candidate gets 50% or more of the vote, that candidate is elected.

3.51 If no candidate gets 50% of the first choices, all candidates but the two who got the most first preference votes are eliminated. Where voters had voted for an eliminated candidate but gave their second preference vote to one of the remaining candidates, their votes are awarded to them. The person who has the most votes at the end of that process is declared the winner.

3.52 The Government believes that SV is simple and easy to use and can result in a clear winner. It therefore believes that this system should also be used in elections for directly elected mayors in local government. Accordingly, the legislation is to provide for this.

3.53 To allow the early introduction of a directly elected mayor, the legislation would also enable a council's new constitution to have transitional arrangements. These would provide for the first mayor elected to serve for a period other than the normal four year term for councillors, where this was appropriate given the existing pattern of election.

Directly elected mayor and council manager responsibilities
3.54 In these new forms of local governance, policy making is separated from policy implementation on the argument that the roles are different and need different skills and that the separation aids accountability. In these new forms, the mayor and the council manager formally are the entire executive. The executive functions - i.e. policy implementation - of the authority are given to the council manager. The council manager will work within a policy framework set by the council. He or she would not expect to need approval from the council for the means by which that policy was to be achieved though there may be council policy on process (e.g. on the approach to creating partnerships). The council manager will delegate functions to his or her staff as he or she sees fit.

3.55 The legislation is to require that in these forms of governance, the council manager would be appointed by the full council, or a committee appointed for the purpose, and would typically be the chief executive. The council manager would serve as the council's chief adviser on executive implementation of policy and on the available policy options. In the USA, council managers are appointed for an indefinite period, subject to immediate removal on a majority vote of the membership of the council, though both there and in New Zealand the council manager is the employer of the other council officers.

3.56 The Government does not propose to prescribe practice in this area, preferring to leave contractual matters to local agreement. However, it recognises the argument that the greater the powers given to officers, the greater the necessity of being able to replace the council manager quickly if things go wrong.

3.57 The mayor is directly elected to be the key political leader and policy developer for the community. The mayor:

solicits citizens' views in the formulation of policies and programmes;
acts as the spokesperson for the community both within the council's area and in relations between the authority and other public, private or government bodies; and
facilitates communication between councillors (or the council) and the council manager and other officers.

Consequently, the mayor might be expected to be the focus of the community planning process.

3.58 Unlike other countries, it is not proposed that the elected mayor should chair the council. It is likely that such a mayor, without direct executive responsibility, would take on the ceremonial duties for the authority, but this is a matter for local choice.

How new forms of local governance work

Meetings and access to information

3.59 The key principles to underpin the legislation are that:

as a minimum, the provisions on access to information will need to comply with legislation on the freedom of information;
an executive must ensure that a record of all decisions taken and the reasons for those decisions is produced, and that record, along with factual and background papers (excluding information which currently would not be made public, e.g. "exempt information" in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972) relating to those decisions, must be made public;
once a decision is taken by an individual, the record of that decision, including the reasons, and (if they have not already been provided) any papers containing the analysis and facts relating to the decision, must be made public and available to all councillors (subject to current legislation on access to information);
current access to information provisions will continue to apply to meetings of the full council, its committees and sub-committees, including meetings of overview and scrutiny committees;
where an executive consults an overview and scrutiny committee, this would be open to the public under the same rules as currently apply to committees;
overview and scrutiny committees should also have the right to see (but not make public) any information relating to their responsibilities which currently would not be available to the public (e.g. falls within the definition of exempt information in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972); and
political advice to the executive remains private.

With these principles of public access, the new forms of local governance will ensure that a council's affairs are conducted openly and subject to effective scrutiny. Councillors, the local media, and others interested will be helped by these new forms of governance to question those taking decisions, and to hold them to account as never before. Open and accountable decision taking will become a reality. This was the original aim of the traditional committee system, but which is today often more theory than practice (see chapter 1).

3.60 Committees charged with the overview and scrutiny role would have the right to demand the attendance of the mayor or leader, members of the executive or council officers to answer questions or to contribute to a debate on policy. They would also have a similar right to call for reports from the executive or officers (on finance for example).

3.61 The executive, which would not be required to reflect the political balance of the authority, must be able to determine its political view on an issue and weigh that in private against the other relevant factors in the decision. But local people and councillors outside the executive would need access to information on the decisions which are being taken by the executive and the issues being considered if accountability of local decision taking is to be maximised.

3.62 However, perhaps the key issue is the status of advice from officers of the authority. Any paper from officers setting out factually the options is also likely to contain a recommended course of action. The executive could choose another course, either because they took a different view on the relative merits of the options on a factual basis or due to political considerations.

3.63 Publishing the advice from officers would ensure greater accountability for political decisions. On the other hand, some argue that the position of officers would become difficult where it was clear to the public that their professional advice was not being followed on a major issue. The Government is inclined to make this information public too, alongside factual material.

3.64 Where a meeting of some or all of the executive has taken a decision, the duty to create a record of the decision and the reasons would fall upon an officer of the authority. Where the decision has been taken by an individual member of the executive, it is that person who would be required to ensure that the necessary record is created and made available to the monitoring officer. The monitoring officer would then be under a duty to ensure that the record becomes available as described above. Failure to create such a record or to make it available will be a criminal offence. Papers and records of decisions will subsequently be kept open for public scrutiny in the same way as those relating to non-executive decisions.

3.65 In addition, overview and scrutiny committees would be able to ask for whatever factual information they feel they need to support their work. The full role of the overview and scrutiny committees in policy formulation would not be fulfilled unless there is regular and open dialogue between it and the executive. But no further specific provision on access to information may be required to support that role. The full council's role in approving the budget and policy framework would enable any major decisions to be openly discussed well before they are finally taken.

Resolving differences

3.66 In the USA, a directly elected mayor will often have the ability to "veto" a council decision. The Government believes that this could be appropriate in councils here too where there is a directly elected mayor.

3.67 The mayor and executive would play a key role in the creation of the council's budget and strategic policy, making proposals for endorsement by full council. The councillors outside the executive would also play a major role in this, making recommendations and, in full council, having a vote on the policy or budget to be adopted. However, the implementation of policy on most council functions would properly be the responsibility

of the executive mayor or the council manager, depending upon the model on which the council's arrangements are based.

3.68 A veto mechanism would make the policy debate between the mayor and the council high profile, heightening local interest in the decisions taken by the council and strengthening accountability. It would enable the mayor to make it clear that a decision proposed by the councillors outside of the executive, either in committee or as a result of debate at full council, would conflict with the policy agenda on which the mayor was elected or with some other decision or course of action already being pursued.

3.69 In an English council this veto mechanism might work as set out below:

minutes of the council (or committee) meeting are produced and provided to the mayor and the monitoring officer within 4 days of the meeting;
decisions taken by the council at that meeting will have effect a week after the record of the meeting has been produced and given to the mayor;
within that period the mayor may veto a decision taken at that meeting by writing to the monitoring officer, giving reasons; and
the issue will be considered again in the light of the mayor's veto at the next meeting of the full council at which a vote (a simple majority or such greater majority as provided in the new constitution) of the council will overturn the veto.

In effect, it would be a power for the elected mayor to delay a decision of the full council or a committee of councillors outside the executive for a short time and to ask the full council to reconsider the issue.

3.70 The Government is not inclined to require that this arrangement should always form part of any arrangements which include an elected mayor. However, it believes the case is strong for this mechanism, or something similar designed locally, to be put in place for at least those functions which are the responsibility of the executive. Some councils may also wish to adopt it across the whole range of council functions.

3.71 A similar mechanism could be introduced into arrangements with an appointed leader. But the leader would not have a direct mandate and could be replaced very quickly by the council. Unless a council decided to introduce arrangements in which the executive members were protected from being replaced by the council for a fixed term under standing orders, there would seem to be little value in introducing veto arrangements, such as those proposed for the executive mayoral model.

Budget setting

3.72 The current legislative timetable for setting the budget will remain. The duty on a council to make a balanced budget by the due date will also remain. The budget will continue to be agreed by the full council. In the new forms of local governance there will be a different process for reaching a finally agreed budget. The process, which would need to be set out in the council's new constitution, might be similar to that for the formulation of policy in other major areas and might be as follows:

the executive begins to draft the budget given the policy framework agreed by council and, in the case of a directly elected mayor, his or her own electoral mandate;
the executive takes account of recommendations made by overview and scrutiny committees and seeks their advice;
the executive proposes a budget to the full council; and
the full council may propose amendments to the budget; it would not be able simply to reject the executive's proposals.

3.73 In the case of forms of local governance with an executive mayor, there would need to be a procedure, set out in the new constitution, for circumstances in which the mayor could not accept the changes proposed by the full council. There are options for conflict resolution. One approach would be similar to that of the veto set out above. The mayor would veto the amendments to the budget which were unacceptable and the council would then need to consider them again in the light of his or her written reasons and amend the budget only if the council's members voted to do so by a majority of a size set out in the new constitution.

3.74 A similar approach would be analogous to that adopted for the GLA. The mayor would bring back the budget to a further meeting of the council, revised or not as he or she saw fit in the light of the amendments proposed by the council. Any amendments to the budget at this meeting would require a two-thirds majority of those present.

3.75 The procedure by which the budget is set will be one of the key ways in which the relative strength or weakness of an executive mayor will be defined. The Government believes that this is a decision for the local choice of the council, to be reflected in the new constitution the council adopts. All councils which adopt a new form of local governance with an executive mayor will need to address the need for such a mechanism.

3.76 With forms of local governance of the leader and cabinet kind, the executive will not have its own separate electoral mandate, but it will be the executive that is charged with delivering and securing council services. It could potentially have rather different views about the priorities for spending and the approach to service delivery to those held by the councillors outside of the executive. Furthermore, the option of replacing an executive member, or the whole executive, during the budget setting process could be extremely disruptive. Councils operating this model may therefore wish to adopt similar arrangements for resolving disagreement during the budget making process.

3.77 Such mechanisms may not be necessary in forms of local governance with the council manager. The council manager will propose the budget but will have no political mandate. The elected mayor does not have executive responsibilities for running the council in such forms of governance. The council will therefore determine the budget, once the proposal has been produced, in the normal way.

Support for councillors

3.78 As described at paragraph 3.87 below, the chief executive in the modern council will have the responsibility for ensuring that councillors are supported by council officers and given the training, resources and facilities to ensure that they can all play their new enhanced roles successfully. But the financial support given to councillors must also reinforce the culture of the modern council.

3.79 All the proposals on allowances and remuneration for councillors in the White Paper remain central to the modernising agenda. Directly elected executive mayors, and some others in political executive positions, may spend much if not all their time on council business with a possible subsequent loss of earnings and pension rights. The payment of pensionable salaries is to be made possible in these cases.

3.80 Other councillors are to continue to receive allowances reflecting their roles. Current disincentives to serve on councils are, as described in the White Paper, to be addressed. The attendance allowance would be ended. There is no place in the modern council for an "attendance culture".

3.81 The level of allowances for councillors is to be a matter for councils to decide and for which they are to be locally accountable. Councils are to seek proposals for their allowances and remuneration scheme from a local independent panel. These proposals would be made public, but would not be binding; the council would be free to set allowances and remuneration at a different level to those recommended.

The role of officers

3.82 In all the new forms of local governance councils would continue to have a professional chief executive responsible for managing and securing the professional body of staff a large multi-function organisation needs to deliver modern well-focused services effectively. Council officers will be required to serve both the executive and other councillors in their several roles. They will therefore be required to maintain their political neutrality.

3.83 In the new forms of local governance both the executive and the council as a whole would need to be content with appointments of the chief executive and chief officers. The appointment of the chief executive could be made either by the full council on the recommendation of the executive, or made by the executive with the consent of the full council. In the case of forms of local governance involving the council manager, the council would appoint the council manager.

3.84 Similar arrangements could apply to chief officers and their deputies. However, where there is a council manager appointed by the full council, it might be appropriate for him or her to be responsible for making the appointments of all other chief officers and their deputies as they fall due. The Government does not believe it appropriate in any form of local governance for councillors to be involved in the appointment of officers below that level.

3.85 Councils will need to determine their officer structures to meet the needs of the new constitution they adopt. These structures would be largely a matter of local choice, but there are to be, as currently, legislative requirements about the roles of the statutory officers - the head of paid service, the chief financial officer and the monitoring officer.

It is possible that in many councils who adopt the new constitution there may be positive benefits from greater delegation to officers than has been the case in the past. The great majority of council officers would spend the bulk of their time supporting the executive, delivering local services. A very small group might be asked to support the executive mayor or leader, if there was one, and there would be the need for a small group to support the overview and scrutiny function.

3.86 A number of senior officers may be called to give evidence to overview and scrutiny committees on a regular basis, but all officers would be accountable to the council in its overview and scrutiny role. The council manager would have the right to attend and speak at any meeting of the authority except for a meeting of a scrutiny committee, but is not to have a vote.

3.87 Finally, the changing roles of councillors imply different needs for training, facilities and officer support. The increasing importance of direct consultation with local people and other stakeholders, whether by the executive or by councillors outside the executive, will also lead to new and different demands upon council officers. But they will also benefit from the new structures proposed. Instead of producing papers for and attending committee meetings, they will be able to devote more time to the effective management of services and supporting the new ways of working for councillors.

Changing a new constitution

3.88 Decisions on the new constitution are for the full council. Either the executive or other councillors outside of the executive may come forward with proposals for amendments to the constitution in place, within the same form of local governance. But councils should not be able to alter their constitution as a method of resolving disagreements between a directly elected mayor and other councillors. In the case of a directly elected mayor, proposals to change the council's constitution in relation to the executive will require not only the approval of the full council but also the written consent of the mayor before they can be implemented.

3.89 Where the council proposes to move to another of the models provided for under the legislation the Government proposes there will be no such veto for the mayor. However, as a vote of local people in a referendum led to the model being adopted, they will similarly also be required to approve in a further referendum any proposed move away from arrangements including a directly elected mayor. If the people support a council's proposal to move away from a model with a directly elected mayor, the new arrangements may only be implemented at the end of the mayor's term. ¹⁶ As defined in s499 of the Education Act 1996.

¹⁷ Modernising Social Services: Promoting Independence, Improving Protection, and Raising Standards, Cm 4169, TSO 1998.