About
Anyone wishing to speak at Council should read
how to participate in Council meetings. The Council is composed of 41 councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. The overriding duty of councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty to their constituents, including those who did not vote for them. Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure appropriate standards in the way they undertake their duties. All councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. Here councillors decide the council's overall policies and set the budget each year. The council elects the leader of the council (who appoints the other members of the decision-making cabinet); the Overview and Scrutiny Commission (responsible for holding the cabinet publicly accountable, and for developing policies) and the four regulatory committees (which make decisions, non-executive functions).