The meeting of Harrow Council's The Constitution committee was scheduled to discuss the entirety of the Council's Constitution. This comprehensive document outlines the fundamental rules and procedures governing the Council's operations, decision-making processes, and accountability mechanisms.

The Council's Constitution

The report pack provided for the meeting contained the full Constitution of the London Borough of Harrow. This document is divided into seven articles, with further detailed procedures, codes of practice, and protocols provided in subsequent sections. The Constitution aims to ensure that the Council operates within the law and its own agreed framework, promoting fairness, openness, integrity, and accountability to local residents.

The Constitution details how the Council operates, including the roles and responsibilities of its 55 councillors, who are elected every four years. It outlines the process for council meetings, which are normally open to the public, and how councillors decide on overall policies and the annual budget. The Constitution also establishes the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, tasked with reviewing the actions of the Executive and assisting in the development of plans and policies.

A significant portion of the Constitution is dedicated to outlining how decisions are made. It details the role of the Executive, also known as the Cabinet, which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. The Constitution explains the Forward Plan, which is publicly available and details upcoming major decisions. It also outlines the process for referring decisions that fall outside the budget or policy framework to the full Council for a decision, unless the matter is deemed urgent.

The Constitution further elaborates on the roles of statutory officers, including the Head of Paid Service, Chief Finance Officer, and Monitoring Officer, detailing their specific functions and responsibilities in ensuring the Council acts lawfully, ethically, and efficiently. It also covers various procedure rules, such as those for Council meetings, committee meetings, executive decision-making, access to information, officer employment, contracts, and financial regulations. Additionally, it includes codes and protocols related to members' conduct, employee conduct, councillor-officer relations, local government publicity, planning, anti-fraud, confidentiality, co-optees, access to information, gifts and hospitality, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, social media, and the recording of officer decisions.

The report pack also included the Members' Allowances Scheme, which details the basic allowance, special responsibility allowances, mayoral allowances, and travel and subsistence expenses for councillors. Finally, a glossary of terms used within the Constitution was provided to aid understanding of the document's terminology.