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Summary
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The council was scheduled to review its constitution, which sets out how the council operates, how decisions are made, and the procedures it follows to ensure efficiency, transparency and accountability. The constitution is divided into chapters, each covering a specific aspect of the council's operations. The council was also scheduled consider updates to the ethical framework, financial regulations, contract rules, officer employment rules and members' allowances.
Constitution of the London Borough of Ealing
The council was scheduled to review the various chapters of its constitution, including:
- Introduction: This chapter ( Chapter 1 - Introduction) explains the rights of citizens and how the key parts of the council operate, including members, the council meeting, the cabinet, committees, officers and their delegations, and decision making.
- The Council: This chapter ( Chapter 2 - The Council) outlines the role and functions of the full council, council procedure rules, and the role of the Mayor of the Council.
- The Executive: This section ( Chapter 3 - The Executive) covers the Leader and Cabinet, cabinet procedure rules, cabinet member portfolios and terms of reference, cabinet committees, budget and policy framework procedure rules, responsibility for functions, and joint arrangements.
- Scrutiny: This chapter ( Chapter 4 - Scrutiny) details the overview and scrutiny committee terms of reference and scrutiny procedure rules.
- Committees: This section ( Chapter 5 - Committees) lists the committees and sub-committees of the council, appointment of committees and terms of office, and the committees' terms of reference.
- Access to Information: This part ( Chapter 6 - Access to information) contains the procedure rules regarding access to information.
- Ethical Governance: This section ( Chapter 7 - Ethical Governance) includes the code of conduct for members, code of conduct for licensing, code of conduct for planning, and the member/officer relations protocol.
- Delegations: This chapter ( Chapter 8 - Delegations) outlines the scheme of delegations to officers.
- Finance and Contract Rules: This section ( Chapter 9 - Financial Procedure Rules and Chapter 9 - Contract Procedure Rules) contains the financial procedure rules and contract procedure rules.
- Officer Employment Rules: This chapter ( Chapter 10 - Officer employment rules) details the officer employment procedure rules.
- Members Allowances Scheme: This section ( Chapter 11 - Members Allowances Scheme) outlines the members' allowances scheme.
Ethical Governance
The report pack included the council's code of conduct for members, which states that councillors must:
- act with selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership
- maintain high standards of conduct
- treat others with respect
- not bully or intimidate
- not disclose confidential information
- not use their position improperly to gain an advantage
- take account of advice from the council's chief finance officer and director of legal and democratic services
- participate in training
The code also covers pecuniary interests1 and the declaration of interests.
Financial Regulations
The report pack included the council's financial regulations, which are intended to ensure that the council conducts its affairs in a way that complies with relevant statutory provisions, generally accepted accounting principles and professional good practice. The regulations cover:
- financial management roles and responsibilities
- financial planning
- financial management
- risk management and internal control
- control of resources
- income and expenditure
- financial systems and procedures
- external arrangements
Contract Procedure Rules
The report pack included the council's contract procedure rules, which are intended to ensure a system of openness, integrity and accountability in the council's procurement process. The rules cover:
- general requirements
- procurements below £30,000
- procurements from £30,000 to £100,000
- procurements from £100,000 to the threshold amount2
- procurements over the threshold amount
- tender award
- contract management
- exceptions to contract procedure rules
- individual placements
Officer Employment Procedure Rules
The report pack included the council's officer employment procedure rules, which cover:
- recruitment and appointment
- disciplinary action
- relevant officer dismissal procedure
Members' Allowances Scheme
The report pack included the council's members' allowances scheme, which covers:
- basic allowance
- special responsibility allowances
- travel allowance
- carers' allowance
- subsistence allowance
- approved duties
- national insurance
- claims and payment
- payments to cabinet members for loss of office
- other authorities from which allowances may be claimed
- review
- records of allowances
- attendance records
- independent remuneration panel
- annual uplift
- advice and assistance
- travel and subsistence allowances
-
A pecuniary interest is a
disclosable pecuniary interest
in relation to a person if it is of a description specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State and either it is an interest of that person's, or it is an interest of their spouse or civil partner, a person with whom they are living as husband and wife, or a person with whom they are living as if they were civil partners, and they are aware that that other person has the interest. ↩ -
The threshold amount is the threshold above which the requirements of the Public Procurement Legislation are engaged. ↩
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