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Constitution

Knowsley Council's Constitution

Knowsley Council has agreed a constitution which sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures that have to be followed to ensure that these decisions are made in an open, transparent and accountable manner.

Some of these processes are required by the law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.

The Constitution is divided into 16 articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council’s business.


What is in the Constitution?

Article 1 of the Constitution provides a statement of purpose which lists the key issues important to the Council in fulfilling its primary purpose of providing leadership to the community in order to promote the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the Borough to the full.

Articles 2 – 16 explain the rights of citizens and how the key parts of the Council operate. These are:

• Members of the Council (Article 2).
• Citizens and the Council (Article 3).
• The Council meeting (Article 4).
• Chairing the Council. (Article 5).
• Overview and Scrutiny Committees (Article 6).
• The Executive (Article 7)
• Regulatory and other Committees. (Article 8).
• The Standards Committee (Article 9).
• Area Partnership Boards (Article 10).
• Joint arrangements (Article 11).
• Officers (Article 12).
• Decision making (Article 13).
• Finance, contracts and legal matters (Article 14).
• Review and revision of the Constitution (Article 15).
• Suspension, interpretation and publication of the Constitution (Article 16).

How the Council operates

Knowsley’s Councillors (Article 2)

The Council is composed of 63 Councillors with one-third elected three years in four. 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. Article 2 of the Constitution deals in more detail with the roles, responsibilities, rights and duties of Knowsley’s Councillors

Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. The Standards Committee (Article 9) monitors and advises them on the code of conduct (Terms of Reference in Part 3) Knowsley’s Code of Conduct for Elected Members is available in Part 5 of the Constitution.

Full Council (Article 4)

All Councillors meet together as the Council. Such meetings are known as “Full Council”. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. Here, Councillors approve the constitution and any amendments to it, decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each year. The Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of the Constitution provide more detail about this process.

The role of Full Council is referred to in more detail in Article 4 of the Constitution. The rules which apply to such meetings are available in Part 4 of the Constitution in Council Procedure Rules

The Council also appoints:

  • The Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Council
  • the Leader of the Council
  • Cabinet Members,
  • Scrutiny Committees (Article 6) which assist in the review and development of policy and hold the executive to account,
  • Regulatory and Other Committees (Article 8) which deal with all quasi-judicial matters; and
  • Area Partnership Boards (Article 10)

Cabinet Portfolios and the terms of reference of Committees and Area Partnership Boards are detailed in Part 3 of the Constitution.

The Cabinet (Article 7)

The Council’s executive is generally referred to as 'the Cabinet'.

The Cabinet is the part of the Council that is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. The Cabinet is made up of a Leader of the Council who is elected each year at the Annual Meeting of the Council and up to 9 Councillors who are also appointed at the Annual Meeting. The Executive Procedure Rules in Part 4 of the Constitution provide details with regards to the conduct of Cabinet business.

When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Cabinet's Forward Plan in so far as they can be anticipated. The rules which apply to the Forward Plan are detailed in the Access to Information Procedure Rules (Part 4). The Cabinet has to make decisions that are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision that is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Full Council. For further details please look at the Budget and Policy Framework Rules in Part 4 of the document.

Overview and Scrutiny (Article 6)

Scrutiny Committees are appointed to support the work of the Cabinet and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by inquiring into matters of local concern. These lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Cabinet and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery.

Scrutiny Committees also monitor the decisions of the Cabinet. They can ‘call-in’ a decision that has been made by the Cabinet but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the Cabinet reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by the Cabinet or the Council on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy.

The Scrutiny Procedure Rules detailed in Part 4 of the Constitution (page) deal with the conduct of these committees and the call-in procedure. The Cabinet Portfolios set out in Part 3 also detail the functions/ services which fall within the remit of Scrutiny Committees. The general terms of reference of Scrutiny Committees are also set out in Part 3 of this document.

Area Partnership Boards (Article 10)

Six Area Partnership Boards have been established to cover all areas of the Borough. The Partnership Boards are responsible for providing an area focus to existing partnership arrangements and seek to ensure that area needs are reflected into design and delivery of local services. The Area Partnership Boards’ terms of reference are detailed in Part 3 of this document.

The Council's Staff

The Council employs officers to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to-day delivery of services. Some Council decision-making is delegated directly to officers. Details of these arrangements are available in the Council’s Scheme of Delegation in Part 3 of the Constitution. This scheme indicates where such decisions must be made in consultation with individual Cabinet Members or Committee Chairmen.

This Scheme also includes details of where officers have a specific role laid down in law including specific duties to ensure that the Council acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. These roles include the following:

  • Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive)
  • Chief Finance Officer (Borough Treasurer)
  • Monitoring Officer (Borough Solicitor and Secretary)
  • Director of Children’s Services (Executive Director of Children and Family Services)
  • Director of Adult Social Services (Director of Health and Social Care).

One of these roles is that of Monitoring Officer for which there is a specific protocol detailing its role and functions. This protocol is available in Part 5 of the document.

The Council’s Officers are expected to act and behave in an appropriate manner. In this respect the Constitution contains an Officer Code of Conduct in Part 5. This appropriate behaviour extends to the use of the Council’s internet and e-mail facilities which is covered by rules also detailed in Part 5. There is also an expectation that a good working relationship exists between Council Officers and Councillors. In this respect, a Protocol for Member/ Officer Relations is included within the constitution to provide appropriate guidelines.

Citizens’ Rights

Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. These are set out in more detail in Article 3. Some of these are legal rights, whilst others depend on the Council’s own processes. The local Citizens’ Advice Bureau can advise on individuals’ legal rights.

Where members of the public use specific council services, for example as a parent of a school pupil, they have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.

Citizens have the right to:

  • vote at local elections if they are registered;
  • contact their local councillor about any matters of concern to them;
  • obtain a copy of the Constitution;
  • attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed (Access to Information Procedure Rules, Part 4);
  • petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive;
  • Participate in the Council’s question time (Council Procedure Rules, Part 4);
  • Find out, from the Council's forward plan what major decisions are to be discussed by the Cabinet or decided by the Cabinet or officers, and when (Access to Information Procedure Rules, Part 4);
  • Attend meetings of the Cabinet except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed (Access to Information Procedure Rules, Part 4);
  • See recorded information including reports and background papers and records of decisions made by the Council and the Executive, except where, for example confidential matters are dealt with (Access to Information Procedure Rules, Part 4);
  • complain to the Council through the Council's complaints procedure (http://www.knowsley.gov.uk/your_council/councils/complaints.html);
  • complain to the Ombudsman if they think the Council has not followed its procedures properly. However, they should only do this after using the Council’s own complaints process (http://www.lgo.org.uk);
  • complain to the Standards Board for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a councillor has not followed the Council’s Code of Conduct (http://www.standardsboard.co.uk/ ); and
  • inspect the Council’s accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.

The Council welcomes participation by those who live or work in the Borough in its work. For further information on your rights as a citizen, please contact the Executive Director of Corporate Resources, Municipal Buildings, Huyton, L36 9YU.

A summary of the rights of members of the public to attend meetings and to inspect and copy documents is available from the Democratic Services Section, Municipal Buildings, Huyton, L36 9YU. Tel: 0151 443 3502.

Who can change the Constitution?

The constitution will be continually reviewed by the Council who can change it if it considers this to be necessary.

 

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Who to Contact

Democratic Services

Telephone: 0151 443 3501

Write to or Visit:
Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council,
Municipal Buildings,
Archway Road,
Huyton,
Merseyside
L36 9YU

Email: committees@knowsley.gov.uk
 
 
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