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Part 4 - Cabinet Procedure Rules

Leader with Cabinet form

1. How does Cabinet operate?

1.1 Who may make Cabinet decisions?

The discharge of Cabinet functions are set out in the Cabinet arrangements

1.2 Delegation by the leader

In the event that the Council decides to delegate certain functions and or allows the Leader to appoint Members to the Cabinet the following procedure will be implemented (1.2 - 1.4 refers At the annual meeting of the Council, the leader will present to the Council a written record of delegations made by him/her for inclusion in the Council's scheme of delegation at Part 3 to this Constitution. The document presented by the leader will contain the following information about Cabinet functions in relation to the coming year:

1. the names, addresses and wards of the people appointed to the Cabinet by the leader;
2. the extent of any authority delegated to Cabinet members individually, including details of the limitation on their authority;
3. the terms of reference and constitution of such Cabinet committees as the leader appoints and the names of Cabinet members appointed to them;
4. the nature and extent of any delegation of Cabinet functions to area committees, any other authority or any joint arrangements and the names of those Cabinet members appointed to any joint committee for the coming year; and
5. the nature and extent of any delegation to officers with details of any limitation on that delegation, and the title of the officer to whom the delegation is made.

1.3 Sub-delegation of Cabinet functions

1. Where the Cabinet, a committee of the Cabinet or an individual member of the Cabinet is responsible for an Cabinet function, they may delegate further to an area committee, joint arrangements or an officer.
2. Unless the Council directs otherwise, if the leader delegates functions to the Cabinet, then the Cabinet may delegate further to a committee of the Cabinet or to an officer.
3. Unless the leader directs otherwise, a committee of the Cabinet to whom functions have been delegated by the leader may delegate further to an officer.
4. Even where Cabinet functions have been delegated, that fact does not prevent the discharge of delegated functions by the person or body who delegated.

1.4 The Council's scheme of delegation and Cabinet functions

1. Subject to (b) below the Council's scheme of delegation will be subject to adoption by the Council and may only be amended by the Council. It will contain the details required in Article 7 and set out in Part 3 of this Constitution.
2. If the leader is able to decide whether to delegate Cabinet functions, he/she may amend the scheme of delegation relating to Cabinet functions at any time during the year. To do so, the leader must give written notice to the proper officer and to the person, body or committee concerned. The notice must set out the extent of the amendment to the scheme of delegation, and whether it entails the withdrawal of delegation from any person, body, committee or the Cabinet as a whole. The proper officer will present a report to the next ordinary meeting of the Council setting out the changes made by the leader.
3. Were the leader seeks to withdraw delegation from a committee, notice will be deemed to be served on that committee when he/she has served it on its chair.

1.5 Conflicts of interest

1. Where the leader has a conflict of interest this should be dealt with as set out in the Council's Code of Conduct for Members in Part 5 of this Constitution.
2. If every member of the Cabinet has a conflict of interest this should be dealt with as set out in the Council's Code of Conduct for Members in Part 5 of this Constitution.
3. If the exercise of an Cabinet function has been delegated to a committee of the Cabinet, an individual member or an officer, and should a conflict of interest arise, then the function will be exercised in the first instance by the person or body by whom the delegation was made and otherwise as set out in the Council's Code of Conduct for Members in Part 5 of this Constitution.

1.6 Cabinet meetings - when and where?

The Cabinet will meet at least monthly at times to be agreed by the leader. The Cabinet shall meet at the Council's main offices or another location to be agreed by the leader.

1.7 Meetings of the Cabinet

Principles of decision-making set out in Article 13 of this Constitution, shall apply to meetings of the Cabinet.

1.8 Quorum

The quorum for a meeting of the Cabinet, or a committee of it, shall be [one quarter of the total number of members of the Cabinet] or 4 whichever is the larger.

1.9 How are decisions to be taken by the Cabinet?

1. Cabinet decisions which have been delegated to the Cabinet as a whole will be taken at a meeting convened in accordance with the Access to Information Rules in Part 4 of the Constitution.
2. Where Cabinet decisions are delegated to a committee of the Cabinet, the rules applying to Cabinet decisions taken by them shall be the same as those applying to those taken by the Cabinet as a whole

2. How are Cabinet meetings conducted?

2.1 Who presides?

If the leader is present he/she will preside, if absent the deputy leader will preside, in the absence of both, then a person appointed to do so by those present shall preside.

2.2 What business?

At each meeting of the Cabinet the following business will be conducted:

1. consideration of the minutes of the last meeting;
2. declarations of interest, if any;
3. matters referred to the Cabinet (whether by an overview and scrutiny committee or by the Council) for reconsideration by the Cabinet in accordance with the provisions contained in the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules or the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution;
4. consideration of reports from overview and scrutiny committees; and
5. matters set out in the agenda for the meeting, and which shall indicate which are key decisions and which are not in accordance with the Access to Information Procedure rules set out in Part 4 of this Constitution.

2.3 Consultation

All reports to the Cabinet from any member of the Cabinet or an officer on proposals relating to the budget and policy framework must contain details of the nature and extent of consultation with stakeholders and relevant overview and scrutiny panels, and the outcome of that consultation. Reports about other matters will set out the details and outcome of consultation as appropriate. The level of consultation required will be appropriate to the nature of the matter under consideration.

2.4 Who can put items on the Cabinet agenda?

The leader will decide upon the schedule for the meetings of the Cabinet. He/she may put on the agenda of any Cabinet meeting any matter which he/she wishes, whether or not authority has been delegated to the Cabinet, a committee of it or any member or officer in respect of that matter. The proper officer will comply with the leader's requests in this respect.

1. Any member of the Cabinet may require the proper officer to make sure that an item is placed on the agenda of the next available meeting of the Cabinet for consideration. If he/she receives such a request the proper officer will comply.
2. The proper officer will make sure that an item is placed on the agenda of the next available meeting of the Cabinet where a relevant overview and scrutiny panel or the full Council have resolved that an item be considered by the Cabinet.
3. Any member of the Council may ask the leader to put an item on the agenda of an Cabinet meeting for consideration, and if the leader agrees the item will be considered at the next available meeting of the Cabinet. The notice of the meeting will give the name of the Councillor who asked for the item to be considered. This individual will be invited to attend the meeting, whether or not it is a public meeting.
4. The head of paid service, monitoring officer and/or the chief financial officer may include an item for consideration on the agenda of an Cabinet meeting and may require the proper officer to call such a meeting in pursuance of their statutory duties. In other circumstances, where any two of the head of paid service, chief financial officer and monitoring officer are of the opinion that a meeting of the Cabinet needs to be called to consider a matter that requires a decision, they may jointly include an item on the agenda of an Cabinet meeting. If there is no meeting of the Cabinet soon enough to deal with the issue in question, then the person(s) entitled to include an item on the agenda may also require that a meeting be convened at which the matter will be considered.