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Wealden District Council > Councillors and Committees > About the Elected Council > Council Constitution

Council Constitution

Summary of Contents

WELCOME TO WEALDEN/ INTRODUCTION

Contains information about the Council’s Values and how the Council works with a brief introduction to the role of councillors, access to information, conduct, how decisions are made and getting involved.

PART 1 – ARTICLES OF THE CONSTITUTION

The Articles are the main rules of the Council.

Article 1 – is about the Constitution and any changes to it

Article 2 – is about membership of the Council

Article 3 – is about citizens’ rights and responsibilities

Article 4 – is about the powers of Full Council

Article 5 – is about the Chair of the Council

Article 6 – is about the Executive (the Cabinet, officer of the Leader and Cabinet members (also known as Portfolio Holders)

Article 7 – is about the Committees of the Council (dealing with Scrutiny, Audit, Standards, Planning, Licensing, and Appointments and Disciplinary)

Article 8 – is about joint arrangements between the Council and other bodies and contracting out

Article 9 – is about Officers (including statutory officers) and their role

Article 10 – is about access to meetings and decision making

PART 2 – FUNCTIONS

This section contains the purpose, remit and procedures for the Council’s decision-making bodies.

Part 2.1 – Overview of and responsibility for various functions

Part 2.2 – Full Council, including membership, procedures, call-over, members’ questions, public questions, petitions, rules of debate and voting         

Part 2.3 – Cabinet, including Cabinet portfolios, Cabinet Committees, Task and Finish Groups

Part 2.4 – Scrutiny and Performance Committee, including purpose, functions, procedures, call-in, Councillor Call for Action and working methods 

Part 2.5 – Audit and Governance Committee, including purpose, functions, procedures, Task and Finish Groups

Part 2.6 – Standards Committee, including purpose, functions and procedures, standards hearings,

Part 2.7 – Planning Committees (Majors and Minors) including purpose, functions, procedures, the role of the Local Ward Member, speaking at meetings, decisions contrary to officer recommendations and the planning referral process.

Part 2.8 – Statutory Licensing and Gambling Committee including purpose, functions, procedures, restrictions on members powers, procedure for hearings, and the operation of licensing sub-committees (including site visits)

Part 2.9 – General Purposes and Licensing Committee including purpose, functions, procedures, and membership

Part 2.10 – Appointments and Disciplinary Committee, including purpose, functions, procedures, and associated sub-committees and panels

Part 2.11 Independent Panel, including purpose and terms of reference    

Part 2.12 – Cabinet Advisory Groups (CAGs) including purpose, and procedures

Part 2.13 – Officers, including management structure, corporate management team and the officer scheme of delegation, decisions and publicity, proper officer functions

PART 3 – PROCEDURE RULES 

Part 3.1 – Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, including setting the Annual Council Tax and Budget       

Part 3.2 – Procurement and Contracting Procedure Rules including responsibilities, procedures, contract management, records and reporting, complaints and appeals

Part 3.3 – Financial Procedure Rules including responsibilities, financial controls, internal audit, asset management, treasury management, accounting, fees and charges, and delegated approval levels.        

Part 3.4 – Officer Employment Procedure Rules

Part 3.5 – Appointments to Outside Bodies       

Part 3.6 – Access to Information Procedure Rules including rights to information, attend meetings, background papers, the Forward Plan

PART 4 – CODES, PROTOCOLS AND SCHEMES

Part 4.1 – Members’ Code of Conduct, including the Nolan principles, members’ interests, bullying and harassment

Part 4.2 – Officers Code of Conduct including responsibilities, conduct, whistleblowing, gifts and hospitality and personal interests

Part 4.3 – Protocol for Member / Officer Relationships including expectations,

Part 4.4 – Media Relations Protocol including the Publicity Code, media releases and working with partners       

Part 4.5 – Social Media Protocol including Dos and Don’ts

Part 4.6 – Members’ Allowances Scheme, including basic allowances, special responsibility allowance, travelling and subsistence, claims

Part 4.7 – Planning Code of Good Practice including contact with applicants and developers, lobbying, site visits, training    

Part 4.8 – Parental Leave Protocol including leave periods, practical arrangements and allowances

Part 4.9 – Monitoring Officer Protocol including arrangements for the use of Section5 reports

APPENDICES        

A1 – Members’ Allowance Rates for the current year

A2 – Probity in Planning (2019) guidance

A3 – Members’ Role Profiles explaining the various roles of councillors on the Council

A4 – Solace / CIPFA / LLG Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers

A5 – Local Code of Corporate Governance       

A6 – Whistleblowing and Speaking Up Policy    

A7 – Scrutiny Checklist      

A8 – Scrutiny Request Form        

A9 – Dispensations Protocol        

A10 Dispensation Application Form       

A11 – Councillors’ Access to Information Guidance    

A12 – Glossary of terms used within the Constitution  

Please note: The Wealden Constitution is currently undergoing final checks as we complete its transition to accessible web content. Some links or sections may be temporarily unavailable or inaccessible. Thank you for your patience as we finalise this process.

Welcome to Wealden

Wealden District Council is ambitious for the future of our communities.

Our mission is to be an enabling and enterprising Council, working alongside our communities to create a greener, fairer, and kinder district for present and future generations.

Our vision is for Wealden to be a place where people and nature thrive together.

The Council Strategy sets out our priorities and values. In delivering on these we will be open, honest, transparent, efficient and financially responsible. One of the ways we achieve this is through our policy and decision-making arrangements, set out in our Constitution.

This updated Constitution sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures, which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent, and accountable to local people. Some of these processes are required by the law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.

We recognise that collaboration and partnership working are key to our way of working. Many organisations – county council, town and parish councils, local businesses, voluntary and charitable sectors – provide the services which are, and will continue to be, essential to life in Wealden and we recognise that partnership work is critical to achieve our aims. We will continue to look for ways to involve, engage and empower residents and local communities in how we do things. We will do everything we can to ensure our services, information and decision-making arrangements are clear, easy to understand and accessible.

We have made some changes to our Constitution to make the content easier to read and navigate and would welcome any feedback and suggestions.

If you have any comments or need further information or help with this document, please contact the Democratic Services Team or your local councillor.

Portrait photo of Wealden District Council's Chief Executive Officer Trevor Scott

Trevor Scott 

Chief Executive

Introduction

Welcome to the Constitution of Wealden District Council. This document serves as the foundational framework for our governance, outlining the principles, structures, and processes that guide our operations and decision-making.

Our Constitution is designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective representation for all members of our community. We aim to foster a collaborative environment where every voice is heard and valued. Our commitment is to serve our community with integrity, dedication, and a focus on continuous improvement. At the heart of this are our Values.

How the Council Works 

Election and Term of Office

The Council is comprised of 45 Councillors who are elected for a 4-year term of office. Any Councillor elected at a by-election will serve the remainder of the 4-year term for the particular seat in question.

Role of Councillors

A Councillor’s primary role is to represent their ward and the people who live in it. Councillors provide a bridge between the community and the Council. Further information about the role of Councillors can be found in Role Profiles.

Access to Information by Councillors

All Councillors have the right to access information held by the Council in accordance with the Access to Information Procedure Rules.

Allowances

Councillors are entitled to receive an allowance in accordance with the Members’ Allowances Scheme. The specific rates for the current year are in a separate Appendix A1.

Conduct

Councillors must always adhere to:

  1. the Councillors’ Code of Conduct; and have regard to (but not limited to):
  2. the Protocol for Member and Officer Relationships;
  3. Planning Code of Good Practice;
  4. Media Relations Protocol; and
  5. Social Media Protocol

Full Council

The Full Council is a formal meeting of all Councillors.

The Full Council holds responsibility for a range of important functions including (i) appointing the Leader, (ii) appointing various Committees to undertake the business of the Council and (iii) setting the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework. The contact details of all Councillors can be found on the Council’s website.

The Cabinet

The Council has chosen to adopt the Leader and Cabinet model. The Cabinet is led by the Leader. The Leader has the authority to select individual Councillors to serve alongside them, collectively sharing the leadership and strategic direction of the Council. Details of the Cabinet and their Portfolios are set out here.

Scrutiny and Performance Committee

The Council is legally required to establish at least one Committee with responsibility for overview and scrutiny. The Council has established a Scrutiny and Performance Committee to fulfil this function.

Officers

Council employees are referred to as “Officers”. Officers are responsible for providing expert advice, implementing decisions, overseeing the day-to-day delivery of Council services and making decisions within the scope of their delegated authority (see Officer Scheme of Delegation).

Officers must always adhere to the principles contained in:

  1. The Officer Code of Conduct; and
  2. The Protocol for Member and Officer Relationships.

Statutory Officers

The Council is required by law to appoint three Statutory Officers. These are:

  1. The Head of Paid Service; appointment held by the Chief Executive;
  2. The Section 151 Officer appointment held by the Chief Financial Officer; and
  3. The Monitoring Officer; appointment held by the Chief Legal and Governance Officer.

The Council is required to provide the Statutory Officers with the necessary resources to enable them to effectively fulfil their duties in accordance with their statutory obligations.

Decisions can be made by the Full Council and its Committees, the Cabinet, individual Cabinet Members or Officers, depending on the nature and scope of the decision. More information on these bodies and their functions is set out in Part 2 of this Constitution.

The Council will make decisions which respect human rights, and which are lawful, proportionate, informed, open, clear, reasonable and relevant.  See Article 10 (Principles of Decision Making)

There are a number of ways the public can engage with the Council’s decision making. These are set out below and in Article 3 (Citizen’s Rights).

There are lots of opportunities for public involvement, enabling members of our community to actively participate in shaping our services and providing feedback. We are committed to:

  • Ensuring everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
  • Offering a range of methods for people to engage with us.
  • Being honest with people about what we can and can’t do.
  • Listening to different views and opinions in our reports and information.
  • Recognising the valuable contribution that local people and communities can play in shaping their future.
  • Letting people know about changes or decisions that affect them and keeping their local Councillor up to date.
  • Looking after individual privacy and personal data at all times.
  • We will make it easy to find information and will respond to all enquiries in a timely, courteous and professional way.
  • We will actively encourage a two-way relationship which respects diversity, openness, honesty and constructive communication.
  • We expect high standards of conduct from our Councillors, Officers and representatives.
  • We expect our Councillors and Officers to be treated with kindness and respect.

For major plans, policies and projects we will make sure our proposals are clear, written in plain English, communicated widely and in a range of ways and that we give people enough time to comment. We will publicise our major consultations in a single place on our website, called LetsTalk Wealden.

For our regular business at Council and Committee meetings we will encourage and welcome interested people to attend and give them reasonable opportunities to speak or ask questions in accordance with this Constitution.

Local people can contribute to our scrutiny arrangements and hold us to account for our decisions by requesting matters to be considered by the Scrutiny and Performance Committee. There is a scrutiny request form on our website.

We give at least 28 calendar days’ notice of our Forward Plan of (Key and Executive) Decisions (unless we need to act as a matter of urgency).

We welcome and respond to Petitions efficiently and in line with our published procedure.

 

As a democratic public body, the Council exists to serve our residents, businesses and communities. We will actively encourage local people to:

  • access Council services and other information via our website in the first instance.
  • vote in elections and participate in public life.
  • take part in consultations and give us feedback on local services and tell us when we get things wrong.
  • play an active part in making their area a better place to live.

Wealden is committed to treating every customer as an individual. There should be no barriers to accessing Council services, facilities, meetings and information. We want local people to feel welcome at our meetings and when they visit our offices or use our website.

We will ensure our website and public buildings are accessible and that there are facilities available for anyone needing additional assistance. Requests for information in alternative formats will be accommodated wherever possible.

Through our Council Strategy and Values we want to put public engagement and involvement at the heart of what we do. All Councillors, service departments and Officers will play their part in ensuring the standards set out in this document are achieved.

If we fall short of our commitments, we want to hear about it so that, where possible, we can put things right. The Complaints, Comments and Compliments form on our website is there to help deal with issues promptly and by the right person.

We welcome all forms of feedback as it helps us to continually improve. There are various ways to do this:

  • Make a complaint to the Council and we will investigate and try to resolve things in line with our Complaints Procedure
  • If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman or Housing Ombudsman (as appropriate).
  • If you consider a Councillor has breached the Members’ Code of Conduct, we have a process, overseen by the Monitoring Officer, for dealing with such complaints.
  • The Information Commissioner offers advice services for members of the public about data protection and information rights.
  • You can inspect the Council’s accounts.
  • Exercise other relevant legal rights as a specific service user, such as a Council tenant.

We also appreciate your feedback when we get things right, as it encourages us to continue delivering excellent service in line with our 5 Star Customer Service Standards. Our Complaints, Comments and Compliments form is on our website.

The structure of the Council is illustrated in the Council Decision-Making Structure diagram

1. Full Council – The largest decision-making body 

2. The Executive – Comprising the Leader, the Cabinet, individual Cabinet Members (known as Portfolio Holders). The Cabinet appoints Sub-Committees, Panels or Task & Finish Groups (as required)

3. Regulatory Bodies – These include 2 Planning Committees (Majors Planning Committee and Minors Planning Committee) and 2 Licensing Committees (Licensing & Gambling Committee and General Purposes and Licensing Committee. Sub-committees are appointed to deal with specific licensing matters.

4. Scrutiny & Performance Committee – includes the Budget Scrutiny Working Group and appoints Task and Finish Groups (as required)

5. Audit & Governance Committee – appoints Working Groups (as required)

6. Standards Committee – appoints Sub-Committees (as required)

7. Appointments & Disciplinary Committee – appoints Sub-Committees and Panels (as required)

8. Independent Panel

A glossary of terms used in this Constitution is provided at Appendix A12.