Decision making, the constitution and scrutiny

Decision Making

The Full Council

Full Council is made up of all 56 Councillors (members). It has the role of setting the annual budget, overall policy framework for the Council, and adoption of changes to the Constitution (see below).

Service & Scrutiny Committees

The four Service & Scrutiny Committees (Strategy & Resources, Public Realm, Housing & Inclusion, and Planning Policy & Climate) and the Council's other decision-making committees are responsible for taking decisions delegated to them. Meetings will generally be open for the public to attend and are webcast online, except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed.

Committees have to make decisions which are in line with the Council's overall policies and budget. If a committee wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework and is not within the terms of the Council's Financial Procedure Rules this must be referred to the Council as a whole to decide, via the Strategy & Resources Committee.

Scrutiny

Councillors conduct scrutiny at Service & Scrutiny Committee meetings alongside their decision making role. This includes through submitting questions and Councillors' Items, which can include raising the profile of an issue or holding officers and Lead Councillors to account. This is set out in the Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

Lead Councillors

Chairs and Vice Chairs of Service & Scrutiny Committees are Lead Councillors for specific service areas detailed in our Lead Councillor Responsibilities grid.

The Constitution

The Constitution sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures that are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable.

Since 26 May 2021, the Council has operated under a Committee System of Governance.

Council Directorates

The Council’s Senior Leadership Team is comprised of the Chief Executive and three Strategic Directors. They lead and manage the work of around 400 staff, and major contracts including for refuse and recycling collection, leisure, and grounds maintenance.

Chief Executive: Amanda Foley
amanda.foley@stalbans.gov.uk

Responsibilities:

To manage the Council's political arrangements; To lead the Council's workforce to deliver the Council's statutory duties and corporate priorities.

Director of Customer, Business and Corporate Support: Suzanne Jones
suzanne.jones@stalbans.gov.uk

Responsibilities:

To deliver a service for all initial customer contact, transactions, case work, compliments and complaints for every Council team and service
To deliver all business support services, including finance, IT, HR, procurement and governance
To ensure Councillors are provided with the appropriate support and services to carry out their duties
To manage the delivery of all income and debt across the Council
To ensure all Council business is completed within required governance and audit requirements
To support all Council teams to deliver their customer interactions in the most efficient way
To create and monitor the Medium Term Financial Plan.

Director of Community and Place Delivery: Christine Traill
christine.traill@stalbans.gov.uk

Responsibilities:

To deliver management of all place related functions including planning, development management and building control
To deliver the management of all community related functions, tourism, events and related Council community assets and open spaces
To deliver all Housing related activities, ensuring strategic aims are met, housing stock managed, landlord services delivered, homeless support provided, and technical queries resolved
To ensure community safety targets and requirements are met
To ensure we meet our corporate Health & Safety, Safeguarding and Emergency Planning responsibilities
To ensure all environmental and regulatory needs are managed and delivered.

Director of Strategy, Policy and Transformation (Deputy Chief Executive): Dale Phillipson
dale.phillipson@stalbans.gov.uk

Responsibilities:

To understand the future vision and aspirations of the Council, converting these into strategies and policies to enable delivery
To design and deliver external and internal economic and commercial opportunities
To procure and manage all major contracts
To build and enhance strategic partnerships
To translate the Council’s aspiration and priorities into corporate and related plans, coordinating the delivery of these
To design and deliver all corporate external / internal communications and marketing
To lead and co-ordinate transformation of services (including different delivery models e.g. shared services)
To manage, monitor and challenge corporate performance.
Acting as Deputy Chief Executive for key strategic delivery groups