Introduction

For key decisions, you will need to start planning at least four months before you need the decision, and longer if you can. This gives you time to consult properly, including with internal boards, departments and leadership teams. It also means you should be able to meet agenda and meeting deadlines where decisions will be made.

For non-key decisions, shorter timelines can be achieved, but you are encouraged to still plan at least two or three months in advance to allow you to consult properly.

Understanding the decision making process

Decision making at the council can be complex. Councillors are responsible for making decisions and officers carry them out.

When you write a report, think carefully about where the decision should be made and what route it needs to take, often ending at full Council.

We have a number of decision making bodies and leadership teams that can be involved depending on the type of decision.

The main decision making bodies

• Full Council

  Sets the overall budget and policy framework for the council.

• The Cabinet

  Makes decisions within the framework and is made up of the leader and nine cabinet members. All decisions are made collectively together, not by one person.

• Regulatory and non-executive committees

  Make decisions on specific areas like planning or licensing.

• Overview and scrutiny committees

  Do not make decisions. They check and challenge Cabinet decisions and can look into any council activity.

Leadership teams

• Corporate leadership team (CLT)

  CLT consists of the chief executive and executive directors, including the monitoring officer and S151 officer.

  Work closely with councillors to deliver strong and visible leadership, direction, strategic policy advice, partnership working and operational management. Certain reports must be received by CLT in the first instance before being submitted to one of the main decision making bodies.

• Senior leadership team (SLT)

  SLT includes all directors.

  Work closely with CLT in the consideration and development of the corporate and operational policies and strategies as required. They take a lead role on transformation work and the implementation of service redesign across the council.

• Operational leadership team (OLT)

  OLT includes representatives from each of our directorates.

  Take a lead on considering the operational impact of decisions, policies and strategies.

Our structure charts are available on our corporate website and show the council’s committees and leadership structure and how they connect to each other.

If you're not sure which route your decision should take, you can:

Key decisions

A decision counts as a key decision if it meets one of the criteria below:

• changes the council's budget or policy framework
• involves £500,000 or more in in-year spending or savings, with the exception of expenditure which is required for the day-to-day provision of services
• has a big impact on people living in two or more wards.

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What happens next

Your key decision will be added to the forward plan of key decisions document.

Implement a decision

Once a decision is made, there's a short wait before you can put it into action.

If the decision:

• is within The Cabinet's own power to make - the implementation date is the date of The Cabinet meeting. However, don't start any work on it until after 4pm on the Friday after the meeting. This gap is called the call-in period, and it gives councillors time to challenge the decision if needed.
• needs full Council approval - such as a new or amended policy, the implementation date is the date full Council approves The Cabinet minutes.

If you are unsure which route should be taken, refer to page 15 of the Report writers' protocol.

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What happens next

Your decision record document will be uploaded to our corporate website. Further details of where this goes will be available shortly.