Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules
1. The Framework for Executive
Decisions
The Council will be responsible for the adoption of its Budget
and Policy Framework as set out in Article 4. Once a budget
or a Policy Framework is in place, it will be the responsibility of
the Executive to implement it.
2. Process for Developing the
Framework
The process by which the Budget and Policy Framework shall be
developed is:
(a) In each year before a plan/strategy/budget needs to be
adopted, the Executive will publish initial proposals for the
Budget and Policy Framework, having first canvassed the views of
local stakeholders as appropriate, in a manner suitable to the
matter under consideration. Details of the Executive’s consultation
process shall be included in relation to each of these matters in
the Forward Plan and published at the Council’s main offices and on
its web site. Any representations made to the Executive shall
be taken into account in formulating the initial proposals, and
shall be reflected in any report dealing with them. If the
matter is one where the Overview and Scrutiny Committee has carried
out a review of existing policy, or the Policy Advisory Group has
recommended to the Executive or Full Council that a policy be
developed or adopted, then the outcome of that review or
recommendations will be reported to the Executive and considered in
the preparation of initial proposals.
(b) The Executive’s initial proposals shall be referred to
the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for further advice and
consideration. The proposals will be referred by sending a copy to
the Proper Officer who will forward them to the chairman of the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee. If there is no such chairman, a
copy must be sent to every Member of that Committee. The Overview
and Scrutiny Committee shall canvass the views of local
stakeholders if it considers it appropriate in accordance with the
matter under consideration, and having particular regard not to
duplicate any consultation carried out by the Executive. The
Overview and Scrutiny Committee shall report to the Executive on
the outcome of its deliberations. The Overview and Scrutiny
Committee shall have one month to respond to the initial proposals
of the Executive, unless the Executive, considers that there are
special factors that make this timescale inappropriate. If it does,
it will inform the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the time for
response when the proposals are referred to it.
(c) Having considered the report of the Overview and
Scrutiny Committee, the Executive, if it considers it appropriate,
may amend its proposals before submitting them to the Council
Meeting for consideration. It will also report to Council on how it
has taken into account any recommendations from the Overview and
Scrutiny Committee or Policy Advisory Group.
(d) The Council will consider the proposals of the
Executive and may adopt them, amend them, refer them back to the
Executive for further consideration, or substitute its own
proposals in their place. In considering the matter, the Council
shall have before it the Executive’s proposals and any report from
the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or Policy Advisory Group.
(e) The Council’s decision will be publicised in accordance
with Article 4 and a copy shall be given to the Leader. The
Notice of Decision shall be dated and shall state either that the
decision shall be effective immediately (if the Council accepts the
Executive’s proposals without amendment) or (if the Executive’s
proposals are not accepted without amendment), that the Council’s
decision will become effective on the expiry of 5 working days
after the publication of the Notice of Decision, unless the Leader
objects to it in that period.
(f) If the Leader objects to the decision of the Council,
he shall give written notice to the Proper Officer to that effect
prior to the date upon which the decision is to be effective. The
written notification must state the reasons for the objection.
Where such notification is received, the Proper Officer shall
convene a further meeting of the Council to reconsider its decision
and the decision shall not be effective pending that meeting.
(g) Five clear days notice of the Council meeting will be
given. At that Council meeting, the decision of the Council
shall be reconsidered in the light of the objection, which shall be
available in writing for the Council.
(h) The Council shall at that meeting make its final
decision on the matter on the basis of a simple majority. The
decision shall be made public in accordance with Article 4, and
shall be implemented immediately.
(i) In approving the Budget and Policy Framework, the
Council will also specify the extent of virement within the budget
and degree of in-year changes to the Policy Framework which may be
undertaken by the Executive, in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 6
of these Rules (virement and in-year adjustments). Any other
changes to the Budget and Policy Framework are reserved to the
Council.
3. Decisions Outside the Budget or Policy
Framework
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 (virement) the
Executive, Committees of the Executive, individual Members of the
Executive and any Officers, Area Committees or Joint Arrangements
discharging executive functions may only take decisions which are
in line with the Budget and Policy Framework. If any of these
bodies or persons wishes to make a decision which is contrary to
the Policy Framework, or contrary to or not wholly in accordance
with the budget approved by the Full Council, then that decision
may only be taken by the Council, subject to 4 below.
(b) If the Executive, Committees of the Executive,
individual Members of the Executive and any Officers, area
committees or joint arrangements discharging executive functions
want to make such a decision, they shall take advice from the
Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Finance (Section 151) Officer
as to whether the decision they want to make would be contrary to
the Policy Framework, or contrary to or not wholly in accordance
with the budget. If the advice of either of those Officers is
that the decision would not be in line with the existing budget
and/or Policy Framework, then the decision must be referred by that
body or person to the Council for decision, unless the decision is
a matter of urgency, in which case the provisions in paragraph 4
(Urgent Decisions Outside the Budget and Policy Framework) shall
apply.
4. Urgent Decisions Outside the Budget or Policy
Framework
(a) The Executive, a Committee of the Executive, an
individual Member of the Executive or Officers, Area Committees or
Joint Arrangements discharging executive functions may take a
decision which is contrary to the Council’s Policy Framework or
contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the budget approved by
Full Council if the decision is a matter of urgency. The decision
may only be taken, however, if:
(i) it is not
practical to convene a quorate meeting of the Full Council; and
(ii) the
chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee agrees that the
decision is a matter of urgency.
The reasons why it is not practical to convene a quorate meeting
of full Council and the chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee’s consent to the decision being taken as a matter of
urgency, must be noted on the record of the decision. In the
absence of the chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee the
consent of the Mayor and in the absence of both the Deputy Mayor
will be sufficient.
(b) Following the decision, the decision taker will provide
a full report to the next available Council meeting explaining the
decision, the reasons for it and why the decision was treated as a
matter of urgency.
5. Virement
(a) The Council shall have the ‘Budget Heads’ as listed in
the Appendix 1, page 521 to the
Financial Procedure Rules in Part 4 of this Constitution. The
rules also specify the limits within which monies between budgetary
allocations including contingency heads may, be moved
(vired). These limits will be reviewed annually at the Budget
Setting Meeting of the Full Council.
The criteria and general principles within which virements can
be made are also specified within the rules.
(b) Steps taken by the Executive, a Committee of the
Executive, an individual Member of the Executive or Officers, Area
Committees or Joint Arrangements discharging Executive functions to
implement Council policy shall not exceed those budgets allocated
to each Budget Head. Except that:
(i) Such bodies
or individuals are encouraged to manage resources flexibly and are
permitted to vire across
Budget Heads from areas
of underspending to areas of overspending or to accommodate new
initiatives
subject to the detailed
virement procedures as contained in the Council’s Financial
Procedure Rules (Rule 2
refers).
(ii) The
Executive have the ability to transfer from balances which will
form part of the annual budget, any
amounts which would not
take balances below a minimum level to be determined each year by
the Council. The
limits currently applied
are contained in the Financial Procedure Rules. (Rule 2 (b)
refers).
Beyond that limit, approval to any virement across Budget Heads
shall require the approval of the full Council.
6. In-Year Changes to Policy Framework
The responsibility for agreeing the Budget and Policy Framework
lies with the Full Council, and decisions by the Executive,
Committees of the Executive, an individual Member of the Executive
or Officers, Area Committees or Joint Arrangements discharging
Executive Functions must be in line with it. No changes to
any policy and strategy which make up the Policy Framework may be
made by those bodies or individuals except those changes:
(a) Which will result in the closure or discontinuance of a
service or part of service to meet a budgetary constraint;
(b) Necessary to ensure compliance with the law,
ministerial direction or Government guidance;
(c) In relation to the Policy Framework in respect of a
policy which would normally be agreed annually by the Council
following consultation, but where the existing policy document is
silent on the matter under consideration.
7. Call-In of Decisions Outside the Budget or
Policy Framework
(a) Where the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is of the
opinion that an Executive decision is, or if made would be,
contrary to the Policy Framework, or contrary to or not wholly in
accordance with the Council’s Budget, then it shall seek advice
from the Monitoring Officer and/or Chief Finance (Section 151)
Officer.
(b) In respect of functions which are the responsibility of
the Executive, the Monitoring Officer’s report and/or Chief Finance
(Section 151) Officer’s report shall be to the Executive with a
copy to every Member of the Council. Regardless of whether
the decision is delegated or not, the Executive must meet to decide
what action to take in respect of the Monitoring Officer’s report
and to prepare a report to Council in the event that the Monitoring
Officer or the Chief Finance (Section 151) Officer conclude that
the decision was a departure, and to the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee if the Monitoring Officer or the Chief Finance (Section
151) Officer conclude that the decision was not a departure.
(c) If the decision has yet to be made, or has been made
but not yet implemented, and the advice from the Monitoring Officer
and/or the Chief Finance (Section 151) Officer is that the decision
is or would be contrary to the Policy Framework or contrary to or
not wholly in accordance with the budget, the Overview and Scrutiny
Committee may refer the matter to Council. In such cases, no
further action will be taken in respect of the decision or its
implementation until the Council has met and considered the
matter. Five clear days notice of
the Council meeting will be given of the request by the Overview
and Scrutiny Committee. At the meeting it will receive a
report of the decision or proposals and the advice of the
Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Finance (Section 151)
Officer. The Council may either:
(i) Endorse a
decision or proposal of the Executive decision taker as falling
within the existing Budget and Policy
Framework. In this
case no further action is required, save that the decision of the
Council be minuted and
circulated to all
Councillors in the normal way;
(ii) Amend the
Council’s Financial Regulations or policy concerned to encompass
the decision or proposal of the
body or individual
responsible for that Executive Function and agree to the decision
with immediate effect. In
this case, no further
action is required save that the decision of the Council be minuted
and circulated to all
Councillors in the
normal way;
(iii) Where the
Council accepts that the decision or proposal is contrary to the
Policy Framework or contrary to
or not wholly in
accordance with the Budget, and does not amend the existing
framework to accommodate it,
require the Executive to
reconsider the matter in accordance with the advice of either the
Monitoring Officer or
the Chief Finance
(Section 151) Officer.