Leadership arrangements

Woking Borough Council is reviewing its existing leadership arrangements following legislation passed by the Government.  The legislation requires the Council to change its executive decision making process to one of two leadership options, namely Strong Leader or Elected Mayor.  The Council would like to find out your views on the two options and accordingly has drawn up the accompanying questionnaire.

 

This note is intended to give you background information and a summary of the issues involved.

 

Background to the review


Under the existing leadership arrangements, Woking Borough Council has an Executive of up to seven Councillors which is chaired by the Leader of the Executive.  The Executive is appointed by the Council for a one year term of office, or until a new Leader and Executive is appointed or reappointed by the Council, whichever occurs first.

 

The Executive is formed by the majority party and has a wide range of executive responsibilities, including the power to determine all proposals, within existing policy, which require member approval, the authority to determine the Council Tax tax base and carry out all functions that are not otherwise reserved to the Council, its Committees or delegated to Officers.

 

New legislation has been introduced by the Government which requires any Council which currently operates executive arrangements to adopt one of two options.  The Council is seeking, through this consultation, the views of local residents/electors and political parties, special interest and community groups in order to inform a decision on which of the two options to adopt.  That decision will be made by a Special Meeting of the Full Council to be held on a date to be agreed early in the new year.

 

The options


Under the new legislation, the Council can opt for one of two models:

  • Strong Leader and Executive Cabinet – comprises a Councillor elected as Leader by the Council for either a four year term or until his or her term of office as Councillor expires, and two or more Councillors appointed to the Executive by the Leader.
  • Directly Elected Mayor and Cabinet – comprises a directly elected Mayor who appoints two or more Councillors to the Executive.

In each case, the Leader/Mayor would hold responsibility for all executive functions. He/she would appoint Councillors to an Executive cabinet and delegate decision making powers to individual Councillors and Officers.  The Council would continue to approve the budget, Council policy and set Council Tax levels.

 

The key difference is how they are appointed and removed from office.  The directly elected Mayor is not a Councillor, but is chosen in a separate election and cannot be removed by the Council.  The Strong Leader would be an elected Councillor, appointed as Leader by the Council.  The Council would also retain powers to remove the Strong Leader from office.

 

The arrangements for decision making in relation to regulatory functions (e.g. licensing, planning) are not the responsibility of the Executive and will remain unchanged.

 

Timetable


The Council must opt for one of the above models by December 2010, for implementation after the elections in May 2011.  We are seeking feedback from residents and interested parties on the model you would prefer to see.

 

If you have any questions relating to this information please do not hesitate to contact Member Services on 01483 743863 or email memberservices@woking.gov.uk