The Local Government Act 2000 requires councils to adopt a written constitution which sets out how they work, make decisions and how councillors and officers should work and behave.
The constitution covers in detail areas such as:
- Executive arrangements
- Scheme of delegation
- Terms of reference for committees
- Procedural rules for all committees
- Standing orders
- Code of conduct for councillors (also referred to as members)
- Code of conduct for officers
- The professional staff structure, including the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Directors and Heads of Services
- Audit arrangements
The main decision-making bodies
The Council
- The Council is the overall policymaking body, although a great deal of the detailed work is left to committees or, in some cases, smaller groups of councillors. The Council meets four times a year, at County Hall, and meetings of the Full Council are held to consider and approve the decisions or recommendations of committees. Many of the Council’s meetings are webcast.
- The Council is responsible for deciding the level of each year’s Council Tax. The Council meeting in February agrees on the budget and sets the Council Tax for the following year.
Cabinet
- Devon County Council operates with a Cabinet, which is the key decision-making body and responsible for most day-to-day decisions.
- The Cabinet is made up of a Leader and up to nine other councillors, known as Cabinet Members. These members are generally from the ruling party and are appointed by the Leader from amongst its membership.
- Each of these Cabinet Members takes lead responsibility for a particular area of work, such as Economy and Skills, Highways Management, Adult Social Care and Health, Children’s Services and Schools or Organisational Development and Digital Transformation.
Further information
For more information about how the Council works, visit Democracy in Devon.
Next steps
Still have questions? Join one of our free information sessions online or in person, download our printable information guide or, if you’re ready to take the next step, learn more about the nomination process.