Democratic Services
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This Service, which is part of Legal & Democratic Services is based at County Hall, and is in the Policy & Resources Department. The core purpose of the Service is to lead and manage the Council's Democratic Services and support Members in their various roles. The Service works with a wide range of bodies and the public, particularly through Overview and Scrutiny. Services are provided to a number of external organisations including Liverpool John Lennon and Manchester Airports. The Service supports the new Partnership and local governance initiatives by developing new governance arrangements. Please follow this link for more information on the Service and how it fits into the overall management structure of the County Council.
Key objectives of the Service are:-
- to manage the Council's Political Decision Making arrangements
- to manage and develop the Council's Overview and Scrutiny arrangements
- to support Members and their Development in relation to their various roles
- to provide effective and efficient Business Management systems and processes in support of the Service in meeting its objectives.
Main areas of activity are:-
- Manage the Council's decision making processes to comply with constitutional requirements
- Manage and support the operation of Scrutiny arrangements and the Scrutiny Review Programme
- Ensure effective Civic Office Aims and Objectives
- Continued development of the arrangements for Members Allowances through the Independent Panel
- Implementation of the Learning and Development Strategy for members and delivery of the Training Programme
- In support of the County Returning Officer, the delivery of County Council Elections which are held every four years
- Promoting the County Council's role in the wider Cheshire Community (and generating external income) through support for example to:-
- Administer the School Appeals and Exclusions process
The Council adopted new Political Management Arrangements from 1 June 2006 with a new structure. The Authority as required under the Local Government Act 2000 has approved a Constitution. This details how the Council operates, how decisions are made in the Organisation and the procedures which will be followed,
Underpinning the new structure has been the development of the Forward Plan. This enables members of the public to view all Key Decisions that are to be taken by the Authority over a rolling four month period.
The majority of Member meetings within the Political Structure are open to the Press and Public. Details of a meeting, together with the relevant papers may be viewed on the Council's Political Information Network (PIN). Members of the Press and Public are entitled to ask Questions and submit Petitions at certain meetings. View details of meetings which are open to the public. |
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