Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules
(Note: These Rules do not apply to the operation by Schools of their delegated budgets).
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) Any committee of the Council (including any Overview and Scrutiny Committee) may propose:
¨ The addition of a new plan or strategy to the Policy Framework (as set out in Article 4); or
¨ The amendment of any existing plan or strategy which forms part of the Policy Framework;
and all such proposals shall be referred to the Executive, for its consideration, together with the results of any consultation which has taken place on the proposals.
(b) The Executive will publicise by including in the Forward Plan a timetable for making proposals to the Council for the adoption of any plan, strategy or budget that forms or is proposed to form part of the Budget and Policy Framework, and its arrangements for consultation in developing those proposals. This will include the Executive’s own proposals, as well as those referred to it under paragraph (a) above. The Chairs of Overview and Scrutiny Committees will also be notified.
(c) At the end of the consultation period, the Executive will draw up its recommendations having regard to the responses to consultation. In the case of proposals referred to the Executive under paragraph (a) above, the Executive’s recommendations will be that the proposals should be supported (with or without modifications), or that they should not be supported. If a relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee wishes to respond to the Executive in that consultation process then it may do so. As the Overview and Scrutiny Committees have responsibility for fixing their own work programme, it is open to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to investigate, research or report in detail with policy recommendations before the end of the consultation period. The Executive will take any response from an Overview and Scrutiny Committee into account in drawing up its recommendations for submission to the Council, and its report to Council will reflect the comments made by consultees and the Executive’s response.
(d) Once the Executive has drawn up its recommendations, the Assistant Chief Executive Legal and Democratic Services will refer them at the earliest opportunity to the Council for decision. The Council may adopt the recommendations, refer them back to the Executive for further consideration, or raise any objections under the procedure in Rule 3 below. Recommendations may not be referred back to the Executive more than once.
(e) 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 6 and 7 of these Rules (virement and in-year adjustments). Any other changes to the Budget and Policy Framework are reserved to the Council.
3. Determining the Budget and Policy Framework
(a) Where the Executive has submitted a draft plan or strategy to the Council for its consideration and, following consideration of that draft plan or strategy, the Council has any objections to it, the Council must take the action set out in paragraph (b).
(b) Before the Council –
(1) amends the draft plan or strategy;
(2) approves, for the purpose of its submission to the Secretary of State or any Minister of the Crown for their approval, any plan or strategy (whether or not in the form of a draft) of which any part is required to be so submitted; or
(3) adopts (with or without modification) the plan or strategy;
it must inform the Leader of any objections which it has to the draft plan or strategy and must give to the Leader instructions requiring the Executive to reconsider, in the light of those objections, the draft plan or strategy submitted to it.
(c) Where the Council gives instructions in accordance with paragraph (b), it must specify a period of at least five working days beginning on the day after the date on which the Leader receives the instructions on behalf of the Executive within which the Leader may:–
(1) submit a revision of the draft plan or strategy as amended by the Executive (the “revised draft plan or strategy”), with the Executive’s reasons for any amendments made to the draft plan or strategy, to the Council for the Council’s consideration; or
(2) inform the Council of any disagreement that the Executive has with any of the Council’s objections and the Executive’s reasons for any such disagreement.
(d) When the period specified by the Council, referred to in paragraph (c) has expired, the Council must, when:–
(1) amending the draft plan or strategy or, if there is one, the revised draft plan or strategy;
(2) approving, for the purpose of its submission to the Secretary of State or any Minister of the Crown for their approval, any plan or strategy (whether or not in the form of a draft or revised draft) of which any part is required to be so submitted; or
(3) adopting (with or without modification) the plan or strategy;
take into account any amendments made to the draft plan or strategy that are included in any revised draft plan or strategy, the Executive’s reasons for those amendments, any disagreement that the Executive has with any of the Council’s objections and the Executive’s reasons for that disagreement, which the Leader submitted to the Council, or informed the Council of, within the period specified.
(e) Subject to paragraph (i) where, before 8 February in any financial year, the Executive submits to the Council for its consideration in relation to the following financial year:–
(1) estimates of the amounts to be aggregated in making a calculation (whether originally or by way of substitute) in accordance with any of Sections 32 to 37 or 43 to 49, of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;
(2) estimates of other amounts to be used for the purposes of such a calculation;
(3) estimates of such a calculation; or
(4) amounts required to be stated in a precept under Chapter IV of Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;
and following consideration of those estimates or amounts the Council has any objections to them, it must take the action set out in paragraph (f).
(f) Before the Council makes a calculation (whether originally or by way of substitute) in accordance with any of the sections referred to in paragraph (e)(1), or issues a precept under Chapter IV of Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, it must inform the Leader of any objections which it has to the Executive’s estimates or amounts and must give to the Leader instructions requiring the Executive to reconsider, in the light of those objections, those estimates and amounts in accordance with the Council’s requirements.
(g) Where the Council gives instructions in accordance with paragraph (f), it must specify a period of at least five working days beginning on the day after the date on which the Leader receives the instructions on behalf of the Executive within which the Leader may:–
(1) submit a revision of the estimates or amounts as amended by the Executive (“revised estimates or amounts”), which have been reconsidered in accordance with the Council’s requirements, with the Executive’s reasons for any amendments made to the estimates or amounts, to the Council for the Council’s consideration; or
(2) inform the Council of any disagreement that the Executive has with any of the Council’s objections and the Executive’s reasons for any such disagreement.
(h) When the period specified by the Council, referred to in paragraph (g), has expired, the Council must, when making calculations (whether originally or by way of substitute) in accordance with the sections referred to in paragraph (e)(1), or issuing a precept under Chapter IV of Part 1 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, take into account:–
(1) any amendments to the estimates or amounts that are included in any revised estimates or amounts;
(2) the Executive’s reasons for those amendments;
(3) any disagreement that the Executive has with any of the Council’s objections; and
(4) the Executive’s reasons for that disagreement;
which the Leader submitted to the Council, or informed the Council of, within the period specified.
(i) Paragraphs (e) to (h) shall not apply in relation to:–
(a) calculations or substitute calculations which an authority is required to make in accordance with Section 52I, 52J, 52T or 52U of the Local Government Finance Act 1992; and
(b) amounts stated in a precept issued to give effect to calculations or substitute calculations made in accordance with Section 52J or 52U of that Act.
4. Decisions outside the Budget or Policy Framework
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 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. Any decision which is contrary to the Policy Framework, or contrary to or not wholly in accordance with the Budget approved by full Council, may only be taken by the Council.
(b) All decision making persons or bodies shall consider whether any decision they wish to take is within the Budget and Policy Framework; and if in doubt they shall take advice from the Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Finance 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 5 (urgent decisions outside the Budget and Policy Framework) shall apply.
5. 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. However, the decision may only be taken:
(i) if it is not practical to convene a meeting of the full Council; or
(ii) if the Chair of a relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee agrees that the decision is a matter of urgency.
The reasons why it is not practical to convene a meeting of full Council and the Chair of the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committees’ 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 Chair of a relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee the consent of the Chair of the Council, and in the absence of both, the Vice-Chair, 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.
(a) When the Council sets its overall revenue budget for a given financial year it will approve a series of net budgets for divisions of service within each Directorate, as set out in the Financial Procedure 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 division of service. However, such bodies or individuals shall be entitled to vire across divisions of service in accordance with Financial Procedure Rules 11.1 to 11.9.
7. In-year changes to Policy Framework
The responsibility for agreeing the Budget and Policy Framework lies with the Council, and decisions by the Executive, a committee 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 the Chief Executive Officer (or in their absence the Corporate Director of Resources) determines are necessary to deal with an unforeseen emergency; or
(b) which the Monitoring Officer determines are necessary to ensure compliance with the law, ministerial direction or government guidance;
and any such change shall be reported to the next meeting of the Council, which may decide to adopt the change as a permanent change to the Policy Framework.
8. Review of decisions outside the Budget or Policy Framework
(a) Where an 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 Officer, who shall prepare a report.
(b) The Monitoring Officer’s report and/or Chief Finance 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 and/or Chief Finance Officer’s report. In the event that the Monitoring Officer or the Chief Finance Officer conclude that the decision was a departure then unless the Executive can, and do, rescind the decision, the Executive shall prepare a report to Council.
(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 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, and the Executive has not rescinded the decision, no further action will be taken in respect of the decision or its implementation until the Council has met and considered the matter. The Council shall meet within 15 working days of the meeting of the Executive. At the meeting the Council will receive a report of the decision or proposals and the advice of the Monitoring Officer and/or the Chief Finance 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;
or
(ii) amend or suspend 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;
or
(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 or suspend the existing framework to accommodate it, require the Executive to reconsider the matter in accordance with the advice of either the Monitoring Officer or Chief Finance Officer.