Decision Maker: Chief Executive Officer
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: No
After consideration of a report of the
Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) regarding
clarification changes to the Officers’ Delegation Scheme in
the Constitution in relation to Coronavirus legislation, the Chief
Executive Officer:
1. notes the previous amendments made to the Constitution by the
Assistant Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) under his
delegated powers;
2. approves the following amendments to the Officers’
Delegation Scheme:
4.4 To the Corporate Director – Business and Environmental
Services
…
(n) To exercise all other functions for trading standards and
consumer protection not included in (m) above including, but not
limited to, the Council’s enforcement functions under:
• the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2)
(England) Regulations 2020 as amended;
• the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England)
(No. 3) Regulations 2020 and associated Secretary of State
Designation Letter dated 16 June 2020;
• the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Collection of Contact
Details etc and Related Requirements) Regulations 2020;
• the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)
(Obligations of Undertakings) (England) Regulations 2020;
• the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions)
(Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 and
• any successor and future Coronavirus legislation (including
but not limited to Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments) as
may be enacted;
(including, but not limited to, the powers to issue enforcement
notices, bring enforcement proceedings and take all enforcement
action).
4.8 To the Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire
The statutory functions of the Director of Public Health in
relation to public health, including, but not limited to, those set
out in the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, the NHS Act
2006, Health and Social Care Act 2012 and related regulations;
including, but not limited to:
…
(d) Council functions that relate to planning for, or responding
to, emergencies involving a risk to public health including, but
not limited to, such functions arising out of all Coronavirus
related legislation (including but not limited to Acts of
Parliament and Statutory Instruments) and including but not limited
to the power to issue directions under the Health Protection
(Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No.3) Regulations 2020 (and
any successor and other Coronavirus related legislation), and to
recommend to the Corporate Director Business and Environmental
Services the taking of relevant enforcement functions under such
Coronavirus related legislation;
Schedule 4
Officers’ Delegation Scheme
North Yorkshire County Council has functions given to it by
statute. Certain functions rest with the authority as a whole.
These powers can be delegated to Officers under s101 Local
Government Act 1972. Other functions, called Executive Functions
rest with the Council’s Executive, and can be delegated by
the Executive to Officers. Within this scheme, functions delegated
are marked either Executive or Council to indicate the origin of
the delegation.
References in this Scheme to any legislation (e.g. Act of
Parliament, Statutory Instrument, EU Directive) shall include a
reference to any amendment or re-enactment of such
legislation.
*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally
published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no
longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in
committee management system that we use.*
Decision taken by Richard Flinton, Chief Executive Officer, under
his emergency delegated powers.
Under his delegated decision making powers in the Officers’
Delegation Scheme in the Council’s Constitution, the Chief
Executive Officer has power, in cases of emergency, to take any
decision which could be taken by the Council, the Executive or a
committee.
The Chairmen of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny
Committees and the Chairman of the Council have given their
respective consents to emergency decisions by the Chief Executive
Officer in response to the Covid-19 pandemic being treated under
the Special Urgency Procedure and being exempt from call in where
timescales do not permit observance of the usual access to
information timescales. Such consents were published in the blanket
exemptions’ notice dated 27 April 2020.
This matter was treated under that blanket consent notice due to
the need for the Constitution to be up to date and for absolute
clarity over officer roles in relation to the fast-changing
Coronavirus related legislative framework.
The Chief Executive Officer noted the decision by the Assistant
Chief Executive (Legal and Democratic Services) on 15 September
2020 using his delegated powers under Articles 15.02(c)(i) and (ii)
of the Constitution to update the references in the specific
delegation to the Corporate Director Business and Environmental
Services in paragraph 4.4(n) of the Officers’ Delegation
Scheme in order to keep the Constitution up to date.
The Chief Executive Officer approved the further amendments to the
Officers’ Delegation Scheme in order to provide absolute
clarity in the Constitution over the respective roles of the
Corporate Director Business and Environmental Services and the
Director of Public Health in relation to the issuing of notices and
taking of enforcement action under the Coronavirus- related
legislation and to future-proof the Constitution regarding any
changes to that legislative framework.
Publication date: 28/04/2021
Date of decision: 21/10/2020