Constitution
Arun District Council has a Constitution which sets out how we operate, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. Some of these procedures are required to be done in a certain way by law, and other procedures are dealt with in a way for the Council to choose.
You can download the Constitution in Full v9.7 (August 2020).pdf [pdf] 2MB or the relevant part if you need to save bandwidth (see table below). You are advised to use the full document if you are searching for something, as topics can often be covered in multiple sections. Download the full document and press Ctrl and F on your keyboard to bring up the search box. You can then scroll through the results using the enter key.
Our chief officer structure changed in April 2018. You can find more information on the Chief Officer Structures page.
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PART |
TITLE |
DESCRIPTION |
LINK |
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Part 1 |
Summary & Explanation |
Gives a summary of what is contained within the Constitution |
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Part 2 |
Articles of the Constitution |
There are 16 Articles which set out the basic rules of how the Council is run
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Part 3 |
Responsibility of Functions |
This part details the Council’s Cabinet, committees' and other groups' responsibilities. This part also contains each individual Cabinet Member's specific responsibilities.
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PART 3 - Responsibility for Functions (updated June 2020).pdf [pdf] 328KB |
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Part 4 |
Officer Scheme of Delegation |
This part details the individual Responsible Officer’s delegated powers, and is divided into Senior Officers' responsibilities. Senior Officers are: the Chief Executive, Chief Executive, the Director of Services, Director of Place and Group Heads
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Section 1 |
General Principles |
PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 1 General Principles.pdf [pdf] 199KB |
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Section 2 |
Chief Executive & Directors |
PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 2 Chief Executive & Directors.pdf [pdf] 174KB |
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Section 3 |
Group Heads |
PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 3 Group Heads (updated 15.07.20).pdf [pdf] 105KB |
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Section 4 |
Functions |
PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 4 Functions.pdf [pdf] 85KB |
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Part 5 |
Rules of Procedures (Meetings) |
This part covers meetings procedure rules for Full Council, Cabinet and committees.
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Section 1 |
Council Procedure Rules |
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Section 2 |
Cabinet Procedure Rules |
PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 2 Cabinet Procedure Rules.pdf [pdf] 118KB |
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Section 3 |
Committee Procedure Rules |
PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 3 Committee Procedure Rules.pdf [pdf] 147KB |
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| Section 4 | Public Speaking Rules | PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 4 Public Speaking Rules.pdf [pdf] 119KB | |
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Section 5 |
Virtual Meetings |
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Part 6 |
Other Procedure Rules |
This part is divided into the rules to do with Decision Notices, Scrutiny, Budget and Policy Framework, Access to Information, Financial Standing Orders relating to purchasing, procurement, contracts and disposals; and Officer Employment. |
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Section 1 |
Decision Notices |
PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 1 Decision Notices.pdf [pdf] 120KB |
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Section 2 |
Scrutiny |
PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 2 Scrutiny.pdf [pdf] 172KB |
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Section 3 |
Budget & Policy Framework |
PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 3 Budget & Policy Framework.pdf [pdf] 143KB |
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Section 4 |
Access to Information |
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Section 5 |
Financial Rules |
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Section 6 |
Standing Orders – Purchasing, Procurement, Contracts, and Disposals |
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Section 7 |
Officer Employment |
PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 7 Officer Employment.pdf [pdf] 181KB |
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Section 8 |
Corporate Complaints |
PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 8 Corporate Complaints.pdf [pdf] 96KB |
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Part 7 |
Management Structure |
A table showing Senior Officers and their individual responsibilities |
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Part 8 |
Codes & Protocols |
This part is divided into: Councillors’ and Officers’ Codes of Conduct, Member and Officer relations, preparatory meetings of the Cabinet, Call-In of Prosecutions, Planning Services Local Code of Conduct, RTPI professional Code of Conduct, Petitions Scheme
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Section 1 |
The Principles Behind the Members’ Code of Conduct |
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Section 2 |
Members’ Code of Conduct |
PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 2 Members Code of Conduct.pdf [pdf] 175KB |
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Section 3 |
Member/Officer Relations |
PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 3 Member-Officer Relations.pdf [pdf] 178KB |
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Section 4 |
Preparatory Meetings of the Cabinet |
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Section 5 |
Call-in of Prosecutions |
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Section 6 |
Planning Local Code of Conduct for Members and Officers |
PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 6 Planning Local Code of Conduct.pdf [pdf] 162KB |
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Section 7 |
Petitions |
PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 7 Petitions Scheme.pdf [pdf] 150KB |
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Section 8 |
Protocol on the Filming and Recording of Council Meetings |
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Part 9 |
Members Allowance Scheme |
This shows how much our Councillors are paid |
PART 9 - Members Allowances Scheme (updated 20.05.20).pdf [pdf] 151KB |
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Revisions Log
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List of updates to the Constitution (v9 onwards) |
Version 9.7 – amendment to Part 6, Section 4 with updated legislation re meaning of exempt information. Version 9.7 – amendments to Part 5; Sections 1 & 5, and Part 6; Section 6 as agreed at Full Council on 15 July 2020 (consequential changes to Part 4; Section 3) and Part 9 as agreed at Annual Council on 20 May 2020. Version 9.6 – incorporating the addition of a new Cabinet Portfolio and consequential changes (see Report to Annual Council 20.05.20) Version 9.5 – amendment made to Part 5; Section 5 – Virtual Meetings; rules 9.1 and 11.1 as agreed 20.05.20 Version 9.5 – addition of Part 5, Section 5 covering Virtual Meetings, as approved 22.04.20 Version 9.4 – Updates to Parts 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 as agreed at Full Council meetings on 17.07.19 and 18.09.19. Version 9.3 – amendments to Part 3; Part 4 (Section 3); and Part 8 (Section 2) under delegated authority to the Monitoring Officer to make consequential changes. Version 9.2 – amendments to Part 4 (Sections 3 & 4) and Part 9 , and the deletion of Part 8 (Section 5) as agreed at Full Council on 13 March 2019 and 9 January 2019.” Version 9.1 – amendments to Part 3 and Part 6 (sections 1, 2, 4, and 8) as agreed at Full Council on 12.09.18 and 07.11.18 |
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