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 Full Constitution  Constitution in Full v9.9 (Mar 2021) [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.

 

 

PART

TITLE

DESCRIPTION

LINK

Part 1

Summary & Explanation

Gives a summary of what is contained within the Constitution

Constitution Part 1 - Summary & Explanation

Part 2

Articles of the Constitution

There are 16 Articles which set out the basic rules of how the Council is run

 

PART 2 - Articles [pdf] 262KB

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.

 

PART 3 - Responsibility for Functions (updated June 2020) [pdf] 328KB

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

 

  

Section 1

General Principles

 

 PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 1 General Principles [pdf] 199KB

Section 2

Chief Executive & Directors

 

 PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 2 Chief Executive & Directors [pdf] 174KB

Section 3

Group Heads

   PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 3 Group Heads (updated 15.07.20) [pdf] 105KB

Section 4

Functions

   PART 4 - Officer Scheme of Delegation - Section 4 Functions [pdf] 85KB

Part 5

Rules of Procedures (Meetings)

This part covers meetings procedure rules for Full Council, Cabinet and committees.

 

  

Section 1

Council Procedure Rules

 

 PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 1 Council Meetings (updated 13.01.21) [pdf] 200KB

Section 2

Cabinet Procedure Rules

 

 PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 2 Cabinet Procedure Rules [pdf] 118KB

Section 3

Committee Procedure Rules

 

 PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 3 Committee Procedure Rules (updated 13.01.21) [pdf] 169KB
Section 4 Public Speaking Rules   PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 4 Public Speaking Rules [pdf] 119KB

Section 5

Virtual Meetings

 

 PART 5 - Rules of Procedures (Meetings) - Section 5 Virtual Meetings (amended 15.07.20) [pdf] 141KB

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.

  

Section 1

Decision Notices

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 1 Decision Notices [pdf] 120KB

Section 2

Scrutiny

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 2 Scrutiny (13.01.21) [pdf] 172KB

Section 3

Budget & Policy Framework

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 3 Budget & Policy Framework [pdf] 143KB

Section 4

Access to Information

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 4 Access to Information (amended August 2020) [pdf] 187KB

Section 5

Financial Rules

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 5 Financial Procedures Rules (Regulations) [pdf] 273KB

Section 6

Standing Orders – Purchasing, Procurement, Contracts, and Disposals

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 6 Purchasing, Procurement, Contracts & Disposals (updated 15.07.20) [pdf] 190KB

Section 7

Officer Employment

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 7 Officer Employment [pdf] 181KB

Section 8

Corporate Complaints

 

 PART 6 - Procedure Rules (Other) - Section 8 Corporate Complaints [pdf] 96KB

Part 7

Management Structure

A table showing Senior Officers and their individual responsibilities

PART 7 - Management Structure [pdf] 120KB

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

 

  

Section 1

The Principles Behind the Members’ Code of Conduct

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 1 (New Code) [pdf] 112KB

Section 2

Members’ Code of Conduct

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 2 Members Code of Conduct (New) [pdf] 258KB

Section 3

Member/Officer Relations

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 3 Member-Officer Relations [pdf] 178KB

Section 4

Preparatory Meetings of the Cabinet

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 4 Protocol for Preparatory Meetings of The Cabinet [pdf] 89KB

Section 5

Call-in of Prosecutions

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 5 Protocol on the call-in of prosecutions (DELETED) [pdf] 112KB

Section 6

Planning Local Code of Conduct for Members and Officers

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 6 Planning Local Code of Conduct [pdf] 162KB

Section 7

Petitions

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 7 Petitions Scheme [pdf] 150KB

Section 8

Protocol on the Filming and Recording of Council Meetings

 

 PART 8 - Codes & Protocols - Section 8 Protocol on Filming and Recording Council Meetings [pdf] 122KB

Part 9

Members Allowance Scheme

This shows how much our Councillors are paid

PART 9 - Members Allowances Scheme (updated Mar 2021) [pdf] 172KB

Revisions Log

 

List of updates to the Constitution (v9

onwards)

Version 9.9 – amendments to Part 8, Sections 1 & 2 to reflect adoption of new Members Code of Conduct, as per Full Council decision 17.03.21.  Amendment to Part 9 – Members Allowances - to reflect reduction in number of Independent Persons.

Version 9.8 – amendments to Part 5, Sections 1 and 3 and Part 6, Section 2, as agreed at Full Council 13.01.21

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