Constitution and governance

The Greenhaven Council constitution, decision responsibilities and governance arrangements.

The council constitution

The Greenhaven Council constitution is the central public document explaining how the authority operates. It covers where decisions are taken, the roles of councillors and officers, meeting rules, delegations, financial administration and standards for council business.

The constitution will describe the arrangements adopted by Greenhaven Council and will be published when the necessary Greenhaven governance arrangements have been settled.

Full Council

Full Council is the collective meeting of all elected Greenhaven councillors. It provides the principal democratic forum for matters reserved to the whole council and for decisions that cannot lawfully be delegated elsewhere. The detailed reserved functions and procedural rules will be set out in the Greenhaven constitution once adopted.

Executive arrangements

The normal Greenhaven model is leader and cabinet unless another lawful model is established. Under that model the Leader is elected by Full Council and executive responsibility is organised through the council’s lawful executive arrangements. The constitution and schemes of delegation will identify which decisions belong to Full Council, the executive, committees or authorised officers.

Overview and scrutiny

Executive decision making is balanced by overview and scrutiny. Scrutiny provides a route for councillors outside the executive to examine policy, performance and decisions and to make recommendations. It is an accountability function, not a second executive.

Audit, standards and good administration

Greenhaven Council’s governance structure includes an Audit and Governance Committee and standards arrangements, supported by finance, legal advice, procurement, records, complaints, equality, safeguarding governance, resilience and performance functions.

Publication

Once adopted, Greenhaven’s constitution and associated governance documents will be published through this section so residents can see how decisions are made and where responsibility sits.

About the constitution

The Greenhaven constitution will bring together the public rules explaining how the council is governed. It will cover the authority's structure, where decisions are taken, rules for meetings, delegations, codes and protocols, officer management arrangements and the financial or procurement rules that form part of the constitutional framework.

Delegated decisions

Not every council decision is taken by Full Council. The constitution and schemes of delegation will identify the decisions reserved to Full Council, those exercised through the executive or committees, and those delegated to officers. A delegated decision remains a council decision and appears in the public record where the governance rules require publication.

Current constitution and previous versions

When the constitution is amended, the public version will show the current rules rather than leave residents to reconcile several superseded documents. Earlier versions may be retained for the historical record, while the current constitution is clearly identified.