Decision making
The Council's decision-making process is designed to be efficient, transparent and accountable to local people.
The Council's Executive is the part of the Council responsible for most day-to-day decisions.
When major decisions are discussed with Council officers at a meeting of the Executive, the meeting will be open to the public.
The Executive has to make decisions in line with the Council's overall policies and budget.
If it wishes to make a decision outside the budget or policy framework, it must be refered to the Council as a whole to decide.
The Council also has a number of other committees which deal primarily with the regulatory functions which are not the responsibility of the Executive, such as planning, licensing and standards.
The Council has people working for it called officers who give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to-day delivery of services.
Often, the Council conducts consultation exercises before taking decisions.