About your council

Richmondshire District Council is one of seven District Councils in North Yorkshire. It was created in 1974 by amalgamation of a number of smaller Local Authorities and contains two of the best known Yorkshire Dales – Swaledale and Wensleydale. There are 101 parishes within the District, electing 34 Members to the Council.

Until May 1999 Richmondshire was an Independent Council. Following the elections in May 1999, political groups were formed.  At present the Council comprises of the following:

Conservatives	18
Liberal Democrats	3
Liberal Democrats & Associates	3
Richmondshire Association of Independent Councillors	4
Richmondshire Independent Group	4
Independents of North Yorkshire	2

A breakdown of the Members in their Groups can be viewed by clicking here.

Richmondshire District Council Constitution

Introduction

The Richmondshire District Council has agreed a Constitution which sets out how the Council operates, 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 processes are required by law, while others are a matter for the Council to choose.

The Constitution is divided into 17 articles which set out the basic rules governing the Council's business.
More detailed procedures and codes of practice are provided in separate rules and protocols at the end of the document.

What is in the Constitution?

Article 1 of the Constitution commits the Council to operating in accordance with its constitution. Articles 2-17 explain the rights of citizens and how the key parts of the Council operate. These are:

• Members of the Council (Article 2).
• Citizens and the Council (Article 3).
• The Full Council (Article 4).
• Chairing the Council (Article 5).
• Overview and Scrutiny Committees (Article 6).
• Strategy Board and other committees (Article 7).
• The Standards Committee (Article 8).
• Area Committees and Parish Forums (Article 9).
• Joint Arrangements (Article 10).
• Officers (Article 11).
• Decision Making (Article 12).
• Finance, Contracts and Legal Matters (Article 13).
• Review and Revision of the Constitution (Article 14).
• Suspension, Interpretation and Publication of the Constitution (Article 15).
• Strategy Board Spokespersons (Article 16).
• Appointments to Outside Bodies (Article 17).

How the Council Operates

The Council is composed of 34 Councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to residents of their ward. The overriding duty of councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty to their constituents, including those who did not vote for them.

Councillors have to agree to follow a code of conduct to ensure high standards in the way they undertake their duties. The Standards Committee trains and advises them on the code of conduct.

All Councillors meet together as the Council. Meetings of the Council are normally open to the public. Here Councillors decide the Council's overall policies and set the budget each year; determine the Council's main plans; provide a forum for debate on issues of general concern to the area; hear reports back from parish forum meetings and review the Council's overall performance.

How Decisions are Made

Most day-to-day decisions are made by a committees. The Council has a Strategy Board which deal with all of its functional responsibilities. Some Committees also carry out a number of regulatory functions, including dealing with planning applications.

Meetings of the Council's committees are publicised well in advance and are open to the public except where exempt or confidential matters are being discussed.

Please click here to view Committee Agendas, Minutes and Reports.

Overview and Scrutiny

There are two Overview and Scrutiny committees which support the work of the policy committees and the Council as a whole. They allow citizens to have a greater say in Council matters by holding public inquiries into matters of local concern. These can lead to reports and recommendations which advise the Strategy Board and the Council as a whole on its policies, budget and service delivery. Overview and Scrutiny committees also monitor the decisions of the Strategy Board. They can 'call-in' a decision which has been made by a policy committee but not yet implemented. This enables them to consider whether the decision is appropriate. They may recommend that the Strategy Board or full council reconsider the decision. They may also be consulted by policy committees on forthcoming decisions and the development of policy. Both Overview and Scrutiny committees are involved in assisting the council to comply with its statutory duty to deliver 'best value' in its services and in policy review and development.

To find out more about Overview & Scrutiny please click here.

The Council's Staff

The Council has people working for it (called 'officers') to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day-to-day delivery of its services. Some officers have a specific duty to ensure that the Council acts within the law and uses its resources wisely. A code of practice governs the relationships between officers and members of the Council.

Citizens' Rights

Citizens have a number of rights in their dealings with the Council. These are set out in more detail in Article 3. Some of these are legal rights, whilst others depend on the Council's own processes. The local Citizens' Advice Bureau can advise on individuals' legal rights.

Where members of the public use specific council services, for example as a council tenant, they may have additional rights. These are not covered in this Constitution.

Citizens have the right to:

• vote at local elections if they are registered;
• contact their local councillor about any matters of concern to them;
• obtain a copy of the Constitution;
• attend meetings of the Council and its committees except where, for example, personal or confidential matters are being discussed;
• petition to request a referendum on a mayoral form of executive;
• participate in the Council's question time, parish forums and contribute to investigations by the overview and scrutiny committees;
• complain to the Council via its published complaints procedure;
• complain to the Ombudsman if they think the Council has not followed its procedures properly. However, they should normally only do this after using the Council's own complaints process;
• complain to the Standards Board for England if they have evidence which they think shows that a councillor has not followed the Council's Code of Conduct; and
• inspect the Council's accounts and make their views known to the external auditor.

The Council welcomes participation by its citizens in its work. For further information on your rights as a citizen, please contact the Head of Democratic Services on 01748 829100, extension 7088.

A statement of the rights of citizens to inspect agendas and reports and attend meetings is available at the Council's offices.

 Print page Last updated: 11 November 2008