Centre for Governance and Scrutiny issues advice on call-in, schemes of delegation and council constitutions

The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) has published three connected publications aimed at providing technical advice on the operation and review of critical elements of the governance framework for local authorities in England.

The three documents look at:

• Call-in: this guide covers the law relating to call-in for English local authorities only. "Call-in is also a feature of the governance framework for Welsh authorities, but the legal basis is different. Welsh members and officers should have regard to separate statutory guidance produced by the Welsh Government."
• The operation of schemes of delegation to support decision-making: this guide covers only the delegation of decisions that relate to the council’s budget and policy framework. "There are other forms of 'delegated decision' which do not relate to this framework, and which are not covered here. For example, the 'delegated authority' by which a young person’s carer might make decisions about that person’s welfare."
• The review of council constitutions.

A fourth publication, on the operation of full council meetings, will be published later in 2023, the CfGS said.

On the constitutions publication, Ed Hammond, interim chief executive of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny said the intention of the material was not to set out “best practice” but rather to:

• introduce key features of modern council constitutions, and the governance framework, to an audience which might not be specialists in those areas;
• provide officers with responsibility for governance, with general advice to assist them in digging into the technical detail of their constitutional material;
• ensure that, between members and officers, material exists which “gives everyone a common understanding of what good governance is, what its key components are (and what the usual components of a council constitutions are), and to introduce the kinds of technical issues that usually need to be addressed to support it”.

Hammond stressed: “None of this material should be interpreted as giving legal advice. Councils’ Monitoring Officers are best placed to make accurate judgements about compliance with the law. Nothing in this or other connected material should be seen as challenging that advice, which will reflect the unique context of the council within which it is given.”

The CfGS added that the material covers governance arrangements in England only. “In Wales, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 has put in place substantially different arrangements for the organisation and publication of council constitutions, which are covered by separate statutory guidance.”