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How the Council Operates

How the Council operates

The Council comprises 44 Councillors, elected every four years.  Their overriding duty and accountability is to the whole community in the Cotswold District, but they have a special duty to their constituents in their Ward, 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.  Under the code, Councillors have to complete a form which sets out details of their interests in a number of matters which might impact on their role, e.g. employment/business details, land/property holdings within the District, and membership of public and other bodies.  These forms are available for public inspection at the Council's Trinity Road Offices in Cirencester.  As individual Web-pages are introduced for each Councillor, their declaration of interests forms will be available via this website.

All Councillors meet together as the Council.  Meetings of the Council are open to the public, unless there are personal or confidential matters to be discussed.  At Council meetings, Councillors decide the Council’s overall policies and set the budget each year; settle the Council’s main plans, like the Best Value Performance Plan; and approve the Council’s contribution as a partner to the Cotswold Community Plan.

Recommendations are made to the Council on policies, the budget and main plans by a small executive group of Councillors.  This is known as the Cabinet and is headed by the Leader of the Council.  The Cabinet is also responsible for implementing Council policy.

How decisions are made

Day-to-day decisions are made either collectively by the Cabinet, or by individual Members of the Cabinet or by Committees or by Senior Officers of the Council using delegated powers.  The Planning (Regulatory) Committee deals with planning applications and related matters. The Licensing Committee deals with licensing applications and related matters.

Meetings of the Council’s Cabinet and Committees are, by law, publicised in advance (at least one week before the meeting) and are open to the public, except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed.