1. How a Council Works Philip Simpkins Chief Executive Bedford Borough Council

2. 2 Members and Officers Members (including Mayor) are elected Officers are paid officials No Non Executives

3. 3 Elected Members – Bedford Borough Directly Elected Mayor (different to most councils) 40 Councillors covering 27 wards All out elections every four years – next May 2015 All 41 are Members of Full Council with equal voting rights

4. 4 Differing Roles - Executive Run the Council day to day Mayor plus up to nine councillors (currently one vacancy) Mayor chooses Executive Members Executive Members = Portfolio Holders Portfolio Holder for Adult Services & Community Wellbeing – Councillor Atkins

5. 5 Differing Roles – Overview and Scrutiny Four OSC Committees Hold Executive to account Look at policy development

6. 6 Differing Roles - Other Regulatory – Planning and Licensing General Purposes – Electoral matters and staffing

7. 7 Officers All employed by the Council Assist Mayor and Councillors in their respective roles Develop and implement policy

8. 8 Statutory Posts Head of Paid Services (Chief Executive – Philip Simpkins) Chief Finance Officer (Trevor Roff) Monitoring Officer (Michael Gough) Director of Children’s Services (Margaret Dennison) Director of Adults Services (Frank Toner) New Director of Public Health (Muriel Scott)

9. 9 Decision Making (1) Executive – unless Policy Framework then Full Council Full Council – Budget Conflict Resolution for Full Council OSC are not decision makers

10. 10 Decision Making (2) Reports to Decision Makers (including Council/Executive/other Committees) must include: –Legal –Policy –Risk and –Resource Mayor/Portfolio Holders can take Executive Decisions Officer Delegation

11. 11 Any Questions