Meetings are arranged as and when required. There are three Appeals Panels each consisting of three Councillors which determine appeals submitted by staff or by members of the public through the corporate complaint process. The Panels do not consider any complaints submitted against City or Parish Councillors, these are considered through the Standards Complaints process.
The purpose of an Audit Committee is to provide independent assurance of the adequacy of the risk management framework and the associated control environment, independent scrutiny of the authority’s financial and non financial performance to the extent that it affects the authority’s exposure to risk and weakens the control environment, and to oversee the financial reporting process. The rules of governance for the Audit Committee are set out in the Council’s Constitution: http://www.carlisle.gov.ukhttp://www.carlisle.gov.uk/Council/Council-and-Democracy/Constitution
The City Council is composed of 39 Councillors with one third elected three years in four. Meetings of the City Council are normally open to the public and this is where Councillors decide the Council's overall policies and set the budget each year. The Council appoints the Leader and they in turn appoints Members of the Executive and delegates powers and responsibilities to them. The Council also appoints Committees to carry out certain functions and is responsible for holding the Executive to account for its actions through questioning from Members and the Public. Council appoints Overview and Scrutiny Panels to review the decisions of the Executive and assist with the formulation of policy.
The Cumberland Joint Committee has been established under Section 101 (5) of the Local Government Act 1972 for the purpose of discharging, until the first meeting of the shadow authority for Cumberland, the Article 23 functions and the functions referred to in Articles 22, 25, 26 and 27 of the Structural Changes Order 2022 for Cumbria. For more information about Local Government Reorganisation in Cumbria please see the website: https://newcouncilsforcumbria.info/
The Development Control Committee meets every five weeks to consider the Schedule of Planning Applications and other reports. The Committee may approve, refuse or defer consideration of planning applications for further information or a site visit. Not all applications have to be considered by the Committee. The Council’s Constitution includes a Scheme of Delegation (http://www.carlisle.gov.uk/Council/Council-and-Democracy/Constitution), which allows the decision on many applications to be delegated to the Corporate Director of Economic Development. These are usually uncontroversial applications where there are no more than three objections and which are consistent with the policies of the Development Plan.
Meetings are arranged as and when required. The Employment Panel consists of six Councillors and has the following functions: To shortlist and interview candidates for Chief Officer posts and recommend appointments to the full Council; to take decisions in connection with the appointment of staff and to determine the terms and conditions on which they hold office (including procedures for their dismissal) but only in the extent that such matters have not been reserved to the Council, Appeals Panels or delegated to any officer or other body under the Constitution.
The Executive is responsible for most of day to day decisions. The Executive is made up of the Leader and five other Councillors appointed by the Leader each with responsibility for areas of Council work known as Portfolios (detailed in the Leader's Scheme of Delegation within the Constitution). When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Notice of Executive Key Decisions 28 days in advance of the decision being made (see Council Decisions). Meetings of the Executive are generally open to members of the public, except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed and are held on a four weekly cycle. The Executive has to make decisions which are in line with the City Council’s overall policies and budget, if it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the City Council as a whole to decide.
Non Domestic Rate Payers and Trade Unions
This is not a public meeting
Meetings are arranged as and when required
This Committee will commence at the time indicated or on the rising of the Regulatory Panel, whichever is the later. The Licensing Committee consists of 12 Councillors and is concerned with licensing the following under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 and the Gambling Act 2005: Pubs and Nightclubs; indoor sporting events; off-licences; restaurants that serve alcohol; late night take aways; hotels, guest houses and other places which sell alcohol; private members clubs and social clubs; theatres and amateur dramatic groups; cinemas; temporary events; gaming machines and bookmakers. The Licensing Committee has delegated its powers to deal with individual applications to four Licensing Sub-Committees, each consisting of three Councillors. Applications which are not contentious and to which no objections have been received are delegated to Officers to determine.
Overview and Scrutiny Panels have eight Members and are politically balanced. The remit of each panel can be found in the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules (http://www.carlisle.gov.uk/Council/Council-and-Democracy/Constitution). The functions of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels under the City Council’s Constitution can be summarised as follows: Holding the Executive to account for its decisions through the call-in process; Policy Developments; Best Value reviews; Subject Based reviews/Inquiries; Scrutinising internal and external reports as part of consultation processes; performance monitoring and Task and Finish Group work.
The Regulatory Panel consists of twelve Councillors and has the following functions: Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing; Miscellaneous Licensing; setting of fees. The Licensing Manager has delegated authority to deal with the majority of applications. Decisions that the Licensing Manager has taken are published on a weekly basis as an Officer Decision and can be viewed under Council Decisions.
Meetings are arranged as and when required. The Standards Committee will advise the Council on the adoption or revision of its Code of Conduct. They will monitor and advise the Council about the operation of its Code of Conduct in the light of best practice, changes in the law and relevant guidance. They will determine the Arrangements and Guidance for dealing with any Code of Conduct matters and any allegations of a breach of such protocols by members in accordance with procedures adopted by the Committee. They will ensure that all members of the Council have access to training in all aspects of the Member Code of Conduct and that members are aware of the standards expected from local councillors under the Code. The Standards Committee will also advise the Council on the adoption or revision of any relevant supporting protocols relating to standards of conduct by members, monitoring the operation of such protocols and providing training for members on them; grant dispensations to councillors and co-opted members from requirements relating to interests set out in the Members Code of Conduct and deal with reports from the Monitoring Officer Granting exemptions for politically restricted posts.