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Lesson Starter. Quick questions: Explain the three different types of services. Outline the meaning of best value and community leadership. . What will I learn?. The structure of the council. Success Criteria. Outline briefly the structure of the council.
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Lesson Starter Quick questions: Explain the three different types of services. Outline the meaning of best value and community leadership.
What will I learn? The structure of the council
Success Criteria • Outline briefly the structure of the council. • Outline the role of the committees • Describe the role of local government officials
Overview of Structure • Councillors elected every 4 years. • Elected members are led by the leader of the council, typically the leader of the largest political grouping in the council. • Glasgow- Labour Council- leader Gordon Matheson.
Overview of Structure • Each council also elects a civic leader, the provost or convener, who chairs the council meetings. • Known as the Lord Provost • Chairs the full council meeting • Glasgow’s Lord Provost is • Sadie Docherty
Council Committees • The full council meeting is the supreme decision making body in the local authority. • However most decision making can be devolved to committtees or sub-committees.
Benefits of the Committee System • It is inclusive- all politcal parties are represented on the committees. Prevents one party from taking decisions on their own. • Operates through collective decision making. This means that the convener has to persuade the members to come to a joint decision.
Drawbacks of the committee system • Can be a slow process as it can take a while to get all elected members together. • Glasgow council employed 'arm's-length external organisations' (ALEOs) to deliver services. • Councillors who sit on these organisations received payments. • These agencies do not represent best value.
Local Government Officials • All local authorities appoint a chief executive, who is the head of the management team of directors of departments. • The traditional view is that the relationship between councillors and officials is that councillors make the policies and officials implement them. Real power with the councillors. • Another view is that senior officials are involved in policy making. Directors of Education, Social Work have the expertise that councillors don’t. • Important that they both have a good working relationship.