Tower Hamlets Constitution

The Executive shall consist of ten (10) people, namely the Mayor and nine (9) Cabinet Members as set out below:-

Where Cabinet roles are held by job share Cabinet Members one of the two councillors for the portfolio will be appointed as the official Cabinet Member who will retain official responsibility for the whole portfolio for the first six months. Following this, the second Cabinet Member will take up the official role for the second six-month period. Only the Councillor designated as the ‘official’ Cabinet Member at any given time may vote at the relevant meeting of Cabinet but both Job Share Members may introduce reports and take part in discussions.

Job share Cabinet Members will have day to day advisory responsibility for distinct areas of the portfolio. These responsibilities will be published on the council’s website.

Special Responsibility Allowances for both job share Cabinet Members will be paid monthly with each receiving the equivalent of half a Cabinet Member Special Responsibility Allowance.

For the purposes of the Constitution, both job share Cabinet Members will be treated as if they were members of the Executive. For example, they would not be able to serve on Overview & Scrutiny Committee during the six months they were not the ‘official’ Cabinet Member.

The Council has the power to appoint Councillors to Junior Cabinet Positions to provide support to specific Cabinet Members and their portfolios or Ambassador roles to give specific focus and to cross cutting themes and mayoral priorities, communities or projects. Junior Cabinet Positions and Ambassador roles are not Executive positions. Once appointed the Mayor will determine the areas of responsibility for the appointees.

The Mayor may, in accordance with Paragraph 4 above, establish such Committees/Sub-committees of the Executive as he considers appropriate from time to time and these are set out in Paragraph 6 above.

The Mayor has not delegated his decision-making powers to the Executive acting collectively as the Cabinet or as the Housing Management (Cabinet) Sub-Committee. He has delegated decision-making powers to the Grants Determination (Cabinet) Sub-Committee and also the King George’s Field Charity Board as it is a Charitable Body.

Subject to the Mayor's prerogative to make decisions on all matters relating to all of his statutory powers, including as individual mayoral decisions taken outside of Cabinet, the Mayor delegates to each Cabinet Member individually the power to make decisions on matters within their portfolio after consultation with the Mayor and subject to the Mayor raising no objection to the proposed decision. Any such decision by a cabinet member will be subject to a written report and the same procedure as applies to individual mayoral decisions.

In accordance with section 14(6) of the Local Government Act 2000 (as amended), any arrangements made by the Mayor for the discharge of an executive function by an executive member, Committee/Sub-Committee or officer does not prevent the Mayor from exercising that function.

The Mayor has delegated to officers decision making powers in relation to executive functions as set out at Parts B and D of the Council’s Constitution.

Officers may not take Key Decisions unless there has been a specific delegation by the Executive.

Any officer executive decision resulting in (revenue or capital) expenditure or savings over £250,000 must only be taken following consultation with the Mayor.

Executive decisions delegated to officers will be taken in accordance with the Corporate Scheme of Delegation, council-wide operating procedures and directorate/service schemes of delegation as appropriate.

For clarity, the following sets out a number of situations where the standard delegation rules do not apply (in particular that officers are delegated to take decisions which are not key decisions). Where there is a clash, this paragraph overrides other rules.

Text...

Text...

Text...

Text...

Text...

Text...

Text...