Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon, OX14 3JE
Email: comments@whitehorsedc.gov.uk
Telephone: 01235 520202

Vale of White Horse District Council

How does the Council make decisions?

The Council -  All 51 elected Councillors sit on the full Council, which decides the overall policies and sets the budget for each year. The Council also elects the Leader, the Executive and appoints the chairs of other Committees, which include:  

• Development Control Committee
• Personnel Committee
• Licensing and Regulatory Committee
• Audit and Governance Committee
• Appeals Committee

For more information about the role and functions of these committees, see Part 2 of the Constitution.

The Executive – This is the part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. It is made up of the Executive Leader and between four and eight Councillors who are appointed by the Council. For details of which Councillors are on this, see our page about the Executive.

When major decisions are to be discussed or made, these are published in the Executive's Forward Plan in so far as they can be anticipated. If these major decisions are to be discussed with Council Officers at a meeting of the Executive, this will generally be open for the public to attend except where personal or confidential matters are being discussed.

The Executive has to make decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall policies and budget. If the Executive wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the Council to decide. For details of the policies and plans which the Council has in place to help determine its priorities and procedures see our Policies and plans pages.

Overview and Scrutiny Committee - The Scrutiny Committee is responsible for holding the Executive and Officers to account for their actions which they can do in a number of ways including, monitoring performance of the delivery of services. The Committee also has the right to “call in” a decision of the Executive or an Officer exercising Executive functions. The decision can then be reviewed before it is implemented.

Details of when the Council, the Executive and the committees meet can be found in our Meetings, agendas and minutes section.