CCambridge City Council is one of the five district councils in Cambridgeshire. It is composed of 14 wards, with three councillors elected in each ward; making 42 city councillors in total.
The current composition of the City Council is Liberal Democrat (29 seats), Labour (9), Conservative (1), Green (2) and Independent (1). A mayor and a deputy mayor are chosen each year from among the 42 councillors. All 42 members of the City Council meet formally at least five times a year at meetings whose principal business is to set the annual budget and to agree the policy framework for decision making.
The executive
The executive comprises the leader of the council and six executive councillors. The executive councillors make decisions relating to the major service areas.
These councillors can make decisions individually, usually at a meeting of a scrutiny committee relevant to their executive area. They also meet once a year to determine the council's budget.
The executive consists of:
· the leader of the council
· the deputy leader of the council
· an executive councillor for arts and recreation
· an executive councillor for climate change and growth
· an executive councillor for community development and health
· an executive councillor for customer services and resources
· an executive councillor for environmental and waste services
· an executive councillor for housing
Council meetings and committees
All council meetings are open to the public, although the public may be asked to leave when members discuss sensitive information.
Regulatory committees
These include civic affairs, licensing, planning, and standards.
Scrutiny committees
Scrutiny committees receive reports with background information and guidance on issues. The committee comments on the content and makes recommendations to the relevant executive councillor, who then considers these views before making their decision.
Area committees
Area committees were set up in September 2003. They cover four geographical areas – north, south, east and west/central. Their purpose is to move decision making out into the community and to make it easier for people to have a say about decisions that affect them locally. At the the begining of each meeting there is a 30-minute open forum where local people can put questions to members about matters of concern in their areas.