How the Council makes decisions

Cabinet and Committees

The Council operates a Leader and a Cabinet system to take most of its decisions.

Most day-to-day decisions are taken by the Cabinet which meets every four weeks on a Thursday at 7pm. It is made up of the Leader of the Council together with six other Councillors (also referred to as 'Portfolio Holders'). Each Portfolio Holder has responsibility for one or more areas of the Council’s work.  The key decisions to be taken by Cabinet are set out in the Council's Forward Plan.

However, important decisions, such as setting the budget, setting Council Tax or approving policies and strategies, are considered by all the Councillors.

Your Councillors

Thanet District Council has 56 elected Councillors, also known as Members, who are elected every four years. The last elections took place in May 2007 and the next are scheduled to take place in May 2011.

Councillors take decisions about how the Council is run, which are implemented by the Council officers or staff. All Thanet District Councillors are covered by the Council's code of conduct.

Forward Plan

The Forward Plan lists the key decisions to be taken by the Cabinet coming up over the next four months. The Plan is updated around the middle of each month to take effect from the 1st of the following month.

Calendar and Notice of Council meetings

All the Council’s meetings are open to the public. A calendar of meetings for 2007/08 is available at Calendar of meetings

A formal public notice is published at least five clear working days before a meeting takes place and will be displayed at the Margate council offices and Thanet Gateway Plus. At the same time an agenda for the meeting is published and can be inspected at the Thanet Gateway Plus offices and all local libraries and online at reports and minutes

Planning Committee

Decisions about some planning applications are taken by the Planning Committee which meets every four weeks, usually on Wednesdays at 7pm.

In order to enable residents of Thanet to play an active part in the planning process, Thanet residents are now able to speak at meetings of the Planning Committee on any schedule applications which are to be considered.

If you would like more information about how decisions are made or when any of the Council’s meetings take place, contact us.

National Politics

For national elections, Thanet forms part of two parliamentary constituencies at Westminster and is represented in Parliament by two MPs

The quality of our housing contributes to the quality of our lives.  Our committment to quality housing is set out in our corporate plan.  We are committed to delivering the best possible housing solutions that will improve the quality of life for all those living in Thanet.

Democratic Services

Email:
electoral.services
@thanet.gov.uk

Phone: 01843 577500

Fax: 01843 291640