Tamworth Borough Council is the democratically elected authority for Tamworth. It has statutory responsibility for the provision of services such as housing, benefits, council tax, planning, leisure, waste, street cleaning, environmental health and the collection of business rates. You can read about how council services are financed on our budget pages.
Some services are delivered directly, while others are provided on our behalf by a range of organisations, or in partnership with agencies such as Staffordshire County Council, district councils, the police, health authorities and the voluntary sector.
The council’s constitution
How the council operates, how decisions are made, procedures that are followed and how council officers and councillors should conduct themselves, is all set out in the council’s constitution. Some of these processes are determined by law, while others are decided by the council.
The constitution also sets out the rights of citizens in the democratic process. You can read the constitution in full here.
Councillors
Tamworth Borough Council has 30 councillors, with three councillors serving each of the 10 electoral divisions, or wards, of the town. Councillors represent their communities for four years. We elect a third of the council (10 seats) every three out of four years. In the fourth year, there are no borough council elections.
Read more about the role and find out who your councillor is here.
Meetings and committees
Full council: All councillors meet together regularly as the ‘council’ or ‘full council’. This is where the council’s overall policies and budgets are set each year.
Cabinet: Also referred to as ‘the executive’, cabinet is responsible for most day-to-day decisions. This is made up of the leader of the council and up to nine of their chosen councillor representatives.
Regulatory committees: The planning, licensing and licensing sub-committees make regulatory decisions on planning and licensing matters.
Scrutiny committees: There are three main scrutiny committees which hold the executive to account and support the work and performance of the council as a whole. They monitor decisions and make recommendations. There is also a joint scrutiny committee which meets annually to consider the budget.
Audit and governance committee: This has oversight of internal and external audit work and is responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the council’s risk management arrangements and policies for fraud, whistle-blowing and complaints handling.
Read more about council meetings, including when they take place, how to submit questions and how to watch or attend on our committee meetings webpage.
You can also search for decisions that have been made by committees.
Forward plan
The forward plan lists the key decisions that will be made by cabinet during the next quarter. This means decisions that are significant in terms of expenditure or savings, or that will impact two or more electoral wards.
You can view the latest forward plan here.
Notices
Sometimes an urgent decision must be made where the required 28 days of notice could not be given. There are situations where these key decisions can still be made. Visit this page for more information on notices and key decisions taken.