Council & democracy
navigation and tools
in 'Your council'
You are here: Home | Your council | Council & democracy
Council & democracy
In this section of the site you’ll find everything you need to know about how Brighton & Hove is governed, from who your councillors are and how decisions are made and how you can get involved in local democracy.
Find out more by seeing if the question you want answered is below.
- Who are my councillors?
- When is the next council committee meeting?
- How can I influence council decisions?
- Where can I view Council Committee Webcasts?
- What are the different Council Committees?
- Where can I sign current ePetitions?
- Where can I read about The Constitution?
- Who is the Leader of the Council?
- Who is the Mayor of Brighton & Hove?
- What are the Mayor's Charities?
- Who are my Elected Representatives?
- What happened in the previous Elections?
- How does the Council make decisions?
- How do I influence Council decision making?
- What is the Committee Work Programme?
We also have more information on the Scrutiny process and the Scrutiny Review Panels. Other information on any completed Scrutiny Review Panels are archived and ready to view.
Go to the Electoral Services pages for information about voting and standing as a candidate. We also have other Useful Documents and information on getting Updates on Committee Meetings.
Brighton & Hove City Council moves to the committee system
At Annual Council on Thursday 17 May, Brighton & Hove City Council moved to a new model of decision-making called the committee system.
The committee system means that decisions become cross-party decisions; taken by members of all the political groups. As a result, decisions will more fairly represent the city and the make up of the council.
The basic change to the structure of council meetings is that Cabinet Member Meetings have become committees. As a result, Cabinet Members now serve as Chair to the relevant committee.
New Code of Conduct
The council has adopted a new code of conduct for members. In accordance with section 27(2) of the Localism Act 2011, the council has adopted a new code dealing with the conduct that is expected of members and co-opted members of Brighton & Hove City Council when they are acting in that capacity.
The new code of conduct, which came into effect at the conclusion of the council meeting on 19 July 2012, is available as an Appendix to the recent Standards Update report [PDF - 60Kb]
Rottingdean Parish Council has also adopted a new code of conduct for its members, which came into effect at the conclusion of the parish council meeting on 6 August 2012.