Editing Executive arrangements (section)

===Leader and cabinet===
The leader and cabinet model was introduced under the [[Local Government Act 2000]]. It consists of the leader and the cabinet itself, which is usually formed by the majority party in the [[local authority]], where there is one, or by a coalition which comes together to elect a leader.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Government Act 2000 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/22/part/1A/chapter/2/crossheading/leader-and-cabinet-executives-england |website=legislation.gov.uk |access-date=3 June 2021}}</ref> The council elects the leader, and the leader appoints the other members of the cabinet. Each cabinet member holds a separate portfolio, such as housing, finance, economic development, or education. Decisions may be delegated to the individual members, or taken by the cabinet as a whole. These decisions are scrutinised by one or more "overview and scrutiny" committees, which may be dedicated to one or more service areas.

The leader and cabinet are responsible for policies, plans, and strategies,<ref>ss9D et seq, LGA 2000 as amended: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/22/part/1A/chapter/2/crossheading/executive-functions</ref> which must be within the budget adopted by the full council. These will be reported to the overall "full" council, which is convened to bring together all elected members of the authority at regular meetings. One or more overview and scrutiny committees holds the cabinet to account for its decisions and is responsible that the [[democracy|democratic]] [[Separation of powers#Checks and balances|checks and balances]] are maintained.

The principal executive decisions taken by the council as a whole are to appoint the leader, to approve the leader's budget, to adopt development plan documents, and to agree on the council's constitution. Beyond that, it may raise issues, urge the leader, cabinet, or cabinet members to take actions, or pass a [[vote of no confidence]] in the leader.

In addition, the compliance of councillors with their code of conduct may be overseen by a standards committee, although since the coming into effect of the Localism Act 2011 this can be dispensed with and its functions can be delegated to a monitoring officer.<ref>Part III, LGA 2000 as amended: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/22/contents</ref>