Forward Plan

The Forward Plan has now been replaced by the Key Decision Plan.

Latest Forward Plans

What is the Forward Plan and why does the council have one?

The law requires all councils to keep a rolling plan listing the "key decisions" they propose to take within the following period of four months. The plan is available for public inspection and has to be updated every month.

The Forward Plan allows people to find out about major decisions that the council is going to take, giving them a better opportunity to have their views made known and/or influence those decisions.

Each successive plan takes effect from the first day of the first month of the plan, but the plan has to be published and be available for inspection 14 days before that. For example, the plan for the four-month period July to October takes effect on 1 July but it has to be published and be available for inspection by 17 June. 

What are key decisions?

The government has defined key decisions as those which:

  • Involve expenditure or savings over a given sum (the government has left individual councils to decide what this given sum should be. We have decided to set this figure at £500,000), or
  • Are "significant in terms of its effects on communities living or working in an area comprising two or more electoral wards"

What information goes into the plan?

The plan is in two parts:

The first part is a summary list indicating all of the key decisions that are to be made (as far as is known when the plan is published). The summary list sits at the front of the plan.

The second part of the plan consists of an individual sheet for each key decision listed in the summary, setting out the following details:

  • When the decision will be made
  • Who will make the decision
  • What arrangements are proposed for consulting stakeholders and the public
  • Who representations should be made to
  • What documents will be available in relation to the decision and when

Where can the plan be inspected?

Each successive Forward Plan is published here but you can also inspect a hard copy of the plan, during normal office hours, by calling at the reception desk at the Town Hall, South Shields and asking to speak to Democratic Services.

Who can I contact to find out more?

Democratic Services Section
Town Hall
South Shields

Phone: 0191 424 7256
Email: democratic.services@southtyneside.gov.uk

 


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