Council Meetings

Committee Calendar

The Committee Calendar will provide you with information on the forthcoming meetings. 

Meetings

Each municipal year starts with the Annual Meeting, which is usually held in May.

Copies of agendas are available on the council website at least five working days before each meeting.   

Browse agenda, reports and minutes

City Council

The council is comprised of 78 councillors. All councillors meet as City Council approximately 8 times per year.  Meetings of City Council:

• are normally open to the public
• are recorded and available to view/hear on You Tube (From June 2020 - present)  You Tube (January 2014 - February 2020)
• debate key issues facing the city
• decide overall policies and budget
• appoint the Leader of the Council and members of committees, joint committees and outside bodies
• discuss issues raised by councillors. These are called Notice of Motions. Rules relating to these are set out in the Newcastle Charter. The full text of a Notice of Motion is available by accessing the City Council agendas
• receive questions and written replies. Questions and written replies are available by accessing the City Council agendas. Previous Questions to Council

Petitions and Public Questions to City Council

Petitions

A petition is a quick and easy way to bring issues to the attention of councillors and officers.  You can send a paper petition or an on-line e-petition (or a mix of both) to democraticservicesofficers@newcastle.gov.uk. To find out more about petitions, how they can be submitted and what you can expect of the Council when it considers and responds to petitions here.

Petitions can be submitted at any time and will be sent to the relevant Director or Assistant Director to respond. If you wish to present a petition to a meeting of City Council, you can find out how to do that in the Petitions Scheme or use the email link above.

Public Question Time

On each agenda for City Council meetings, there is a period of up to 15 minutes for members of the public to ask a question or address Council for up to 5 minutes on an issue. You can do this by giving notice of the question (to include the full text of the question or the public address) to Democratic Services (democraticservicesofficers@newcastle.gov.uk) by noon of the Monday before an ordinary meeting of City Council when such meeting is held on a Wednesday and, in other cases, by noon of the day before the day of the meeting.  The dates of the meetings of City Council can be accessed here.

Public Question Time is not included on the agenda for the annual meeting of Council (held on the fourth Wednesday in May).

In deciding whether to allow a petition to be presented to a meeting of City Council, the Lord Mayor may have regard to the following:

1. Questions and addresses must relate to the work of the Council.
2. Questions and addresses must not be of a personal character.
3. Questions must be addressed to a member of the Council who has responsibilities in respect of the particular work of the Council.
4. Questions and addresses should not relate to issues that have been raised at meetings in the recent past, without good reason.
5. Questions and addresses should not relate to judicial or quasi-judicial matters.
6. Questions and addresses should not relate to individual planning applications, licence applications, grant applications or appeals.
7. Questions and addresses should not relate to confidential or exempt matters within the meaning of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.
8. Questions and addresses should not relate to party political matters.
9. Questions and addresses should not be frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable in all the circumstances.

Cabinet

Cabinet comprises the Leader of the Council and nine other councillors.  Individually, each councillor takes a leadership role and can make decisions in a specific area known as a Cabinet portfolio. Cabinet meets every month except for August and December.  Meetings of Cabinet are held in public, except where personal or confidential matters are to be discussed and make key strategic decisions and implement council policies

Committees

Separate committees have been set up to either make decisions or make recommendations to City Council, such as on planning, licensing, employment, elections and constitution.  These committees are known as non-executive committees: 

• Constitutional Committee - Council constitution, corporate governance and strategic human resources issues
• Planning Committee - deals with planning functions
• Regulatory and Appeals Sub Committee  - deals with regulatory and licensing functions except those in the Licensing Act 2003
• Licensing Sub Committee - deal with all licensing functions defined in the Licensing Act 2003 along with a range of appeals
• Audit and Standards Committee -  oversees issues in relation to financial probity and promotes high standards of conduct by councillors
• Climate Change Committee - advises Cabinet and Council on actions and resources required to deliver on the city’s climate change ambitions as well as update on progress towards agreed targets and outcomes
• Health and Wellbeing Board (formerly known as City Futures Board).  This is a partnership arrangement with membership drawn from a range of organisations including Newcastle City Council, the NHS in Newcastle, Health watch Newcastle, the Voluntary and Community Sector and our two local universities. The Board works to improve the wellbeing and health of everyone in the city, with a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.

Other committees have been set up to advise the City Council, Cabinet and officers before decisions are made.  These committees are known as advisory committees:

• Corporate Parent Advisory Committee - monitors the work of the council and other related agencies in contributing towards positive outcomes for looked after children
• Mansion House Trust Advisory Committee - in its function as sole trustee

Four scrutiny committees  operate in Newcastle, all are politically balanced:

• Overview and Scrutiny Coordination Committee has a remit that covers all areas except those covered by the other scrutiny committees. This includes responsibilities as the Council's designated Crime and Disorder Committee. Its role is to coordinate the work of scrutiny.  
• Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee is responsible for scrutinising the planning, commissioning and delivery of health, social care and public health services in Newcastle. This includes scrutiny of the commissioning and delivery of NHS funded services in Newcastle.
• Finance and Budget Monitoring Scrutiny Committee is responsible for scrutinising the budget of the city council, including a detailed review of budget proposals, and examination of quarterly performance, key financial systems and HR performance reports.
• Economy, Jobs Skills Scrutiny Committee is responsible for scrutinising and carrying out enquiries into the city's economic circumstances and performance, with an emphasis on the labour market and the availability and suitability of jobs and skills development for residents.

Ward Committees deal with service issues at a ward level and involve local people in decision-making.  The Communities Team can provide more information on Ward Committees, grant funding and annual events.