How the Council Works | Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council

RCT Council is comprised of 75 Elected Members / Councillors who set the overall policies and budget for the Council as outlined below. The overriding duty of councillors is to the community as a whole, but they have a special duty to residents in their ward. Councillors are elected during the Local Government Election for a 5 year term or via a by-election (if needed) during a term of office. Find your local Councillor online.

Councillors normally meet on a monthly basis as the full council and hold an Annual General Meeting during May each year. The full council is responsible for:

setting the budget
approving the strategies and plans that make up the 'policy framework'
approving the constitution
appointing the Chief Executive and senior staff
adopting a scheme of members allowances

Presiding Member

The Council elects a Presiding Member and Deputy Presiding Member at each Annual General Meeting who chairs the Council meetings for each Municipal Year elected. (Click here to see the details of the Presiding Member)

Mayor

The Council elects a Mayor and Deputy Mayor at each Annual General Meeting who acts as the public figurehead for the Council, promoting the Council at civic and ceremonial events. The Mayor does not have any executive role in the running of the Council and should be a political when conducting their role. Find out more details about the Mayor.

Cabinet

Full Council selects the Leader of the Council at the Annual General Meeting and he/she appoints up to 8 Cabinet Members. These 8 Members (including the Leader) form the Cabinet which acts as the Executive - the decision making arm, with all other Members (subject to Political Balance) being active in Overview and Scrutiny (non-executive members). View further information regarding the work and role of the Cabinet.

Committees

The Local Government Act defines what are Executive functions – Decisions that can be taken forward by the Cabinet / Executive. Any remaining functions are classed as Council functions and can be taken forward by Full Council or its Committees. View the full list of Committees.

Scrutiny

Scrutiny holds the Executive to account for their decisions, policies and the performance of Council services. Scrutiny is not a decision making body. View further information regarding the work and role of scrutiny.

Regulatory Committees

Regulatory Committees deal with Planning (Development Control) and Licensing. Further details in respect of the Council’s planning process can be found on our website.

Council Constitution

The Council is governed through its constitution which provides information about rules of procedure as well as the Members Code of Conduct which all Members must abide by. View the Constitution.

For every meeting we:

publish an agenda which tells you when and where the meeting will be held and what items will be considered
publish a report that make recommendations to the councillors, which may or may not be agreed
publish the minutes of the meeting, which contain all the decisions made

You can get involved in our meetings through: