Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Governance definition

What does Governance mean? Governance, in pensions practice, describes how a trustee board organises itself and exercises oversight, decision-making and control over an occupational pension scheme to meet legal and fiduciary duties. It encompasses the scheme’s structures, policies and internal controls, and how trustees delegate to and supervise advisers, administrators and asset managers, monitor performance, manage risk and record decisions. The term is descriptive rather than a defined legal term, but key governance requirements are prescribed in legislation and regulatory codes. In the UK, the Pensions Act 2004 and scheme administration/governance regulations, together with The Pensions Regulator’s General Code, require an effective system...

Local authority governance and executive decision-making: models, key decisions, private meetings, agendas and papers, access to information, attendance, conflicts, and reporting (England)

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out the three principal models of Governance for local authorities. It explains the difference between decisions that are executive and those that are non-executive or taken by the council. It also outlines the strict Requirements for convening meetings and the notice that must be given, and discusses the Rules and procedures concerning the agenda, minutes and executive meetings that apply in practice in detail.

Executive and non-executive decision making

There are three basic models of governance for local authorities:

the Executive Leader and Cabinet Model:
- the Council, comprising all councillors, elects an Executive Leader, who appoints up to nine other councillors as members of the Executive (or ‘Cabinet’)
- each Cabinet Member has a defined portfolio of responsibility
- the Executive Leader is elected by full council for a term determined by the council, or on a four-yearly basis
- certain ‘non-executive’ functions are reserved to Council by the Local Authorities (Functions and Responsibilities) (England) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/2853. These may largely be delegated to committees and to officers
- under the Local Government Act 2000, all remaining functions of the authority fall to the Executive as ‘executive functions’...

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Jill Morgan

Jill Morgan is a Chartered Legal Executive and the founder of Clear and Credible Ltd, a content writing and copywriting business, specialising in law, local government and social welfare. Jill has specialised in housing law for a number of years, particularly homelessness and possession proceedings. She has a keen interest in social welfare law and associated issues and has contributed to a number of published texts. Jill’s practice extends across all aspects of local government law, including governance, planning, licensing, environmental health, property, housing and commercial contract. In her role as Deputy Monitoring Officer, she was heavily involved in governance arrangements and standards matters. Jill managed the local authority’s licensing team for a number of years and has a wealth of experience in advising at committees, sub-committees and contested hearings. In addition to contributing to the legal practice notes below, Jill has prepared numerous court digests and...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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