How your council works

To streamline our decision-making and make us more responsive to your needs, the city council adopted a 'leader and cabinet' style of working in 2000.

Introducing Salford's Cabinet

The Cabinet consists of the Leader of the City Council, his deputy and eight councillors who are lead members with responsibility for different services. They make decisions on services within the council's policies and budgets, which are set each year by the full council. Cabinet members all belong to the political party with the majority of seats on the city council.

Who decides?

Decisions can be made by the full council, the Cabinet, lead members or chief officers. All decisions are recorded, and all decision-making meetings of the Cabinet are held in public.

Checking the detail

Other councillors perform a scrutiny role as members at scrutiny committees, monitoring the way the council works and examining decisions to check they meet the needs of residents. The membership of these committees reflects the overall political composition of the whole council.

Setting standards

The Standards Committee acts as a watchdog for the people of Salford, ensuring that councillors carry out their duties to the highest standards. The group includes councillors and members of the public and it oversees and strengthens high standards of conduct in all city council business.

Planning ahead

A list of key decisions that need to be made by the Cabinet in the coming four months are published on a regular basis. The forward plan of key decisions is available online.

Putting you in touch

Salford is divided into 20 electoral wards, each represented by three city councillors. Elections of councillors are held three years in every four, with one third of the councillors retiring at each election.

Need more information?

If you would like to know more about how the council works or have any questions concerning the processes involved, please contact Chris Ravenscroft on 0161-793 3030 or email chris.ravenscroft@salford.gov.uk.

This page was last updated on 22 October 2009