Guide to the Call-in process

Introduction

Call-in is a provision of the Local Government Act (2000) that enables councillors to ensure that the principles of decision making set out in the council's Constitution (opens new window) are adhered to. It allows Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) committees to require the council's executive to reconsider certain decisions prior to implementation.

Call-in is only intended to be used in exceptional circumstances when councillors believe that a decision has been taken in a way that is contrary to the council's principles of decision making and when representations to the decision maker about these concerns have not resolved the issue.

This guide supports Part 8 of the council's constitution - Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule (opens new window) - and describes:

Which decisions can be called in
Who can call a decision in
How to request a call-in
What options overview and scrutiny committees have when considering a decision that has been called in
What decision makers must do when a decision has been called in and referred back to them for reconsideration.

Download document

This document is available to download in various formats:

OpenDocument text format (ODT) - Guide to the Call-in process (OpenDocument text format) [43KB] (opens new window) ODT version of this document, which also contains Overview and Scrutiny Call-in Request form
Portable Document Format (PDF) - the 'Print entire document' link found at the bottom of any page can be used produce a plain-text PDF file combining all pages of the document.