In response to the Coronavirus pandemic the Council has instigated the Urgency Procedures in Article 7.7 of the Constitution which allow for a smaller group of councillors to act as the Policy Committee and make decisions on behalf of other Committees and full Council. See the Decision Book published on 25 March 2020 for further details of the interim governance arrangements.

The Policy Committee is responsible for functions including:

-      Oversight of strategy, policy and budget

-      All services in the Chief Executive’s Office and Resources Directorate

-      Voluntary sector grants

-      Economic development and regeneration

-      Corporate land, buildings and assets – including where the Council is Trustee

-      Overview of service performance and improvement across all Council services

-      Partnerships including the LEP, Reading UK CIC, City Deal

-      Decisions cutting across service committee areas

-      Urgent decisions on all functions of the authority, including on behalf of other Committees

-      Shareholder function for Council-owned companies

The full terms of reference can be found in Article 7 of the Council’s Constitution:

http://www.reading.gov.uk/media/1338/Constitution-of-The-Council/pdf/Constitution_of_the_Council.pdf