The Constitution of Waltham Forest Council met on Friday 15 May 2026 to discuss and review the Council's governing documents. The meeting's agenda focused on the entirety of the Council's Constitution, covering its articles, procedural rules, financial regulations, and codes of conduct.

The Council's Constitution

The meeting's agenda was dedicated to a comprehensive review of the London Borough of Waltham Forest's Constitution. This foundational document outlines the operational framework of the Council, detailing how decisions are made and the procedures followed to ensure efficiency, transparency, and accountability to local residents. The Constitution is divided into several parts, including the Articles, which establish the overarching conduct of the Council's business, and more detailed procedural rules, codes of practice, and schemes of delegation.

The report pack indicated that the following sections of the Constitution were scheduled for discussion:

• Part 01 - Summary and Explanation¹
• Part 02 - Articles of the Constitution²
• Part 03 - 01 Responsibility for Functions³
• Part 03 - 02 General Scheme of Delegation⁴
• Part 04a - Council Procedure Rules⁵
• Part 04b - Committee Procedure Rules⁶
• Part 05 - Cabinet (Executive) Procedure Rules⁷
• Part 06 - Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules⁸
• Part 07 - Terms of Reference for various committees, including:
  • Council⁹
  • Cabinet (Executive)¹⁰
  • Shareholder Committee¹¹
  • Audit and Governance Committee¹²
  • Corporate Parenting Board¹³
  • Health and Wellbeing Board¹⁴
  • Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Committee¹⁵
  • Licensing (General) Committee¹⁶
  • Overview and Scrutiny Committees¹⁷
  • Pension Committee¹⁸
  • Planning Committee¹⁹
  • Staffing Committee²⁰
  • Public Transport Consultative Group²¹
• Part 08 - Financial Procedure Rules²²
• Part 08 - 02 Contract Procedure Rules²³
• Part 08 - 03 Employment Procedure Rules²⁴
• Part 08 - 04 Urgency Procedure Rules²⁵
• Part 08 - 05 Property Procedure Rules²⁶
• Part 08 - 06a Co-option Scheme²⁷
• Part 08 - 06b Parent Governor Procedure Rules²⁸
• Part 08 - 07 Access to Information Procedure Rules²⁹
• Part 09 - 01 Councillors' Code of Conduct³⁰
• Part 09 - 02 Councillor/Officer Protocol³¹
• Part 10 - 01 Councillors' Allowances Scheme 2026-27³²
• Part 11 - Management Structure³³
• Part 12 - Member Roles³⁴
• Part 13 - Protocol for Freedom of the Borough³⁵
• Part 14 - Protocol for Honorary Alderperson³⁶
• Planning Code of Practice³⁷

The report pack indicated that the meeting would also consider the General Scheme of Delegation³⁸ and the Member Officer Protocol³⁹.