Department of Legal and Democratic Services

Main Responsibilities

The Department of Legal and Democratic Services, headed by the Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer, provides a range of services to the Council and its members and supports the services provided by other departments.

Principal Officers:

Solicitor to the Council and Monitoring Officer - Gina Bailey

Head of Democratic Services - Barbara Wright
Head of Legal Services - Eric Xuereb
Principal Solicitor - Kate Rickwood

Principal Services:

Legal Services

Legal Services provides advice to the Council, elected members and its departments. The main areas of activity are therefore 'internal' rather than direct to members of the public. These include, for example providing advice to Councillors and officers taking action on development control / enforcement matters, and giving guidance on legislation.

Legal Services also supports the Local Land Charges Officer in providing the Local Land Charges service.

In addition, Legal Services undertakes the Council's statutory obligation to make certain documents available for public inspection by placing them 'On Deposit'. Such documents can be viewed either via our website, or, in person by visiting the Customer Service Centre, Civic Offices, Fareham.

Further information about the Local Land Charges and Documents On Deposit service is available by selecting the appropriate heading above

For ease of access, Legal Services have published information relating to the Council's current byelaws to members of the public and other local and public organisations. The original byelaws can be viewed by visiting Legal Services, situated on Floor 7 of the Civic Offices, Fareham.

Democratic Services

Democratic Services provides support to members and the formal decision-making process of the Council. It supports and facilitates decision-making arrangements by ensuring that decisions are made in accordance with the law and the Council’s Constitution. The team also provides services to the elected members of the Council, ensuring that they are informed and supported in their decision-making and scrutiny roles, that they have access to the training and development they need and that they are supported in carrying out their community leadership and other roles.

The team also provides election services, which includes the statutory registration functions undertaken on behalf of the Electoral Registration Officer; the conduct of elections and referendums on behalf of the appropriate Returning Officer; and matters associated with reviews of boundaries and electoral arrangements.