Leader of the Council
The Leader of the Council is Councillor Daniel Allen. The post of the Leader is elected by all members of the Council at annual Council meetings. The Leader chairs all meetings of the Council’s Cabinet and leads on policy development and implementation.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet is an executive group responsible for the overall business of the Council. The Cabinet comprises the Leader of the Council, who is the Chairman, and seven other members appointed by the Council. Each member of the Cabinet has a defined portfolio of responsibilities.
In a joint administration a ‘deputy’ to an Executive portfolio holder may be appointed. That deputy will be invited to attend relevant meetings of the Executive (formal or informal) where executive functions are discussed, give their opinion and for this to be taken into account by the Executive decision maker or Cabinet, although they are not formally part of the Cabinet Executive nor an Executive decision maker. This does not apply to the Deputy Leader.
- Executive Member for Customer Experience: Councillor Val Bryant
- Executive Member for Enterprise: Councillor Tamsin Thomas
- Executive Member for Environment: Councillor Amy Allen
- Executive Member for Governance: Councillor Daniel Allen
- Executive Member for Place: Councillor Donna Wright
- Executive Member for Regulatory: Councillor Mick Debenham
- Executive Member for Resources: Councillor Ian Albert
- Executive Member for Local Government Reorganisation/Devolution: Councillor Laura Williams
The decisions of the Cabinet are subject to scrutiny by a different group of Councillors, who meet as the Overview & Scrutiny Committee to check and monitor what the Cabinet does.
Special Interest Member Champions
A Special Interest Member Champion is an elected Member who, in addition to their other Council responsibilities, is a named champion for a particular issue or group. They provide a non-Executive or non-Officer voice to that subject or group to ensure a focus on these issues in Council business (within the context of the Council Plan, its priorities, remit and resources).
Typically, a Special Interest Member Champion:
- will engage with Officers and Members in relation to the role
- will promote the issue of special interest or group being championed within the Council, so that it is considered when developing Policy, Strategy or making decisions
- may ask questions about performance and resources for the issue or group
- will raise the profile of the area and (where not already adopted or promoted) foster awareness of good practice for improvement of services
- may attend and be invited to speak at Overview & Scrutiny/Cabinet or Full Council meetings where an agenda item specifically involves their special interest
- may engage with community groups with an interest/stake in the issue or group.
How does their role fit within the Council structure?
This will vary according to the area/issue that is being championed and how the authority functions. There is potential for confusion and overlap between the role of the Special Interest Member Champion and those of the relevant Executive Member or Overview and Scrutiny Members.
It is therefore important that Members and Officers work together to agree roles and action for the area being championed and that there are mechanisms for the Special Interest Member Champion to report on their activities. In the first instance, the Member Champion will raise issues with and have a reporting line to the relevant Executive Member for the special interest concerned, to ensure that all parties have sufficient pre-reporting/publicity information.
Special Interest Member Champions do not have a decision making role. They should avoid committing themselves to an outcome of a decision, in advance of that decision, that they have a vote upon.