Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet portfolios and Committee memberships announced

At the meeting of the Buckinghamshire Council Cabinet today (Thursday 30 April) the 17 Cabinet Members of the new council were confirmed, and membership of council committees announced.

Following the postponement of local elections due to take place on 7 May this year, government put into place special arrangements for the political governance for the new Buckinghamshire Council. This is laid out in the Local Government (Coronavirus)(Structural Changes)(Consequential Amendments)(England) Regulations 2020.

Government specified that all current Shadow Authority councillors will be councillors of the new Buckinghamshire Council and that the existing 17 Shadow Executive members will form Buckinghamshire Council’s new Cabinet until the elections in May 2021. Martin Tett would continue as Leader. At the Cabinet meeting on 21 April 2020, Angela Macpherson was also confirmed as a Deputy Leader, alongside Katrina Wood.

The regulations also set out appointments to various committees and the Select Committees, established under the council’s constitution.

The members of the Cabinet and their portfolios that have been announced today are:

Martin Tett, Leader;

Angela Macpherson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member Adult Social Care;

Katrina Wood, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member Resources;

Steve Bowles, Cabinet Member Town Centre Regeneration;

Bill Chapple, Cabinet Member Environment and Climate Change;

John Chilver, Cabinet Member Property & Assets;

Anita Cranmer, Cabinet Member Education and Skills;

Isobel Darby, Cabinet Member Housing & Homelessness;

Tony Green, Cabinet Member Youth Provision;

Clive Harriss, Cabinet Member Sports and Leisure;

Patrick Hogan, Cabinet Member Culture;

David Martin, Cabinet Member Logistics;

Nick Naylor, Cabinet Member Transport;

Mark Shaw, Cabinet Member Children’s Services;

Warren Whyte, Cabinet Member Planning and Enforcement;

Gareth Williams, Cabinet Member Communities & Public Health;

Fred Wilson, Cabinet Member Regulatory Services;

Full details of the specific services covered by each portfolio can be found on the Buckinghamshire Council website.

Councillors have also been nominated to the new council committees, according to proportionality arrangements that reflect the current political make-up of the council. These appointments will then be confirmed on 11 May 2020 once the regulations come into force. Membership of Select Committees was also reported.

In the case of Community Boards, all Buckinghamshire Council councillors from the respective area are members of these new Boards. Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health, Gareth Williams, announced the names of Chairmen of these Boards so that they can begin to plan how they will work at a local level:

Amersham – Graham Harris;

Aylesbury – Mark Winn;

Beaconsfield and Chepping Wye – Anita Cranmer;

Beeches – David Anthony;

Buckingham and villages – Charlie Clare;

Chesham and villages – Patricia Birchley;

Denham, Gerrards Cross and Chalfonts – Santokh Chhoker;

Haddenham and Waddesdon – Michael Rand;

High Wycombe – Arif Hussain;

Missendens – Peter Martin;

North West Chilterns – Gary Hall;

South West Chilterns – Dominic Barnes;

Wendover – Julie Ward;

Wexham and Ivers – Jilly Jordan;

Wing and villages – Anne Wight;

Winslow and villages – Susan Renshell;

Details of Board membership and that of other committees can also be found on the Council’s website .

Council Leader, Martin Tett, said:

“The new Cabinet is large, as required by Government, but has the advantage of including a strong mix of councillors from all the former councils. This brings a wealth of local knowledge and expertise that will be of great benefit to the new council over the next year as we continue to respond to the current emergency and focus on helping our residents and businesses recover from this crisis.

“We have worked well together as a team since May last year creating the new council and I look forward to continuing this work as we develop the new council for a better future together for the residents and businesses of Buckinghamshire.

“If social distancing measures remain in force, which is likely, the council will be looking at ways to enable committees and the usual business of the council to be conducted effectively, while keeping members safe.

“Similarly, the make-up of committees represents the opportunity to build a strong, new culture, with more diversity and opportunity whilst retaining the expertise of the past”.