Cheshire West and Chester Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 2009[a] |
| Preceded by | Cheshire County Council show
District councils: |
| Leadership | |
Cllr Mark Williams, Conservative since 3rd May 2019 | |
Chair of Council | Cllr Bob Rudd, Labour since 2nd May 2019 |
Leader of the Council | Cllr Louise Gittins, Labour since 10th May 2019 |
Chief Executive | Andrew Lewis |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 70 councillors[1] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Committees | 13 (excluding the cabinet) |
Joint committees | Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership Cheshire Fire Authority Cheshire Police and Crime Panel Shared Services Joint Committee (with Cheshire East Council) |
| Elections | |
| First past the post (single-member wards) Plurality-at-large (multi-member wards) | |
Last election | 2 May 2019 |
| Meeting place | |
| Chester Town Hall, Chester Wyvern House, Winsford | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Cheshire West and Chester Council is the local authority of Cheshire West and Chester. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council was first elected on 1 May 2008, a year before coming into its legal powers on 1 April 2009. After an election in May 2019, no party holds overall control.[2]
Powers and functions[]
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. It has a 'general power of competence' as described in the Localism Act 2011, i.e. it is permitted to act in any manner whatsoever which is not unlawful. For the purposes of local government, Cheshire West and Chester is one of the fifty-five unitary authorities in England. This means that is the only principal authority in its territorial jurisdiction, and it has the statutory powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and a non-metropolitan district council. The only exceptions to this are the fire and police services, which are still provided on a Cheshire-wide basis by joint boards composed of elected councillors and are funded by a Council Tax precept. Conversely, it is unnecessary for Cheshire West and Chester Council to set a precept for itself as it is also a billing authority.
Political control[]
Since the first election of the council in 2008, political control has been held by the following parties:[3]
| Executive | Leader | Term of office | Elections won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Mike Jones | 15 May 2008 – 21 May 2015 | 2008, 2011 | |
| Labour | Samantha Dixon | 21 May 2015 – 3 May 2019 | 2015 | |
| No overall control | Louise Gittins[2] | 3 May 2019 – present | 2019 | |
Council seats since 2008
| Election | Conservative | Independent | Labour | Liberal Democrats | Green Party | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 55 | 0 | 13 | 4 | 0 | |||||
| 2011 | 42 | 0 | 32 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| 2015 | 36 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2019 | 28 | 4 | 35 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Current | 28 | 4 | 35 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Cabinet[]
| Position | Councillor | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Leader of the Council, including Wellbeing, Culture, Leisure, Heritage and Greenspace | Louise Gittins | Labour |
| Deputy Leader of the Council, including Environment, Highways and Strategic Transport | Karen Shore | |
| Children and Families | Nicole Meardon | |
| Democracy, Workforce and Localities | Paul Donovan | |
| Housing, Regeneration and Growth | Richard Beacham | |
| Adult Social Care and Public Health | Val Armstrong | |
| Finance and Legal | Carol Gahan |
Source:[4]
Committees[]
| Committee | Chair | Party | Deputy | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinet | Louise Gittins[2] | Labour | Karen Shore | Labour |
| Overview and Scrutiny | ||||
| Cheshire West and Chester Overview and Scrutiny | Martin Barker | Independent | Robert Cernik | Labour |
| Health Overview and Scrutiny | ||||
| People Overview and Scrutiny | Mark Stocks | Conservative | Peter Wheeler | Labour |
| Places Overview and Scrutiny | Sam Naylor | Labour | Mike Baynham | Conservative |
| Regulatory | ||||
| General Licensing Sub-Committee | Peter Rooney | Labour | Andy Williams | Labour |
| Licensing Act (Hearings) Sub-Committee | Peter Rooney | Labour | Andy Williams | Labour |
| Licensing | Peter Rooney | Labour | Andy Williams | Labour |
| Planning | Christine Warner | Labour | Robert Cernik | Labour |
| Other | ||||
| Appeals | Andy Williams | Labour | Diane Roberts | Labour |
| Audit and Governance | Robert Bisset | Labour | Andrew Cooper | Labour |
| Community Governance Review | Paul Donovan | Labour | Richard Beacham | Labour |
| Health and Wellbeing | Louise Gittins | Labour | Dr Chris Ritchieson | N/A (NHS) |
| Local Plan Working Group | Robert Bisset | Labour | ||
| Staffing | Shelia Little | Labour | Paul Donovan | Labour |
| Standards Dispensation | ||||
source:[5]
Councillors[]
Notes[]
- ^ The first elections to the then shadow authority were held on 1 May 2008, the first meeting was held on 15 May 2008.
References[]
- ^ http://cmttpublic.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?FN=PARTY&VW=LIST&PIC=0
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Phil McCann (22 May 2019). "Cheshire East Council elects first Labour leader". BBC. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
- ^ "Cheshire West and Chester". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
- ^ "New Cheshire West and Chester Council leader promises 'stronger communities'". Northwich Guardian. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
- ^ "Committee structure". cmttpublic.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk. 2019-06-01. Retrieved 2019-06-01.
| show Authority control  |
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- Leader and cabinet executives
- Unitary authority councils of England
- Local education authorities in England
- Local authorities in Cheshire
- Billing authorities in England
- 2009 establishments in England