In the continuing move to standardise local government structures, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution has announced the government’s intention to abolish the long-standing committee system of governance. If implemented, Councils will be required to adopt the leader and cabinet system.
The intention, as stated by Jim McMahon, is to ensure “streamlined, consistent and accountable governance structures…..paving the way for a more efficient, transparent, and responsive local government system”.
According to the Government, the current governance landscape is “complex and opaque,” with the committee system highlighted as being especially duplicative and inefficient.
In context, the committee system is one of the three currently available forms of governance in England and was the way councils were governed up until 2000. The Local Government Act 2000 changed the models of governance, introducing the leader and executive (cabinet) and elected mayor and executive models. The Localism Act of 2011 reintroduced the committee system and Council’s are currently able to choose from one of the three forms of governance or they can be forced to do so by a referendum.
Under the committee system, decisions are made collectively by committees of councillors, which mirror the political make up of the council as a whole. The system is rooted in the principles of collective decision-making. Proponents of the committees system see it as more inclusive, reflecting the political balance of the Council and the democratic views of the electorate – although conversely this can of course lead to slower decision making.
The government has set out that it is hoping to achieve:
- “Improve clarity and accountability in decision-making.
- Enhance efficiency by streamlining governance structures.
- Prevent unnecessary expenditure on governance transitions.”
While the Government has committed to preserving existing directly elected local council mayors, it will not support the creation of new ones. The government hopes this will assist in alleviating confusion between the regional mayors for strategic authorities and local council mayors. Councils undergoing reorganisation will be required to adopt the leader and cabinet model, irrespective of their current arrangements.
As the government moves ahead with its plans and they are considered by parliament, the minister intends to make regulations to effectively pause any change processes between governance models,
Including moving the date on which an inaugural election is held following a council resolution or a referendum in favour of a directly elected mayor from May 2026 to May 2027.
Councils currently using the committee model will need to transition to the leader and cabinet model, though at the moment it is not clear how long they will be given to do so. Changing the governance model is not a simple exercise with a need to radically change the Council’s constitution and decision making processes.
