Rutland County Council’s leadership team unchanged

The leadership team at Rutland County Council will remain unchanged as it goes into another civic year.

The full council met for the annual council meeting last night (May 22) and it was voted that Liberal Democrat leader Gale Waller continue in post and the cabinet, which was added to last month with Independent councillor Rosemary Powell, will stay the same.

Coun Andrew Johnson remains deputy leader and portfolio holder for governance; Coun Christine Wise will continue as cabinet member for transport, environment and communities; Coun Paul Browne is cabinet member in charge of planning; Coun Tim Smith has responsibility for children’s and families services; Coun Diane Ellison is portfolio holder for adults and health and Coun Powell stays with the property and economic development brief.

At the meeting, Councillor Waller gave an update on the local government reorganisation. The authority put forward a favoured option in March to form a new unitary authority with other the existing councils of Charnwood, North West Leicestershire and Melton district and borough councils. Rutland is also included in a bid with the two Kesteven councils and South Holland and one proposed by Leicester city, which would see the city boundaries expanded and Rutland included in a wider Leicestershire unitary.

Coun Waller said: “We were anticipating getting government feedback early in May, but we have not yet had that feedback. They’re running a bit behind time and are giving feedback alphabetically.”

She said the authority was due to start a formal engagement with residents about the reorganisation and encouraged all councillors to talk with community groups in their wards.

The council also appointed its committee chairs for the evening, with the only slight bit of drama happening when both Independent councillor Samantha Harvey and deputy leader Coun Johnson were both proposed as chairperson of the employment and appeals committee.

Coun Harvey said she was ‘slightly surprised’ at the nomination of Coun Johnson and after a vote the votes were tied with 13 votes for each councillor with the chairperson Coun Andrew Brown using his casting vote to appoint Coun Harvey.

Leader of the Conservative group Lucy Stephenson was appointed chair of scrutiny (taking over from Labour’s Coun Ramsay Ross); Coun Kevin Corby was appointed chair of audit and risk; Coun Oliver Hemsley is now chair of the conduct committee; Coun Nick Begy remains as chair of the planning committee.