About
The Cabinet, also known as ‘the executive’, is the part of the Council responsible for most day-to-day decisions. It is made up of the Leader, who is elected by the Council, and a small number of councillors whom the Leader appoints. The Leader also appoints a deputy from the Cabinet members to act as leader in their absence. The Cabinet collectively provides strategic leadership to the Council. Specifically, it recommends the budget and key policy proposals to the Full Council for agreement. It also develops and implements most policies. The Leader gives a set of specific responsibilities to each member of the Cabinet. These responsibilities are referred to as 'portfolios', and the Cabinet members as the ‘portfolio holders’. There are currently nine members of the Cabinet. Details of who they are, and their portfolios, can be found here. Members of the public can speak at meetings of Cabinet, but only about reports that have not already been subject to pre-decision scrutiny at the Overview Committee. Enabling people to give their views early on, at the pre-decision stage of the process, results in the Cabinet having more time to reflect on what has been said before it takes decisions.