The leader of the new Westmorland and Furness Council has been confirmed.

Councillor Jonathan Brook was selected as the new unitary authority’s first leader at the inaugural meeting of the shadow authority for Westmorland and Furness Council, which took place at County Hall, Kendal.

The meeting also elected a chair and deputy chair and the council’s cabinet positions.

The cabinet comprises the councillors who will be responsible for overseeing the development of some of the key areas, or portfolios, of the new council’s activities, ready for when Westmorland and Furness Council ‘goes live’ in 2023.

The Shadow Authority Cabinet is confirmed as:

  • Councillor Jonathan Brook - Leader, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Partnerships and Economy
  • Councillor Patricia Bell - Deputy Leader, Portfolio Holder for Adults, Health and Care
  • Councillor Sue Sanderson - Portfolio Holder for Children's Services, Education and Skills
  • Councillor Andrew Jarvis - Portfolio Holder for Finance
  • Councillor Peter Thornton - Portfolio Holder for Highways and Assets
  • Councillor Virginia Taylor - Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Communities and Localities
  • Councillor Giles Archibald - Portfolio Holder for Climate and Biodiversity
  • Councillor Dyan Jones - Portfolio Holder for Customer and Environmental Services
  • Councillor Judith Derbyshire - Portfolio Holder for Housing and Homelessness
  • Councillor Neil Hughes - Portfolio Holder for Transport

The chair of the new council is Councillor Matthew Severn with Councillor Ali Jama as deputy chair.

“I am delighted to have been confirmed as leader and, along with cabinet colleagues, I am looking forward to the challenge of forming this new council,” said Cllr Brook.

“This is a significant moment for local government in our area. We are tasked with building a new council that combines the services previously provided by four different authorities, across the broad and diverse geographical area within the Westmorland and Furness Council boundaries.

“It is a huge undertaking, but also a brilliant opportunity to look at the ways we deliver services. We will be working to ensure our services are more joined-up and efficient, that our communities are at the heart of everything that we do, that we design our services and our priorities around our communities’ needs and that we structure our workforce to best deliver those services.’’

Westmorland and Furness Council will act in ‘shadow’ form for the next 10 months, as its councillors engage in the planning and preparation for Vesting Day on April 1, 2023, where Westmorland and Furness Council will officially take over responsibility for all services across Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland.

On May 5 65 councillors representing 33 wards were elected to serve a five year term with the first year on the shadow council.

The meeting today also confirmed memberships of overview and scrutiny, standards and senior appointments committees and a number of appointments to interim statutory officer roles, including the appointment of Barrow Borough Council Chief Executive Sam Plum as interim head of paid service for the shadow authority of Westmorland and Furness Council.

 

 

 

Early shadow authority business heard at today’s meeting included reports on a code of conduct and standards arrangements and a proposed shadow authority constitution.