Council composition and decision making arrangements

Cheshire East Council has 82 councillors in 52 wards. The political representation from the May 2023 election is:

The council has a mayor for civic functions.

• Councillors are elected to represent Cheshire East wards
• Councillor conduct and how to make a complaint

Council decision making

The council has changed its decision-making arrangements.

From 14 May 2026, we now have a leader and cabinet model of decision making – which replaced the previous committee system.

We made the change in May 2026 to fit with the start of the council year.

How we make decisions – leader and cabinet executive

The leader (and deputy) of the council appoint a cabinet of up to 10 councillors

• The cabinet makes collective decisions
• Individual cabinet members have decision-making powers
• Decisions are made by up to 10 councillors in the cabinet

There are up to four powerful overview and scrutiny committees. Any nine (or more) councillors can ‘call-in’ a decision for scrutiny within five days of a decision being made. Called-in decisions can't be implemented until the call-in process has been followed.

Previous arrangements

We had a leader and cabinet between 2009-2021. After the local elections in 2019 there was a change of political control. The new administration felt that a committee system would involve more councillors in decision‑making, so the council adopted it from 2021.

We returned to a leader and cabinet system in May 2026.

Why we changed the way decisions are made

The government was bringing in new laws – expected to take effect in late 2026 – that were due to require councils without a leader and cabinet model to adopt one.
To avoid confusion partway through the year, the council  decided to move to the cabinet system at the start of the council year, immediately after the May annual general meeting.

This means:

• our schedule of meetings will stay the same for the whole year
• the annual budget process will be much simpler.

A leader and cabinet model is good for the council

An independent review – the Local Government Association’s Corporate Peer Challenge in March 2024 – recommended that we urgently simplify how decisions are made. The change is also a positive response to a non-statutory Best Value Notice received in May 2025, which requires the council to ensure it has effective governance processes in place that enable decisions and improvements to be made at pace. 

The government has said that decision‑making in some councils is ‘complex and opaque’ and that committee systems can be ‘unclear, duplicative and wasteful’, leading to slower decisions.

We had 86 committee seats across seven service committees involved in decision-making. Under the cabinet model, up to 10 cabinet members make those decisions.

How a cabinet of councillors is held to account

The law requires that a cabinet must be overseen by one or more overview and scrutiny committees.

These committees:

• must include councillors from all political parties
• may be chaired by an opposition councillor
• can question cabinet members and officers about decisions and future plans
• can carry out ‘pre‑scrutiny’ to help shape policies before decisions are made

There is a call‑in process. If a cabinet decision is called in, it cannot be put into action until a scrutiny committee – or possibly full council – has reviewed it. 

How cabinet decisions are transparent

Transparency is a key part of the new system.

Cabinet decisions will:

• be made in public meetings
• have agendas and reports published at least five working days in advance
• allow public and visiting councillor speaking
• be formally published afterwards
• be open to the call‑in process.

Individual cabinet members make some decisions – and these will be transparent too. A forward plan of decisions must be published at least 28 days in advance and all decisions must be based on professional officer advice, including legal and financial considerations.

How much the change cost

The work to prepare for the cabinet system was done using existing resources.

Adjustments in future

We’ve always been clear that the arrangements will need to be reviewed and improved after they go live. Councillors have agreed to carry out a full review in autumn 2026, once we’ve had time to see how everything is working.

Council meetings and papers

Links to meeting agendas, reports and council papers.  

• Meetings of the Council and committees
• Agendas, minutes and reports
• Scrutiny Committee
• Audio recordings of Council Committee meetings
• Cheshire East Council Constitution

Officers

• Corporate Structure - senior managers