East Devon District Council axes senior cabinet position after councillor resigns

A senior position on East Devon District Council has been axed.

The cabinet selected by the Independent Group who run the council initially consisted of ten members, but Cllr Paul Millar's former transformation portfolio has been vacant since he quit the group last month.

A report to next Wednesday's full council meeting confirms that Cllr Ben Ingham, leader of the council, has decided to not replace the transformation portfolio holder position in his cabinet.

No reason for the decision of the leader of the council to not replace the portfolio holder position is stated in the papers ahead of the meeting.

His decision means that the cabinet will continue to consist of just nine members and that the transformation portfolio ceases to exist.

Instead, the cabinet collectively will take on responsibility for delivery of the council plan and the associated strategies of fit for purpose, careful choices and commercialisation of services.

The report says that Cllr Jess Bailey, corporate services portfolio holder, will take on responsibility for digital by design and systems thinking, while Cllr Geoff Pook, asset management portfolio holder, will now be responsible for commercialisation of assets rather than revenue generation.

Next Wednesday's meeting will also see changes made to committee membership as a result of the political balance of the council changes following Cllr Millar's resignation from the Independent Group.

The council now consists of 19 members in the Independent Group, 19 Conservatives, 11 from the East Devon Alliance, eight Liberal Democrats, two Green Party members, and one Independent, Cllr Millar.

Sitting as an Independent, he is entitled to two seats across all the committees, and the full council is recommended to approve a proposal that would see the ruling Independent Group lose a seat on both the overview committee and the licensing and enforcement committee.