Sheffield Council has a new cabinet! But is it clear who has responsibility for what?

  • Leader of the Council- Councillor Julie Dore
  • Finance and Resources- Councillor Ben Curran
  • Business Skills and Development- Councillor Leigh Bramall
  • Housing- Councillor Jayne Dunn
  • Neighbourhoods- Councillor Isobel Bowler
  • Environment and Transport- Councillor Terry Fox
  • Health, Care and Independent Living- Councillor Mary Lea
  • Public Health and Equality- Councillor Mazher Iqbal
  • Children, Young People and Families- Councillor Jackie Drayton

Cabinet Member Responsibilities, published 13th May 2015

Seems simple enough right? Not really!

The council press release is very ambiguous over who exactly is doing what, there seem to be shared roles, roles with titles that don’t actually include that responsibility and unfilled roles.

In Sheffield there is a “Leader’s Scheme of Delegation of Executive Functions” which explains how all of this works. This is what I’ve been able to cobble together. Official Roles - Taken from The Leader’s Scheme of Delegation of Executive Functions Nov 2014Name from Press ReleasePosition from Press ReleaseChair of Cabinet and Leader of the CouncilCouncillor Julie DoreLeader of the CouncilCabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development (Portfolio includes planning and transport)Councillor Leigh BramallBusiness Skills and DevelopmentCabinet Member for Children, Young People and FamiliesCouncillor Jackie DraytonChildren, Young People and FamiliesCabinet Member for Communities and Public Heath (Portfolio includes the Voluntary, Community and Faith sectors and libraries)Councillor Mazher IqbalPublic Health and EqualityCabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure (Portfolio includes parks and positive activities for young people)Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene (Portfolio includes climate change, waste management and the ‘Streets Ahead’ project)Councillor Terry FoxEnvironment and TransportCabinet Member for Finance and Resources (Portfolio includes performance)Councillor Ben CurranFinance and ResourcesCabinet Member for Health, Care and Independent Living (Portfolio includes adult services)Councillor Mary LeaHealth, Care and Independent LivingCabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods (Portfolio includes housing, safety and regeneration)Councillor Jayne DunnCouncillor Isobel BowlerHousingNeighbourhoods Councillor Mazher Iqbal is down as “public health and equality”, the closest official post I can find is “Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Heath”. Where has communities gone? Equality isn’t mentioned in the official role responsibilities.

There is no Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Leisure as best I can tell. Who’s going to do that job?

Councillor Terry Fox is down as “Environment and Transport” but the closest role I can find is “Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene (Portfolio includes climate change, waste management and the ‘Streets Ahead’ project)”. So where has recycling gone? And why is transport listed in the press release? It’s clear from Councillor Leigh Bramall’s role that he has responsibility for transport “Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Development (Portfolio includes planning and transport)”.

And then Councillors Jayne Dunn and Isobel Bowler each have responsibility for Housing and Neighbourhoods respectively, however there only seems to be a single role available which is “Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods (Portfolio includes housing, safety and regeneration)”. Are they going to share that role?

I’m not aware that the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation has changed. There seems to be a lot of ambiguity here.

The detailed responsibilities for each role are Sheffield - Leaders Scheme of Delegation Nov 2014 - Cabinet Roles (taken from the Leader’s Scheme of Delegation)