Cabinet members

Appointment of Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Members

The Leader of the Council is appointed by Full Council for a four year term. The Leader is usually a member of the group with the political majority.

The Leader then appoints up to nine other councillors to serve with them on the Cabinet. These councillors are usually of the same political group as the Leader.

One of the Cabinet Members is appointed Deputy Leader. The Cabinet Members assume responsibility for different key areas of local governance.

Cabinet responsibilities

The Cabinet is responsible for:

Running council services
Ensuring delivery of best value
Implementing policies
Delivering services
Approving new policies other than major policies
Playing a leadership role within the city
Generally promoting the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of the city

We will post decisions made by the Cabinet, also known as ‘Executive Decisions,’ on the Democracy Peterborough website within two days of them being made. View the Executive Decisions (opens Democracy Peterborough website).

The Leader publishes a rolling programme outlining the 'key decisions' likely to be taken over the next few months. This is called the Forward Plan (opens Democracy Peterborough website).

You can see the delegated functions for Cabinet and Cabinet Members in the Executive Functions section (part 3 section 3) of the Council’s Constitution on the Democracy Peterborough website.

Current Cabinet Members

Leader of the Council - Councillor Dennis Jones
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance - Councillor Mohammed Jamil
Cabinet Member for Adults and Health - Councillor Shabina Qayyum
Cabinet Member for Children's Services - Councillor Katy Cole
Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport - Councillor Angus Ellis
Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities - Councillor Alison Jones
Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration - Councillor Nick Thulbourn

Current Cabinet Advisors

Cabinet Advisor for Adults and Health - Councillor Asim Mahmood
Cabinet Advisor for Children's Services - Councillor Noreen Bi
Cabinet Advisor for Finance and Corporate Governance - Councillor Zameer Ali

Role of Cabinet Members

Cabinet Members are responsible for:

Leading on developing council policy and make recommendations to the Cabinet.
Develop and sustain excellent and effective working relationships with Corporate Leadership Team officers.
Providing guidance to the Cabinet on running activities.
Giving guidance to the Cabinet on budget priorities.
Demonstrate a strategic understanding of the Council and its service objectives, functions, priorities and resource pressures.
Monitoring performance and make sure policy is delivered.
Leading on improving council services.
Making sure that activities meet the council's overall vision, core values and guiding principles.
Contributing to debate and decision-making.
Working with councillors who are not members of the Cabinet, members of the opposition and officers to make sure that the overview and scrutiny process works correctly.
Appearing before and responding to overview and scrutiny committee reports.
Develop partnership working and forge effective external relationships.
Representing the council at a national and local level.
Act as spokesperson for the policy area or 'portfolio' they are responsible for.
Be cognisant of the interrelationships between portfolio areas.

Areas each Cabinet Member role is responsible for

Areas responsible for:

All functions of the Leader of the Council
Political leadership and strategic direction for the council
Communications

Responsibility for the corporate and community functions of the council including but not limited to:

Legal
Finance
Performance and intelligence
Corporate Transformation
Governance
Commercial Strategy
Capital Programme
Treasury Management
Procurement
Registration / Bereavement Services
Commercial Partnerships, Property and Assets
People Services
IT
Equality and Diversity
Data insight and analytics

Responsibility for the Adult Social Care and Public Health duties of the council, including but not limited to:

Care Act 2014 and related legislation
Safeguarding Adults and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Oversight of selected NHS staff and services via s75 arrangement
Early Intervention and Prevention including Reablement, Therapy Services and Technology Enabled Care, Disabled Facility Grants
Care Act assessments
Mental Capacity Act assessments
Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Autism and Physical Disabilities
Integrated Community Equipment
Commissioning and Market Sustainability
Better Care Fund
Independent Mental Health and Mental Capacity Advocates
Integrated Care System (partnership and integration)
Health and Social Care Act 2012 (as amended) and related legislation
Public health services including children's public health services, sexual and reproductive health services, integrated behaviour change services, substance misuse services
Public health duties such as emergencies that present a risk to public health
Health promotion for oral health
Public health intelligence
Health in Everything We Do

Responsibility for the Children’s Services and Education functions of the council, including but not limited to:

Children’s Social Care, including all matters specifically provided for by the Local Authorities (Social Services) Act 1970, personal social services and care in the community, together with the responsibilities under associated and ancillary legislation not limited to but including - Crime and Disorder Act 1998, Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004, Childcare Act 2006, Education and Inspection Act 2006
Safeguarding Children
Services for Looked After Children and Corporate Parenting
Early Help Services
Specialist Young People Services
Responsibility for councils' health related functions under Health Act 1975 in so far as they relate to children
Targeted Youth Services
Education services (excluding certain functions relating to higher education and adult education)
School property maintenance and asset management (excluding disposal)
School admissions and place planning
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
Early Years

Responsibilities for the infrastructure, environmental and climate change functions of the council, including but not limited to:

Highways and transport
Climate change and net zero ambition
Environment strategy
Energy strategy
Waste management, including strategy and operations
Parks and open spaces
Flood risk management

Responsibility for housing and communities, including but not limited to:

Housing needs and homelessness prevention
Housing strategy
Heritage, leisure and libraries
Community safety
Community engagement and support, including international relations
Regulatory Services (Trading Standards, Environmental Health, Licensing)
Westcombe Engineering

Responsibility for the economic growth functions of the council, including but not limited to:

Growth and regeneration
Building Control, including the Building Act 1984 (as amended)
Economic development
Planning
Tourism
Business Improvement District (BID)
Adult skills and university

Role of Cabinet Advisors

Cabinet Advisors are responsible for:

To assist, support and advise the relevant Cabinet Member(s) in the exercise of their responsibilities.
To oversee a specific area or areas of responsibility within a Cabinet portfolio at the request of the relevant Cabinet Member and/or Leader.
To carry out tasks as agreed on behalf of the relevant Cabinet Member but not to make any formal decisions.
To attend Cabinet to support relevant Cabinet Member, but Advisors cannot vote.
In the absence of the Cabinet Member, to answer questions and speak at meetings of the Council on matters relating to the allocated portfolio area(s).
To substitute for Cabinet Members at meetings, briefings and events as appropriate.
To handle media interviews and enquiries on behalf of the Cabinet Member(s) in their absence.
To provide leadership to the Council and its political administration.