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 Dr Shabina Qayyum (Labour) (East Ward)
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care – Councillor Neil Boyce (Peterborough First) (Glinton and Castor Ward)
Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Governance – Councillor Mohammed Jamil (Labour) (Central Ward)
Cabinet Member for Environment - Councillor Chris Wiggin (Liberal Democrat) (Hampton Vale Ward)
Cabinet Member for Children and Young People – Councillor Katy Cole (Labour) (Dogsthorpe Ward)
Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services and Enforcement - Councillor Christian Hogg (Liberal Democrats) (Fletton and Stanground)
Cabinet Member for Transport – Councillor Angus Ellis (Labour) (Park Ward)
Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Safety – Councillor Zameer Ali (Labour) (North Ward)
Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration - Councillor Numan Ali Iqbal (Labour) (East Ward)
Cabinet Member for Public Health, Homelessness and Poverty - Councillor Ann Shaheed (Liberal Democrats) (Gunthorpe Ward)

Cabinet Advisors

Cabinet Advisor to the Cabinet Member for Growth and Regeneration - Councillor Kevin Tighe (Independent) (Barnack Ward)
Cabinet Advisor to the Cabinet Member for Environment - Councillor Jade Seager (Liberal Democrats) (Fletton and Stanground Ward)

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
Emergency Planning/Civil Contingencies

Responsibility for the Adult Services functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Adults Social Work including informal Carers
Safeguarding Adults
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Early Help Services including Information and Advice, Reablement, Occupational Therapy, Technology Enabled Care, Major and Minor Adaptations and Equipment
Sensory Rehabilitation Services
Learning Disability Health - Nursing and Speech and Language Therapy
Commissioning - planning, purchasing and monitoring care services and provision to improve outcomes for all children and young people, adults and their carers which includes work related to Learning Disability and Autism, Physical Disability, Sensory Impairment, Mental Health and Older People
Work in partnership with health services and the private, independent and voluntary sectors
Formally established partnership arrangements for the integrated delivery of social care including the Learning Disability and Autism and Section 75 arrangements with the ICB and with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Foundation Trust for the delivery of mental health support to people with social care needs

Responsibility for the finance and corporate governance functions of the Council including but not limited to:

Property and assets

Budget strategy, financial planning and medium-term financial sustainability
Treasury management, capital programme oversight and investment decisions
Financial governance, audit, risk management and internal control
Procurement, contract management and securing value for money
Corporate governance, constitutional matters and standards oversight

Responsibility for the environment functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Climate change and net zero
Recycling and waste management
Parks, Trees and Open Spaces
Natural and historic environment
Flood risk management
Energy strategy
Environment strategy

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

Children’s Social Work
Safeguarding Children
Services for Looked After Children and Corporate Parenting, fostering and adoption
Early Help Services
Specialist Young People Services including Youth Offending
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 and school transport
SEND
Early Years
Virtual School
Children Missing Education
Elective Home Education
School Attendance

Responsibility for the Regulatory Services and enforcement functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Trading standards
Environmental health
Licensing
Housing standards
Council-wide enforcement including but not limited to parking, environmental crime, and planning

Responsibility for the transport functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Highways, Asset Management
Highways maintenance
Highways development and drainage
Active travel and Public Transport
Parking strategy

Responsibility for the communities and public safety functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Community development, cohesion and integration
Community safety, including tackling ASB
Domestic abuse
Refugee and asylum seekers
Community Assets
Libraries and heritage services

Responsibility for the growth and regeneration functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Growth and regeneration
Economic development
Planning and building control
Housing strategy and supply
Visitor economy
City centre, including the Business Improvement District
Adult skills strategy, City College Peterborough and university

Responsibility for the public health, homelessness and poverty functions of the Council, including but not limited to:

Mandatory and non-prescribed Public Health services in accordance with Public Health grant conditions
Health protection, public health intelligence and health improvement, with a focus on reducing inequalities
Health and Wellbeing Board and Strategy
Housing need and homelessness prevention
Leisure services

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.