Barnet Council approves scrapping cabinet in favour of cross-party committee system

Barnet Council has approved plans to scrap its cabinet and replace it with a cross-party committee system.

Last Tuesday, the full council voted to introduce the new system after local elections in May.

Decisions will then be taken by committees with responsibility for particular themes.

Barnet Council leader Cllr Richard Cornelius said: “Policies will be discussed by all councillors in an open environment as they take shape. Alternatives can be proposed and debated openly and community groups can make written proposals at the earliest stage.

“I believe this is much more open than the current cabinet system that we inherited. These reforms should be seen in the context of a wider policy of transparency.

“We have published our key contracts online, we publish performance and risk information as a matter of course and even publish all of the critical comments about customer performance on line.

“I hope this wider openness will encourage a broader and properly informed debate about the future of the council and the borough.”