Labour-led Sheffield City Council has warned against a forced return to the ‘autocratic, top-down decision-making cabinet system'.
Sheffield voted 65% to 35% in a 2021 referendum to change to a committee system after its strong leader cabinet model was criticised for its role in a scandal in which 17,500 street trees were chopped down.
Labour leader Tom Hunt has complained – along with Bristol City Council – that the sector was ‘not consulted' before the Government announced last month plans to legislate to abolish the committee system.
A motion passed by the council at its latest meeting read: ‘It is clearly wrong that a system that has been working well in Sheffield should be abolished without any form of consultation.
‘It benefits nobody in Sheffield to return to the autocratic, top-down decision-making cabinet system.'
In a letter to local government minster Jim McMahon, seen by The MJ, Sutton LBC leader Barry Lewis urged a ‘rethink'.
Cllr Lewis wrote: ‘If it ain't bust, don't fix it! This is not pushing power out of Whitehall into the hands of local leaders. It is an unhelpful top-down approach, which will impose costs and provide zero benefits to the public.'
A spokesperson for Kingston LBC added: ‘Our position, and the broader sentiment among many local authorities, is that this move represents centralisation by stealth, rather than genuine devolution.
‘The Government's rationale for this change appears flawed. Of the eight councils that have issued section 114 notices since 2012, none operated under the committee system.
‘We firmly believe that local authorities should retain the flexibility to adopt governance models that best reflect the unique needs and expectations of their communities. Imposing a one-size-fits-all structure risks undermining local autonomy and the democratic engagement of elected representatives.'
Bristol, which voted in favour of a committee system only three years ago, has called for the Government to ‘provide funding so that the substantial costs of further change isn't borne solely by local taxpayers'.
Chief executive of the Association of Democratic Services Officers, Charlotte Eisenhart, has questioned what ‘evidence or metrics are being used to make the judgement that the committee system should go'.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government did not respond to a request for comment.
