Both Heather and Richard have new responsibilities, following the changes to the Council’s committee structure after the annual Council meeting (where a new Mayor is elected) on 21 May.
With the abolition of the old Executive system, a set of subject committees are now the important decision-taking fora.
Heather is a member of the key Strategy and Resources committee, responsible for budgets and strategy. She is also vice-chair of the Adult Social Services and Health Committee.
As if that was not enough, Heather is a member of the South West London Joint Health Scrutiny Committee, in which role she has been heavily involved in the campaign to save services under threat at St. Helier hospital. Heather also sits on the Appeals Committee, and represents the Council on the Royal Marsden Hospital (Foundation Trust status) committee and the Executive Committee of Sutton Arts Council.
Richard is vice-chair of the Housing, Economy and Business (HEB) Committee, enabling him to continue his involvement in economic re-generation and planning issues, which are amongst his major interests. He is thus able to continue to work on the subjects he was involved in as a member of the former Economic Development Advisory Group and the Planning Advisory Group. The work of these groups is now drawn within HEB. He will continue to be involved in day-to-day planning decisions as a member of the Development Control Committee.
As if that was not enough, Richard will continue to chair the Sutton Joint Health and Safety Committee (“joint” with recognised trade unions). As a former chair of the Board of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the principal European Union agency in this field, based in Bilbao in Spain, he could not really escape taking this on. He is a member of the Standards Committee and the Scrutiny Committee. He represents the Council on the Sutton Town Centre Partnership, the Friends of Whitehall (in Cheam), and the Downlands Countryside Management Project Steering Group, which amongst other things arranges for sheep to graze at various locations nearby.
Both will continue to represent residents on the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee.
More than enough to do !