The Cabinet
The Leader of the Council chooses up to nine other councillors to become Cabinet Members. Each of these Cabinet Members looks after particular services and have specific responsibilities.
The Cabinet normally meets 11 times a year. These meetings take place in County Hall in Chelmsford and are open to the public. You can also watch on our ECC Democracy YouTube channel.
A typical Cabinet meeting includes discussion of key issues across members’ areas of responsibility, recommendations to Full Council about policy or the budget and any urgent issues that have come up.
Cabinet Member decisions
Cabinet Members can take decisions about matters within their area of responsibility, as long they don't go against council policy.
Decisions that have a significant impact on spending or services are known as Key Decisions. These have to be published in the Council's Forward Plan before being acted upon.
All decisions are subject to a three-day call-in period. This means that if a councillor on a Scrutiny Committee asks for the decision to be reversed or reviewed it must be looked at by a Committee.
Members of the Cabinet
| Member | Area of responsibility |
|---|---|
| Kevin Bentley | Leader of the Council |
| Louise McKinlay | Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Communities and Business Engagement |
| John Spence | Health, Social Care and Integration |
| Tony Ball | Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability |
| Lee Scott | Planning a Growing Economy |
| Christopher Whitbread | The Chancellor of Essex |
| Tom Cunningham | Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport |
| Peter Schwier | Climate Czar and Cabinet Member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling |
| Derrick Louis | Transformation |
| Mark Durham | The Arts, Heritage and Culture |
Deputies to Cabinet Members
| Lesley Wagland | Deputy to the Leader of the Council |
| Beverly Egan | Deputy to the Leader of the Council |
| Laureen Shaw | Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport |
| Mark Platt | Deputy to the Deputy Leader and Deputy Cabinet Member for Levelling Up and the Economy. Also Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Sustainable Transport |
| Andrew Sheldon | Deputy Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Life Long Learning and Employability |
| Jane Fleming | Deputy Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Integration |
| Holly Whitbread | Deputy Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Integration |
| Lynnette Bowers-Flint | Deputy Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Integration |
| Bob Massey | Deputy to the Climate Czar and Cabinet Member for Waste Reduction and Recycling |
| Mike Hardware | Deputy Cabinet Member for The Arts, Heritage and Culture |