'Insult to Bristol Council will be forced to drop committee system

BRISTOL City Council will be forced to scrap the committee model in an upcoming shake up.

- Alex SEABROOK Local democracy reporter

Three years ago Bristol voted to introduce the committee model in a city-wide referendum and scrap the directly elected mayor, but now faces yet another change.

The Government has revealed plans to force councils run by policy committees, such as Bristol, to adopt the leader and cabinet model. This has sparked outrage among Greens and Liberal Democrats in Bristol, but was welcomed by Labour who said the eight policy committees are “shambolic”.

Jim McMahon, minister for local government and devolution, said in a written statement: “At present there is a complex and opaque system which allows councils to operate one of three governance models: cabinet arrangements with a directly elected council mayor, leader and cabinet, or the committee system.

“As a result, councils are left with a complicated governance system. This can be confusing to the taxpayer, particularly in the case of the committee system, which can be unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less efficient decision-making. This change will provide clearer, more easily understood structures at a local level, improving efficiency and preventing authorities from wasting taxpayer funds on needless changes to systems of governance.”