Opposition councillors 'concerned' at mayor's changes to Executive

WORRIES OVER 'GOVERNANCE, ACCOUNTABILITY AND JUDGEMENT'

- By DANIEL HODGSON Local democracy reporter

OPPOSITION councillors are far from happy with the changes that Middlesbrough's mayor has made to his Executive.

Following last week's news that Councillor Janet Thompson had resigned from Labour Mayor Chris Cooke's team, it was announced on Wednesday that Cllrs Ian Blades and Julia Rostron would be joining the Executive.

The changes have resulted in criticism from opposition councillors. Two main issues were discussed: the first being the splitting of the adult social care and public health portfolio into two.

Secondly, the more criticised decision, was the appointment of Cllr Blades to an Executive position.

Cllr Blades did not respond in detail to the comments that his fellow councillors had made about him, but told the Local Democracy Reporting Serivce that he would not financially benefit from the changes. This is because the Labour councillor will no longer be chair of the council's Overview and Scrutiny Board (OSB).

At the same time he is joining the Executive as the member for neighbourhoods - Cllr Thompson's former position.

Mayor Cooke staunchly defended his newly-appointed Executive member, describing him as a "strong community advocate".

There was no equivalent criticism of Cllr Rostron, only that of the portfolio splitting.

Conservative councillor Luke Mason led the opposition at the full council meeting on Wednesday evening. He expressed "profound concern" at Mayor Cooke's changes to the Executive, citing worries regarding "governance, accountability and judgement".