The committee system at Bristol City Council is up and running following the elections in May. Councillors met to elect members to key roles at the authority and vote for this year’s Lord Mayor.
Councillors voted to establish eight new Policy Committees and agree which members would hold the roles of Chairs and Vice Chairs for each committee.
The eight Policy Committee Chairs are:
• Cllr Lorraine Francis, Chair of the Adult Social Care Committee
• Cllr Christine Townsend, Chair of the Children and Young People Committee
• Cllr Andrew Brown, Chair of the Economy and Skills Committee
• Cllr Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee
• Cllr Barry Parsons, Chair of the Homes and Housing Delivery Committee
• Cllr Stephen Williams, Chair of the Public Health and Communities Committee
• Cllr Tony Dyer (Leader of the Council) and Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee
• Cllr Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee
Each cross-party Policy Committee is responsible for project and policy decisions, while the Policy Chairs role is to lead the work of each Committee and represent the committee at a local and regional level.
Alongside the eight Policy Committees, councillors also appointed chairs to the Sub-Committees, Regulatory Committees, and Other Committees:
• Cllr Abdul Malik, Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee
• Cllr Tim Wye, Chair of the Heath Scrutiny Sub-Committee
• Cllr Rob Bryher, Chair of the Development Control Committee A
• Cllr Don Alexander, Chair of the Development Control Committee B
• Cllr Sarah Classick, Chair of the Public Safety and Protection Committee
• Cllr John Goulandris, Chair of the Public Rights of Way and Greens Committee
• Cllr Timothy Rippington, Chair of the Audit Committee
• Cllr Kye Dudd, Chair of the Human Resources Committee
• Cllr Fabian Breckels, Chair of the Licensing Committee
Cllr Tony Dyer was sworn in as the Leader of Bristol City Council. While addressing councillors in the chamber during his maiden speech, Tony said: “Each of you, as decision makers within this council, now have the power to affect the lives of tens of thousands of Bristol residents, often, and I hope positively, but, given the financial, environmental and social pressures facing our city, there will be times when you will have to make tough decisions.
“All of us, as a collective body of powerful decision makers need to accept the great responsibility of ensuring those decisions are made in both a timely and informed manner and to the best of our ability. Our citizens deserve nothing less.”
Full Council also appointed Cllr Heather Mack as Deputy Leader of the Council, Cllr Andrew Varney to the position of Lord Mayor with Cllr Paul Goggin taking up the role of Deputy Lord Mayor.
Following the result of a referendum in May 2022, the council has now adopted a new system of governance. The new Committee System has replaced the Mayoral and Cabinet model, and is led by 70 councillors, representing Bristol’s 34 wards. New decisions will be made by either Full Council, a committee, or council officers depending on the money needed to be spent/saved and the number of wards effected.
You can find out more on the council website.