News, Politics

Nottingham City Council makes changes to cabinet as improvement work continues

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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A number of changes will be made to Nottingham City Council’s cabinet as it continues to try to drive improvement and battle resignations from the Labour Group.

Labour picked Cllr Neghat Khan as the authority’s new leader in May last year, after David Mellen announced he was stepping down after five years.

While the executive – senior councillors who are responsible for various departments – has remained largely unchanged ever since, some changes will be made at a meeting on May 12.

Cllr Khan will remain as leader and executive member for strategic regeneration, property and communications.

Similarly Cllr Jay Hayes will continue as executive member for housing and planning, Cllr Cheryl Barnard will remain in her position as executive member for children, young people and education, and Cllr Corall Jenkins will carry on in the position of executive member for neighbourhoods, waste and equalities.

Cllr Sam Lux will only continue as the executive member for climate and energy until June this year, when her duties will be given to another member while she goes on parental leave.

Meanwhile Cllr Ethan Radford, the deputy leader, will become executive member for finance, taking over from Cllr Linda Woodings.

Cllr Woodings will become the executive member for regional development, growth, and transport.

A new face will join the executive ranks in Cllr Helen Kalsi, who represents Bilborough.

She will take on the role of executive member for adult social care and health, after Cllr Pavlos Kotsonis resigned from this role in February.

He had said it had been the right time for him to step back from the executive, while remaining open to new positions as a backbench councillor.

Cllr Khan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Over the last year, I’ve worked with members and officers to put us on the right footing to achieve that, and our recently approved council plan sets out our ambition and core priorities as a council.

“The changes to my executive team signal a decisive focus on delivering on that plan.

“Cllr Radford’s dedicated finance portfolio will ensure our continued efforts to achieve financial sustainability are supported.

“Strategically strengthening our regional and national influence through Cllr Woodings’ leadership on regional development and growth mean Nottingham will have a voice at the right tables, influencing those agendas.

“And Cllr Kalsi’s fresh perspective, drawn from her healthcare background, offers a valuable addition to the team.”

The Labour Group at the council is currently being monitored by an improvement team.

A Campaign Improvement Board was established by the Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which provides strategic direction for the party as a whole, to offer “help and support” to members following the appointment of commissioners.

Government commissioners were appointed last year after the council declared itself effectively bankrupt in November 2023, and have been overseeing critical improvements at the authority ever since.

The establishment of Labour’s Campaign Improvement Board also comes amid the continued resignation of city councillors from Labour.

In November last year former Sheriff of Nottingham and Berridge ward councillor, Shuguftah Quddoos, announced she had quit the party.

She had first been suspended from the party earlier that year for voting against what she called “devastating” budget cuts.

In March this year she announced she had joined the Green Party.

Cllr Nadia Farhat, who represents Leen Valley, also quit to sit independently in October 2023 over Labour’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.

The most recent resignation in April was that of Cllr AJ Matsiko, who represents Sherwood, because he felt the group and party had abandoned its “core principles”.