The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
- Bristol South
- Jul 31
- 2 min read
Over the past decade, Bristol, like many other cities, has debated, voted on and changed how we want our council to be run. We want an efficient and well-run council and for us all to have the power to influence the decisions our councils take. And, crucially, we want the ability to vote them out if they do not govern well.
There is always a balance to be struck between strong leadership and efficient decision making and the need for councillors to be accountable to those they represent, bringing people with them as they take decisions that affect so much of our lives in our city.
As someone who never favoured the mayoral model, on the grounds that it was too centralised and who did not support the introduction of a committee system because it would be too ineffectual, I am pleased that the Government introduced new legislation in July which will abolish the committee system in England, will block the creation of new directly elected council mayors and will move most councils, including Bristol, to the leader and cabinet model.
This is a sensible step that recognises the flaws in the committee system. A ministerial statement laid by the Local Government Minister Jim McMahon MP earlier this year anticipating this legislation, describes the committee system as “unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less efficient decision-making.” I think that many people living in Bristol for the past year would struggle to disagree with that assessment.
Since the committee system has been in place, I have found that the council has been noticeably slower to respond to correspondence I send on behalf of constituents on vital issues like housing, waste collection and the condition of our streets. It has also been frustrating to receive responses from committee chairs that seem to locate responsibility for key decisions affecting my constituents elsewhere.
The council itself seems to recognise that the system is not working, setting up a committee to examine the problems of the committee system last October.
It is right that councils across the country are held to uniform standards of democratic accountability. The public must be able to identify who is responsible for the issues they care about locally. The leader and cabinet system makes these lines of accountability clear. After over a year under the committee system in Bristol, that clarity is to be welcomed.
