Cllr Paul Smyth, chair of the committee governance steering group, said: “I strongly believe the proposals agreed will offer better governance for Norfolk. It will bring greater democracy, transparency and accountability to the council by giving councillors from all parties a much larger role in decision making.
“The proposals we have developed over time will provide us with a strong council, well defined delegations of authority and clear divisions of responsibility that should promote good governance in Norfolk. Each committee will contain a politically balanced mix of councillors, giving them a much stronger voice in future decision making, which can only be good for democracy. All parties will have a part to play in the decision-making cauldron.”
Cllr Smyth said the November review would act as a “safety net” in terms of how the new system was working. “If needs be, we can amend how things are working then, but I believe this new system will give the 84 elected councillors a bigger voice on issues which were previously only the preserve of the nine or ten members of Cabinet.”
Norfolk’s Leader George Nobbs said: “I would like to pay tribute to the ordinary members of the council who have worked tirelessly to come up with a new system of working for the council. I can’t praise the huge amount of work they have put in highly enough and I wish it well.”
