Cardiff Council leader announces Cabinet reshuffle

TWO Cardiff councillors have stepped up from the backbenches to join Cardiff Council’s Cabinet as part of a reshuffle announced by council leader, Cllr Huw Thomas.

Cllr Thomas announced the reshuffle today, Thursday May 2, after he was re-elected leader of the Labour Group at its AGM earlier this week. The changes to Cabinet, which include bringing some portfolios together, and creating more job-sharing Cabinet posts, will be brought to Cardiff Council’s AGM on May 23 for ratification.

In April, Cllr Caro Wild announced he was standing down as Cardiff Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change to pursue new projects.

As part of an extended portfolio Cllr Dan De’Ath will take over responsibility for Climate Change and One Planet Cardiff alongside his current Strategic Planning and Transport brief.

Cllr Norma Mackie will stand down as Cabinet Member for Adult Services to focus on Waste Management, Highways Maintenance, and Shared Regulatory Services.

Cllr Leonora Thomson and Cllr Lee Bridgeman will step up to join the Cabinet for the first time. Cllr Thomson, who represents Riverside, will be given the Adult Social Services brief, in a new shared Cabinet Portfolio which will include Public Health and Equalities, which will continue to be led by Cllr Julie Sangani.

Cllr Lee Bridgeman, who represents Llanrumney, will be given part of the Housing and Communities Portfolio job sharing with Cllr Lynda Thorne. Cllr Thorne will continue to lead the Housing Programme, while Cllr Bridgeman will focus on Community Hubs and Regeneration.

The Children’s Social Services, and the Tackling Poverty and Youth Services portfolio, will be brought together and job shared by Cllr Ash Lister and Cllr Peter Bradbury, who have been managing these areas.

Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, said: “Firstly, I want to put on record my thanks to Caro for his sterling work over the past seven years. He has played a key role driving forward the One Planet agenda and I know we all wish him the very best in his new venture.

“I would also like to thank the Labour Group for the honour of appointing me to continue in my role as Leader of Cardiff Council. I am proud of all the work that the administration has delivered in the past seven years, and although there are many challenges to come, we will continue to serve the communities that elected us with our ambitious plans for the city.

“I’m also grateful to Lynda who, by mutual agreement, will transfer into a job-share role, so that she can pass on her experience and knowledge whilst retaining a focus on delivering the Housing Programme.

“I’m delighted to welcome Lee and Leo into Cabinet for the first time. Lee will job share with Lynda, taking the lead on the Community Hubs and Regeneration side of that portfolio. Leo will hold responsibility for Adult Social Services, in a shared portfolio with Public Health and Equalities, which is still held by Julie.

“The remaining job-shared elements – Children’s Services, and Tackling Poverty and Youth Services – will be paired together, with responsibility remaining with Ash and Pete respectively.

“A reconfigured portfolio, combining waste and enforcement with highway maintenance and Shared Regulatory Services, will be held by Norma, on a fulltime basis. Responsibility for Climate Change and One Planet will transfer to Dan, who also retains responsibility for Strategic Transport and Planning.

“The remaining portfolio responsibilities will remain the same at a high level, albeit a few refining tweaks may be carried out on where specific services sit. Once this has been completed, I will share a detailed breakdown of where services sit within each portfolio.”