The Cabinet
The Leader of the Council chooses up to nine other councillors to become Cabinet Members. Each of these Cabinet Members looks after particular services and have specific responsibilities.
The Cabinet normally meets 11 times a year. These meetings take place in County Hall in Chelmsford and are open to the public. You can also watch on our ECC Democracy YouTube channel.
A typical Cabinet meeting includes discussion of key issues across members’ areas of responsibility, recommendations to Full Council about policy or the budget and any urgent issues that have come up.
Cabinet Member decisions
Cabinet Members can take decisions about matters within their area of responsibility, as long they don't go against council policy.
Decisions that have a significant impact on spending or services are known as Key Decisions. These have to be published in the Council's Forward Plan before being acted upon.
All decisions are subject to a three-day call-in period. This means that if a councillor on a Scrutiny Committee asks for the decision to be reversed or reviewed it must be looked at by a Committee.
Members of the Cabinet
| Member | Area of responsibility |
|---|---|
| Kevin Bentley | Leader of the Council |
| Louise McKinlay | Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Levelling Up and the Economy |
| Beverley Egan | Children’s Services and Early Years |
| John Spence | Health, Adult Social Care and ICS Integration |
| Tony Ball | Education Excellence, Lifelong Learning and Employability |
| Lee Scott | Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport |
| Christopher Whitbread | The Chancellor of Essex |
| Tom Cunningham | Planning a Growing Economy |
| Peter Schwier | Climate Czar, Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling |
| Mark Durham | The Arts, Heritage and Culture |
Deputies to Cabinet Members
| Graham Butland | Deputy to the Leader with principal accountabilities on Devolution |
| Derrick Louis | Deputy to the Leader with principal accountabilities on Transformation |
| Lesley Wagland | Deputy to the Leader with principal accountabilities on Major Infrastructure Projects and Freeports |
| Holly Whitbread | Deputy to the Leader with principal accountabilities on Highways Communications |
| Mark Platt | Deputy to the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Levelling Up and the Economy |
| Deputy to the Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Early Years | |
| Jane Fleming | Deputy to the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and ICS Integration |
| Jaymey McIvor | Deputy to the Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care and ICS Integration |
| Andrew Sheldon | Deputy to the Cabinet Member for Education Excellence, Life Long Learning and Employability |
| Laureen Shaw | Deputy to the Cabinet Member for Highways Maintenance and Sustainable Transport |
| Bob Massey | Deputy to the Climate Czar and Cabinet Member for Waste Reduction and Recycling |