Suffolk County Council
Suffolk County Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Chair of the Council | Cllr Graham Newman, Conservative since 22 October 2020 |
Leader of the Council | Cllr Matthew Hicks, Conservative since 24 May 2018 |
Chief executive | Nicola Beach since May 2018 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 75 (38 needed for a majority) |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 7 May 2021 |
Next election | 1 May 2025 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Endeavour House Ipswich Suffolk United Kingdom | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
History[edit]
Established in 1974 and initially based at East Suffolk County Hall, the Council relocated to Endeavour House in Ipswich in 2004.[1] In September 2010, the council announced that it would seek to outsource a number of its services, in an attempt to cut its own budget by 30%.[2] Controversy surrounding the then CEO Andrea Hill, some concerning including £122,000 spent on management consultants, featured in the local and national press in 2011;[3] this led to her facing a disciplinary hearing, and subsequently resigning.[4]
Structure of the County Council[edit]
The County Council is led by its CEO Nicola Beach, who has been in this role since May 2018.[5]
The Council is split into 5 distinct areas known as directorates.[6] Each directorate has responsibility for a range of services and statutory requirements.
| Directorates | Directors |
|---|---|
| Adult and Community Services (ACS) | Director Sue Cook |
| Corporate Services (CS) | Director Chris Bally |
| Fire and Public Safety (FPS) | Director Mark Hardingham |
| Growth, Highways and Infrastructure (GHI) | Director Mark Ash |
| Health, Wellbeing and Children’s Services (HWC) | Director Allan Cadzow |
Responsibilities[edit]
Suffolk County Council is responsible for major services which are provided countywide. These include:
- Education and learning: schools, evening classes for adults, youth clubs and higher education grants.
- Environment: conservation of the countryside and public access to it, waste disposal and archaeological services.
- Leisure and culture: archives and support for arts and museums.
- Public safety: fire rescue service and emergency planning advice.
- Registrars: registration of births, marriages and deaths.
- Social care: care for older people who are physically or mentally infirm, or have a mental health problem, those with physical or learning disabilities and children and families who need protection and support.
- Trading standards: protecting consumers and giving advice.
- Transport and streets: maintaining and improving Suffolk's roads, footpaths and public rights of way, road safety, public transport co-ordination.
[edit]
Responsibility for some services is shared between the county council and borough, district and parish councils in Suffolk, including:
- Conservation
- Economic promotion
- Emergency planning
- Museums and the arts
- Public transport
- Street cleaning
- Tourism
Suffolk Electoral Divisions[edit]
Suffolk County Council is organised into Electoral Divisions. These divisions are periodically reviewed. As of 2021, there were 63 divisions of which 51 each returned a single member, a further 12 divisions each being represented by two members.[7]
Each councillor is responsible for their own Locality budget which amounted to £8,000 for the 2021/2022 financial year.[8]
| District | No. | Division | Councillor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Babergh District | 1 | Belstead Brook | Christopher Hudson |
| 2 | Cosford | Robert Lindsay | |
| 3 | Great Cornard | Peter Beer | |
| 4 | Hadleigh | Mick Fraser | |
| 5 | Melford | Richard Kemp | |
| 6 | Peninsula | Simon Harley | |
| 7 | Samford | Georgia Hall | |
| 8 | Stour Valley | James Finch | |
| 9 | Sudbury | Jessie Carter | |
| 10 | Sudbury East and Waldingfield | Philip Faircloth-Mutton | |
| Mid Suffolk District | 26 | Bosmere | Kay Oakes |
| 27 | Gipping Valley | Chris Chambers | |
| 28 | Hartismere | Jessica Fleming | |
| 29 | Hoxne & Eye | Peter Gould | |
| 30 | Stowmarket North & Stowupland | Keith Welham | |
| 31 | Stowmarket South | Keith Scarff | |
| 32 | Thedwastre North | Andy Mellen | |
| 33 | Thedwastre South | Penny Otton | |
| 34 | Thredling | Matthew Hicks | |
| 35 | Upper Gipping | Andrew Stringer | |
| Borough of Ipswich | 16 | Bixley | Paul West |
| 17 | Bridge | Rob Bridgeman | |
| 18 | Chantry | Nathan Wilson | |
| Nadia Cenci | |||
| 19 | Gainsborough | Liz Harsant | |
| 20 | Priory Heath | Bill Quinton | |
| 21 | Rushmere | Sandy Martin | |
| 22 | St Helen's | Elizabeth Johnson | |
| 23 | St John's | Sarah Adams | |
| 24 | St Margaret's and Westgate | Debbie Richards | |
| Inga Lockington | |||
| 25 | Whitehouse and Whitton | Sam Murray | |
| David Goldsmith | |||
| East Suffolk District | 45 | Aldeburgh and Leiston | T-J Haworth-Culf |
| 46 | Blything | Richard Smith | |
| 47 | Carlford | Elaine Bryce | |
| 48 | Felixstowe Coastal | Steve Wiles | |
| Graham Newman | |||
| 49 | Felixstowe North and Trimley | Stuart Bird | |
| 50 | Framlingham | Stephen Burroughes | |
| 51 | Kesgrave and Rushmere St Andrew | Stuart Lawson | |
| Debbie McCallum | |||
| 52 | Martlesham | Patti Mulcahy | |
| 53 | Wickham | Alexander Nicoll | |
| 54 | Wilford | Andrew Reid | |
| 55 | Woodbridge | Caroline Page | |
| 56 | Beccles | Caroline Topping | |
| Peggy McGregor | |||
| 57 | Bungay | Judy Cloke | |
| 58 | Gunton | James Reeder | |
| Ryan Harvey | |||
| 59 | Halesworth | Annette Dunning | |
| 60 | Kessingland and Southwold | Michael Ladd | |
| 61 | Lowestoft South | Jenny Ceresa | |
| Jamie Starling | |||
| 62 | Oulton | Edward Back | |
| Keith Robinson | |||
| 63 | Pakefield | Craig Rivett | |
| Melanie Vigo di Gallidoro | |||
| West Suffolk District | 11 | Brandon | Victor Lukaniuk |
| 12 | Exning and Newmarket | Rachel Hood | |
| 13 | Mildenhall | Lance Stanbury | |
| 14 | Newmarket and Red Lodge | Andy Drummond | |
| 15 | Row Heath | Colin Noble | |
| 36 | Blackbourn | Joanna Spicer | |
| 37 | Clare | Roberta Bennett | |
| 38 | Eastgate and Moreton Hall | Peter Thompson | |
| 39 | Harwick | Richard Rout | |
| 40 | Haverhill Cangle | Joe Mason | |
| Heike Sowa | |||
| 41 | Haverhill East and Kedington | David Roach | |
| 42 | Thingoe North | Beccy Hopfensperger | |
| 43 | Thingoe South | Karen Soons | |
| 44 | Tower | Robert Everitt | |
| David Nettleton |
Elections[edit]
There are currently 75 Councillors elected to SCC. As at 2022 the council is run by the Conservative party. The Conservatives hold 55 seats on the Council, Greens 9, Labour 5, Liberal Democrats 4, Independents 1 and West Suffolk Independents 1.
These last elections were held on 6 May 2021.
References[edit]
- ^ Noble, Jason (27 December 2018). "New plans revealed for former County Hall in Ipswich". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
The historic former County Hall offices in St Helen's Street have been unoccupied since Suffolk County Council moved out in 2004 to Endeavour House.
- ^ "Suffolk County Council to outsource most services". BBC News. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
- ^ Private Eye
- ^ "Council chief Andrea Hill quits Suffolk Council". BBC News. 6 July 2011.
- ^ "Chief Executive Officer". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ^ "Directorates". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ "Electoral Divisions – Key to Map" (PDF). www.suffolk.gov.uk. Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "Councillor's Locality Budget". www.suffolk.gov.uk. Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
