Media Release : 19 May 2010

Councillor Bob Standley, previously deputy leader, was elected unopposed as Leader at today's annual meeting. He takes over from Councillor Pam Doodes who continues as a Cabinet member with portfolio responsibility for Community.

The new Deputy Leader is Councillor Claire Dowling, and Councillors Johanna Howell and Graham Wells have joined the new Cabinet team.

The full Cabinet and portfolio responsibilities are as follows:

Cllr Bob Standley
Leader, Finance; includes policy development, partnership working, and Wealden's Transformation Programme.

Cllr Claire Dowling
Deputy Leader, Corporate Services; includes human resources, democratic and legal services, emergency planning, customer services, communications and IT.

Cllr Graham Wells
Corporate Assets; includes the Single Site Project, car parks, & the revenues and benefits service.

Cllr Roy Galley
Planning & Development; includes planning & development control, the Local Development Framework, conservation & landscape and economic development.

Cllr Johanna Howell
Housing: includes affordable housing, council housing, sheltered housing and travellers.

Cllr Sylvia Tidy
Environmental Services: includes pollution control, animal welfare, licensing, waste and recycling collections, street scene services and public conveniences.

Cllr Pam Doodes
Community: includes food safety, public health, crime and disorder, sports, leisure and arts, community grants, older people, children & young people, community transport. Special responsibility for sustainability.

Cllr Standley paid tribute to the dedication and hard work Cllr Doodes had contributed as Leader over the past three years, and added:

"I have included in this Cabinet a blend of experience and new faces to take this Council forward into what may be uncertain times given the parlous state of the nation's finances."

Today's meeting of Full Council agreed to reduce the number of committees by two as part of a streamlining package which will result in annual savings to the Council of £50,000 a year. This has resulted in a combined Community and Environment Scrutiny Committee and increased responsibility for the Internal Scrutiny Committee to include the audit function.

The Chairman of Wealden District Council, Cllr Sylvia Martin, and Vice-Chairman, Cllr Jonica Fox, were both elected unopposed for a second year.