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Cabinet

This committee is chaired by the leader of the council who selects eight cabinet members from their ruling group. Each Cabinet member has specific areas of primary responsibility, as detailed below.

The Cabinet reviews reports prepared by council staff working with the cabinet member who represents them. The report recommends a decision on an important subject, and the Cabinet debates and votes on it in a public meeting.

Cabinet members can make decisions on less important subjects themselves – we call this an Individual Cabinet Member Decision.

We publish all decisions made by the Cabinet, and all Individual Cabinet Member Decisions on our democratic pages.

See our calendar for the dates of all of our Cabinet meetings. Five working days before a meeting, we will publish the reports the Cabinet is reviewing. You can find these reports on the calendar.

Cabinet Members and the areas they represent

Councillor Bethia Thomas – Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member Climate Action, Nature Recovery and Strategic Partnerships

  • Climate Action: Co-ordinating action to meet the councils carbon targets; Delivering the Climate Action Fund; Helping communities adapt to climate change.
  • Nature Recovery.                                
  • Strategic Partnerships: 5 Councils Partnership, Joint Tactical Board and Future Oxfordshire Partnership Support.

Councillor Mark Coleman – Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environmental Services and Waste

  • Technical Services: Parks & Grounds Maintenance; Engineering Services (Sewerage, Flooding and Drainage); Cemeteries, Car Parks and Moorings.
  • Environmental Services: Environmental Protection; Waste, Litter and Street Cleaning; Food and Workplace Safety.

Councillor Diana Lugova – Cabinet Member for Planning

Development (Major Applications and Enforcement)

  • Major Applications, Appeals and Enforcement
  • Development: Minor/Other Applications; Building Control
  • Development (Business): Footpaths; Planning Business Support; Urban Design; Trees, Landscape and Ecology; Conservation and Listed Buildings.

Councillor Andrew Crawford – Cabinet Member for Finance and Property

  • Strategic Property: Asset Management Strategy; Development Initiatives; Disposals Policy; Building Decarbonisation Programme.
  • Strategic Finance: Financial Management; S106/CIL.
  • Revenues and Benefits.
  • Internal Audit and Risk Management: Corporate Fraud; Insurance.
  • Exchequer Services and Procurement.

Councillor Andy Foulsham – Cabinet Member for Policy and Programmes

  • Corporate Programmes: Strategic Programmes; Corporate Project Management; Corporate Plan; Performance Management; Emergency Response; Transformation.
  • Policy: Local Plan; S106/CIL Policy; Neighbourhood Planning; Community Led Planning; Transport Infrastructure; Climate and Biodiversity.

Councillor Helen Pighills – Cabinet Member for Community Health and Wellbeing

  • Community Wellbeing: Health Engagement; Community Hub; Community Grants; Community Enablement; Garden Communities and Active Communities.
  • Community Arts: Arts Strategy and Development; Community Art and Beacon Community Arts Centre.
  • Community Safety: Safeguarding; CCTV and Licensing.

Councillor Sue Caul – Cabinet Member for Housing, Leisure Facilities and Community Buildings

  • Property Assets: Property Operations (facilities); Leisure Centres, Splashpads and Abbey Meadows Pool; Toilets; Community Centres; Health and Safety and Capital Projects.
  • Housing Delivery: Housing Strategy and Delivery; Affordable Housing and Community Led Housing.
  • Housing Needs: Disabled Facility Grants; Private Sector Housing.

Councillor Lucy Edwards – Cabinet Member for Communications, Customer Services, Legal and Democratic

  • Communications and Engagement: Marketing and Corporate Consultations
  • Customer Services and Complaints
  • Legal Operations: Deputy Monitoring Officer; Land Charges
  • Legal Governance: Deputy Monitoring Officer; Information Governance, GDPR, EIR and FOI.
  • Democratic Services: Deputy Monitoring Officer; Elections.

Councillor Neil Fawcett – Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Workplace and IT

  • Economic Development: Business Engagement; Market Towns; Enterprise Zones
  • People and Culture: HR; Payroll; Workforce and Organisational Development; Equalities and Wellbeing.
  • IT: Operations, Development, Strategy and Programmes; Corporate GIS.

Contact us - Democratic services

01235 422520
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)

democratic.services@southandvale.gov.uk

Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE