The Executive

The Council has a Leader and Cabinet model of governance. This means the Council elects a leader every four years. He or she then appoints up to nine other Councillors to form the Cabinet (known as the Executive), one of whom will be the Deputy Leader.

Councillor Caroline Reeves has stepped down as Leader of the Council. As the office of Leader is now vacant, under the terms of Article 6 of the Constitution, the Deputy Leader, Councillor Joss Bigmore will act as Leader and shall be entitled to exercise all functions reserved to the Leader until such time as a new Leader is elected by the Council.

The election for the new Leader will take place at the next Council meeting on Tuesday 6 October 2020.

Councillor Reeves continues to be a member of the Executive.

Leader of the Council

Councillor Joss Bigmore
Acting Leader of the Council

The role of the leader

The leader provides overall political leadership for the Council by:

Co-ordinating and delivering Council policies, strategies and services
Leading the Executive in its work to develop the policy framework and budget and to deliver services to the local community
Leading the development of partnerships both inside and outside of Guildford with stakeholders, residents and other interested organisations
Contributing to the preparation, monitoring and review of the Council's policies, budget, strategy and service delivery

Main responsibilities of the leader

Providing leadership to the Council and its political administration
Acting as the principal spokesman for the Council and the administration
Assuming prime responsibility to the local community for the decisions and work of the Executive
Liaising with officers, in particular the Managing Director and the Council's corporate management team
Leading the development of the Council's strategic and corporate planning process (Corporate Plan)
Having a primary role in presenting the Executive's proposals to the Council and to the local community
Managing and chairing Executive meetings and providing the political lead in proposing the policy framework, budget and direction of the council
Ensuring that the work of the Executive and portfolio holders is co-ordinated and is in line with the Council's policy framework and the needs and aspirations of the local community
Ensuring that working relationships between the Executive , other Councillors, officers and the local community are effective and professional
Portfolio Responsibilities of the Leader
Housing, Homelessness, housing standards (HMOs, private rented sector), Development Control and Enforcement, Public Relations and Communications

The Executive

The Executive has a Forward Plan of decisions to be taken.

1. Resources Directorate: Corporate Theme - Improved Council

Resources: Portfolio Responsibilities: Finance, Commercial Asset Management, Procurement
Cllr Tim Anderson
Service Delivery: Portfolio Responsibilities: Customer Service, Governance including corporate Health and Safety, Future Guildford, Human Resources, Partnerships, Web Services
Cllr Joss Bigmore

2. Strategy Directorate: Corporate Theme - Economy and Regeneration

Economy: Portfolio Responsibilities: Economic Development, Social Enterprise, Rural Economy, Heritage and Community Assets
Cllr John Redpath
Regeneration: Portfolio Responsibilities: Town Centre MasterPlan, Infrastructure, Major Projects, Strategic Asset Management
Cllr John Rigg

3. Services Directorate: Corporate Themes - Climate Change and Environment, Housing and Communities

Climate Change: Portfolio Responsibilities: Innovation, Strategic Planning, Sustainable Transport, Housing Delivery
Cllr Jan Harwood
Environment: Portfolio Responsibilities: Waste, Licensing (including Health and Safety regulation), Parking, Parks and Leisure, Arts and Tourism, Bereavement, Environmental Health and Protection
Cllr James Steel
Housing and Development Control: Portfolio Responsibilities: Housing, Homelessness, housing standards (HMOs, private rented sector), Development Control and Enforcement, Public Relations and Communications
Cllr Caroline Reeves
Community: Portfolio Responsibilities: Health, Wellbeing, Access and Disability, Safety, grants and voluntary services, Careline, Handyperson, Care and Repair
Cllr Julia McShane