A number of changes will be made to Nottingham City Council’s cabinet as it continues efforts to drive improvement and respond to resignations from the Labour Group.
Labour appointed Councillor Neghat Khan as the authority’s new leader in May last year, following Councillor David Mellen’s decision to step down after five years.
While the executive – senior councillors responsible for various departments – has remained largely unchanged since then, some changes will be made at a meeting on 12 May.
Councillor Khan will remain as leader and executive member for strategic regeneration, property and communications.
Similarly, Councillor Jay Hayes will continue as executive member for housing and planning, Councillor Cheryl Barnard will remain in her position as executive member for children, young people and education, and Councillor Corall Jenkins will carry on as executive member for neighbourhoods, waste and equalities.
Councillor Sam Lux will continue as executive member for climate and energy until June this year, after which her duties will be reassigned to another member while she goes on parental leave.
Meanwhile, Councillor Ethan Radford, the deputy leader, will become executive member for finance, taking over from Councillor Linda Woodings.
Councillor Woodings will become executive member for regional development, growth and transport.
A new face will join the executive in Councillor Helen Kalsi, who represents Bilborough.
She will take on the role of executive member for adult social care and health, following Councillor Pavlos Kotsonis’s resignation from the position in February.
He had said it was the right time to step back from the executive, while remaining open to new positions as a backbench councillor.
Councillor Khan said:
“Over the last year, I’ve worked with members and officers to put us on the right footing to achieve that, and our recently approved council plan sets out our ambition and core priorities as a council.
“The changes to my executive team signal a decisive focus on delivering on that plan.
“Councillor Radford’s dedicated finance portfolio will ensure our continued efforts to achieve financial sustainability are supported.
“Strategically strengthening our regional and national influence through Councillor Woodings’ leadership on regional development and growth means Nottingham will have a voice at the right tables, influencing those agendas.
“And Councillor Kalsi’s fresh perspective, drawn from her healthcare background, offers a valuable addition to the team.”
The Labour Group at the council is currently being monitored by an improvement team.
A Campaign Improvement Board was established by the Labour Party’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), which provides strategic direction for the party as a whole, to offer “help and support” to members following the appointment of commissioners.
Government commissioners were appointed last year after the council declared itself effectively bankrupt in November 2023, and have been overseeing critical improvements at the authority ever since.
The establishment of Labour’s Campaign Improvement Board also comes amid continued resignations from Labour by city councillors.
In November last year, former Sheriff of Nottingham and Berridge ward councillor Shuguftah Quddoos announced she had quit the party.
She had first been suspended earlier that year for voting against what she called “devastating” budget cuts. In March this year, she announced she had joined the Green Party.
Councillor Nadia Farhat, who represents Leen Valley, also resigned in October 2023 to sit as an independent over Labour’s stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The most recent resignation came in April from Councillor AJ Matsiko, who represents Sherwood, stating that he felt the group and party had abandoned its “core principles”.
• Dambusters: Derwent Dam lit in red, white and blue to honour VE Day
