Council Fast Facts
About the Council
South Lakeland District Council was formed in 1974 and is one of
six district authorities in Cumbria, the others being ;
Following boundary changes to restore electoral equality, the
number of district wards has been reduced from 47 to 45, and the
number of district councillors from 52 to 51
councillors representing the 45 wards.
All councillors are elected for a term of 4 years. Elections
covering one third of the district are held for three years out of
four. In the fourth year, Cumbria County Council elections are
held. The last district elections were held in May 2008.
From 1974 until the 2006 elections, no one political party was
in overall control of the council. However, at the 2006 elections
the Liberal Democrats gained the majority of seats and so have
overall control of the council.
The political balance of the council from 4 May
2012 is now -
- 34 - Liberal Democrat
- 14 - Conservative
- 3 - Labour
How the council operates
In 2002, following the Local Government Act 2000, the council
adopted a Leader and Cabinet style decision-making structure. The
rules governing the way the council operates are set down in the
Constitution.
All councillors meet together at
full Council meetings. Here, councillors decide the overall
policies, set the budget each year and hold the Cabinet and all
committees to account.
The
Cabinet is made up of seven Liberal Democrat councillors who
are responsible for implementing the policies and decisions of
council. The portfolios of the Cabinet members are:
Committees
There are two Overview & Scrutiny Committees which are
responsible for monitoring council performance and carrying out
detailed reviews of matters of local concern. They also monitor
Cabinet decisions and can 'call in' decisions which they feel are
not appropriate. The two committees are:
A number of other committees deal with specific areas of council
business. These include Planning, Licensing, Accounts, Audit, Human
Resources, Lake Admin and Standards.
Council Structure
The Leader of the Council is Cllr
Peter Thornton
The Deputy Leader of the Council is Councillor
Clare Feeney-Johnson
The Chairman of the Council is Councillor
Jo Stephenson
The Vice Chairman of the Council is Councillor
Evelyn
Westwood
The Chief Executive of the Council is Lawrence Conway.
View the Management Structure 2012
Political group leaders are:
- Liberal Democrat - Councillor
Peter Thornton
- Conservative - Councillor
James Airey
- Labour - Councillor
Mark Wilson
Council Vision & Priorities
The council's vision is "By involving people and creating
opportunities, we will make South Lakeland the best place to live,
work and visit."
The Corporate Plan for 2011 -2015
sets out the council's priorities.
Our values are:
- Valuing people
- Excellence
- Openness
Other Useful Information