A raft of important roles and key positions have been determined at Rutland County Council.

Rutland's Annual Council meeting took place virtually yesterday (Monday) to appoint the roles for the 2020/21 council year.

Appointments included selecting a Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Council for the next 12 months, as well as appointing individual councillors to positions on various committees and scrutiny panels.

Coun Edward Baines (Conservative) was elected to serve as the Council's Chairman – replacing outgoing Chairman Councillor Kenneth Bool, who stood down after five years in the role. Councillor Nick Begy (Conservative) was chosen as Vice-Chair.

Rutland County Council's Cabinet remains unchanged following the Annual Council meeting.

Appointments for Councillors to Chair individual Scrutiny Panels were also made as follows:

· Councillor Samantha Harvey (Conservative) – Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel

· Councillor Paul Ainsley (Conservative) – Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel

Councillor June Fox (Conservative) – Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel

Council leader Oliver Hemsley said: "I would like to thank all Elected Members and Council Officers for their hard work and dedication over the past year and particularly in recent months, as we have strived to deal with the impacts of COVID-19.

Coun Hemsley added: "It was important that Annual Council went ahead tonight so that we are on a firm footing – not just to continue with our response to the pandemic but beyond this, as we look ahead to the future and the work that is needed to create the conditions in which Rutland families, communities and businesses can continue to thrive."

Following the appointments made at Annual Council, Members were asked to agree a proposed schedule of meetings for the next 12 months, including future dates for Full Council, Cabinet and other statutory Committees.

Members also voted to approve Mark Andrews as Rutland County Council's Interim Chief Executive Officer for a period of 12 months, following confirmation that current Chief Executive Helen Briggs will retire from her role at the end of July.

Mr Andrews has been part of the Council's Strategic Management Team since 2015. He was appointed as the Council's Strategic Director for People Services in January of last year and is also Deputy Chief Executive.

Full details of all appointments from the Annual Council meeting, including all Chairs of Committees, will be published on the Council's website. Dates for public meetings will also be available online at: www.rutland.gov.uk/meetings.

Notes:

Full details of Cabinet roles and responsibilities are confirmed below:

Oliver Hemsley

Leader, Rutland One Public Estate & Growth, Tourism & Economic Development, Communications, Resources (other than finance)

Gordon Brown

Deputy Leader, Regulatory Services, Waste Management, Planning Policy and Operations, Property Services, Finance including Revenues & Benefits & Internal Audit

Lucy Stephenson

Culture and Leisure, Highways and Transportation

Alan Walters

Safeguarding – Adults, Public Health, Health Commissioning, Community Safety & Road Safety

David Wilby

Lifelong Learning, Early Years, Special Educational Needs & Disabilities, Inclusion Safeguarding-Children & Young People