A fresh line up of leading councillors have been revealed by Rutland County Council.

The changes follow appointments which were made at the council's Annual Council Meeting last night.

The meeting was the first 'in person' meeting held by the county council since the start of the pandemic and took place at the Rutland County Museum, while the council offices are being used for vaccinations.

The meeting appointed a new Chairman for the current Council year (2021/22), as well as agreeing a number of important posts on various committees.

Cllr Jeff Dale (Independent) was elected to serve as the Council's Chairman. Cllr Nick Begy (Conservative) was chosen to continue as Vice-Chair.

A number of changes to Cabinet roles were also confirmed.

Cllr Ian Razzell joined the Council's Cabinet as Portfolio Holder for Planning.

Responsibility for Culture and Leisure services moved from Cllr Lucy Stephenson to Cllr Alan Walters.

Cllr Karen Payne's portfolio expanded to include Governance and Performance.

Cllr Oliver Hemsley, Leader of Rutland County Council, said: "We need to be open and upfront about the fact that we're entering a really challenging period.

"Although the UK is starting to emerge from COVID, there is still lots we need to do to carry on supporting people and businesses affected by the pandemic.

"Equally, councils are at a tipping point in terms of finances. Urgent calls for more funding from central government have been largely ignored, meaning councils that have already made huge cuts are having to find even more savings.

"We've seen in recent weeks what this could mean for some of Rutland's local services and it's not the position we want to be in."

Coun Hemsley continued: "The size of this challenge is matched only by our determination to make sure Rutland remains a happy and prosperous place to live, with opportunities for people at every stage of life.

"The ongoing Future Rutland Conversation will provide the basis for a new vision for Rutland – one that will help us to make plans and take any difficult decisions based on what's most important to local people. Annual Council is about creating the right structure to make all this possible."

Appointments for Councillors to chair individual Scrutiny Committees were also made at Annual Council, as follows:

Cllr Samantha Harvey (Conservative) – Adults and Health Scrutiny Committee

Cllr Paul Ainsley (Conservative) – Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

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

Scrutiny is an important function of the Council and involves holding Cabinet and Committees to account – looking at how services are provided, and reviewing and developing policies.

In a further change, the Council's Planning and Licensing Committee will be chaired by Cllr Edward Baines (Conservative).

Cllr Rosemary Powell (Independent) will continue in her role as Chair of the Council's Audit and Risk Committee.

Following the appointments made at Annual Council, Members were asked to agree an indicative schedule of meetings for the next 12 months, including dates for future Full Council and Cabinet sessions.

Full details of public meetings and all appointments from the Annual Council meeting will be published online.

Once published, the dates for public meetings can be viewed at: www.rutland.gov.uk/meetings.