Democracy - How EHDC works

How East Hampshire District Council works

EHDC offices East Hampshire District Council is made up of 44 councillors elected every four years. Councillors are democratically accountable to the residents of their ward. The overriding duty of councillors is to the whole community, but they have a special duty to their constituents, including those who did not vote for them.

All councillors meet together for full council meetings six times a year. These are held in public, and are used to decide the council's overall policies and set the budget each year.

Chairman of EHDC

The first council meeting of the year (held in May) is devoted largely to appointing the Council Chairman (currently Cllr Mrs Judy Onslow) and Vice Chairman (Cllr Allan Chick) and agreeing membership of committees and council representatives on outside bodies.

Political Composition

The current political composition of the council is:
Conservatives - 31
Liberal Democrats - 13

How decisions are made

EHDC runs on a 'Leader and Cabinet' model. This works in the same way as the Prime Minister and Cabinet but on a local scale. The political party which has had the most councillors elected by the public forms the cabinet, and elects one of its members as the Leader.

This model was adopted in East Hampshire after the Local Government Act 2000. Following consultation with local people, 84% of respondents felt EHDC should introduce a Leader and Cabinet model, and it was adopted in June 2001.

Cabinet

The Cabinet makes collected policy decisions for the council. Each Cabinet Member is responsible for an area of the Council's work, known as portfolios. The current portfolio holders are:

Leader - Cllr David Parkinson
Deputy leader - Cllr Patrick Burridge
Economic Development - Cllr Richard Millard
Bordon , Whitehill and Alton - Cllr Andrew Joy
Finance, Assets and Southern Parishes - Cllr Ken Moon
Housing and Climate Change - Cllr Elizabeth Cartwright
Lifestyles and Environment - Cllr Jenny Gray
Communications - Cllr Sam James
Communities - Cllr Julie Butler
Safer and Accessible Services - Cllr Hilary Ayer

The Cabinet will be advised and supported in its policy formulation role by a Panel with a particular area of responsibility and encompassing a broad range of opinion and expertise. In addition it is advised by a number of committees.

The Cabinet has to make decisions which are in line with the council's overall policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy framework, this must be referred to the council as a whole to decide.

Lead Councillors

The Cabinet also appoint Lead Councillors who have specific areas of responsibility.

IT - Cllr R Ayer
Agriculture & Rural Economy - Cllr C J Graham
Overview & Scrutiny - Development Phase - Cllr A J Williams
Overview & Scrutiny - Development Phase - Cllr G B Stacpoole
Overview & Scrutiny - Development Phase - Cllr S Payne
Equality & Diversity - Cllr Mrs E Hope
Whitehill Bordon - Cllr A A Muldoon
Community Forum - Development Phase - Cllr K Carter
Community Forum - Development Phase - Cllr P Drury
Community Forum - Development Phase - Cllr A R Ludlow
Community Forum - Development Phase - Cllr G Watts

Shadow Cabinet

Leader (Cllr Jerry Janes)
Deputy Leader/Economic Development (Cllr Sam Payne)
Planning (Cllr Michael Ashton)
Whitehill and Bordon (Cllr Zoya Faddy)
Communities(Cllr Philip Drury)
Young People & Community Safety (Cllr Ken Graham)
Finance & Assets (Cllr Tony Ludlow)
Housing & Climate Change (Cllr Allan Chick)
Lifestyles & Environment (Cllr Adam Carew)
Communications (Cllr A A Muldoon)

EHDC's Constitution

You can find out a lot more information about how EHDC works by taking a look at our Constitution, which sets out how the council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people.