Council's committee system to be scrapped

A little more than a year after it was introduced, Bristol City Council has been ordered to scrap its committee system by the government, which called the approach "wasteful".

At present, councillors in Bristol sit together on committees to make decisions on everything from transport and housing, to adult social care and education.

The system was set up after the city voted to ditch its mayoral model in a referendum.

But most councils in England operate under a cabinet system - where a council leader and their ruling cabinet makes decisions, and the government has told Bristol it must now switch to this method.

In a statement, local government minister Jim McMahon said legislation would be put before Parliament which would force Bristol and others to switch to having cabinets.

He condemned the committee system as "unclear, duplicative, and wasteful" and said it lead to "slower, less efficient decision-making".

The government announcement comes a little more than a year after the Bristol mayor role was scrapped..

Instead, voters opted for a committee system. While this latest change would not see the return of a city mayor, it would see decisions once again made by a cabinet.

The change, which is likely to be introduced in 2027, has provoked a bitter debate between the different parties on Bristol City Council.

There has been angry condemnation from the two parties who share power on the council.

The council's deputy leader Heather Mack, a Green Party councillor, described the change as "undemocratic and clueless".

"I'm shocked that they [the government] would do that when we have had a clear message from the public in Bristol that they wanted this committee system," she added.

The Liberal Democrats, who work alongside the Greens, accused Labour locally of "playing political games".

Liberal Democrat councillor Caroline Gooch said: "Being forced to waste precious time and resource on changing the governance structure is the last thing we need."

But Labour's group leader in Bristol, Tom Renhard, described the current committee system as "nothing short of shambolic".

He said it was "a failed experiment that resulted in a total lack of political direction, back-room deals, and zero accountability".

The change will require legislation to go through Parliament before Bristol moves from committees to a cabinet.

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