WHOLE areas of responsibility will shift if plans to alter the Waltham Forest Council structure are approved at special meetings next week.

There will be many fewer committees than at present, making decisions without referring them to the full council.

Under the restructure, when the council meets as a whole, its powers will be restricted to things like setting council taxes, sorting out by-laws and sacking the Chief Executive -- should such a drastic step ever be needed.

The restructuring will be carried out next Thursday at a resources strategy committee at 7.30pm in the town hall, followed at around 8.30pm by a full council. Both are open to the public.

Now that Labour has an overall majority, any opposition to the proposals from the other parties is likely to be futile.

Basically, the aim is to create five full committees with three main sub-committees and a number of other small panels and forums.

The "big five" committees, which have the potential to become immensely powerful, will be:

Policy and resources (absorbing the existing audit and quality, personnel strategy, social justice and resources strategy committees);

Education (taking in all its current sub-committees);

Environment (a combination of land strategy, highways and services, leisure, and safety and public protection);

Housing (as it sounds, but without any of its sub-committees bar the one which sets conditions of tenancy);

Social services (which has to continue by law, with its appeal sub-committee and inspection advisory group intact).

The three main sub-committees named are planning implementation, grants, and direct services, and there will be a variety of itsby-bitsy panels, minor sub-committees and tribunals with specific functions.

Officers will have more power to make decisions which, until now, have been referred to the politicians.

Explaining the proposals in the agenda papers, chief executive Alan Tobias writes: "The new administration wishes to streamline the decision-making processes, attempt to achieve efficiency savings, and free up member time to attend to constituency matters."

He goes on: "We are one of the few boroughs which have (to date) merely given 'referred' powers to committees as opposed to 'delegated' powers.

"The consequence (of referred powers) is that committees are merely a 'rehearsal' to the real decision-making which takes place at council."

Pointing out that committees will become decision-making groups, he goes on: "Theoretically, council could overturn these decisions but, in practice, there could be penalties in law if it did so.

"In future, therefore, council will merely receive committee minutes for noting, although it may comment on how a committee has exercised a delegation."

The meetings next week will also be asked to approve the payment of special responsibility allowances to the chairs of the three main sub-committees as well as those of the five big committees.

The move is "in the light of their new responsibilities and increased workload" and will cost £7,500 a year.

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