Members of the public will soon have the opportunity to quiz Greenwich’s senior councillors in virtual Q and A sessions for the first time ever, in a bid to hear more about what life post-coronavirus could look like for residents.

The make-up of Greenwich’s overhauled cabinet was confirmed at the authority’s first full meeting to be conducted digitally on  Wednesday.

The changes will see Cllr Denise Scott-McDonald take up the post of interim deputy leader as well as cabinet member for economy and skills.

Councillors Sarah Merrill, Matt Morrow, Anthony Okereke and Adel Khaireh join as new cabinet members, while Chris Kirby, Jackie Smith and Miranda Williams remain in the cabinet in updated roles.

After the meeting, leader Dan Thorpe said  publicly-accessible virtual Q and A sessions with cabinet members would be scheduled in the coming weeks to talk about what council services could look like post-lockdown.

“The coronavirus pandemic has touched every aspect of the council’s work, and the new cabinet will help us shape our services as the borough recovers,” he said.

“Businesses will need support to get back on their feet, schools will reopen for children who have been stuck at home for months, our social care services will help vulnerable residents,  and our leisure centres and libraries will reopen. It’s clear that many services will not be the same, and we want residents to tell us how we could do things differently in a post-coronavirus world.”

“So over the next few weeks we’re going to run some virtual Q&A sessions with our cabinet members so that residents can find out more about who they are, and more importantly inform them about their upcoming priorities.”

The council said the Q and As with the leader, deputy leader and cabinet members will be advertised on the council website and social media in due course.

The meeting also saw Nigel Fletcher officially installed as leader of the opposition Tory party, with Charlie Davis his deputy.

Former Deputy Mayor, Cllr Linda Bird, was elected as Mayor, and joining her as Deputy Mayor this year will be Cllr Denise Hyland

Greenwich’s full cabinet is:

  • Cllr Dan Thorpe, Leader
  • Cllr Sizwe James, Environment, Sustainability and Transport
  • Cllr Adel Khaireh, Culture and Communities
  • Cllr Chris Kirby, Finance and Resources
  • Cllr Sarah Merrill, Planning and Regeneration
  • Cllr Matt Morrow, Children and Young People
  • Cllr Anthony Okereke, Housing
  • Cllr Jackie Smith, Community Safety and Enforcement
  • Cllr Miranda Williams, Health and Adult’s Social Care