Cheshire East Council is set to scrap its current system of decision making and adopt a committee system from 2020.

The motion, which has been backed by councillors, will see the council move away from the ‘leader and cabinet’ model. Instead, decisions would be taken by committees made up of elected members in proportion to their representation at council.

Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of the council, said: ‘It may seem strange that my first act as leader is to give away power – but that is what I intend to do. We need a system of governance that gives more power to backbench councillors. ‘

We will not rush into any changes and the challenge for the constitution committee is to devise a new committee-based system that devolves power down and provides effective decision-making. The results of the constitution committee’s work will then be presented to full council, hopefully within the next year.’

The council hopes the new system will provide greater transparency and accountability around decisions.