Sheffield Green Party Councillors have submitted evidence to Parliament about the Committee System making things better for people in Sheffield .
On 6 May 2021, the people of Sheffield voted by 65% to 35% to require the council to change to a committee system. Now the Labour government has announced it wants to change the law to set the system back to the discredited “Strong Leader” way of running councils. The new governance system came into force in May 2022.
The evidence will inform the Parliamentary debate on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill that is proposing the abolition of the Committee System.
In the evidence, Councillor Douglas Johnson said,
“Abolishing the committee system would directly overturn the clear democratic mandate of the people of Sheffield. Abolishing the committee system is not simply removing powers from the council; it also takes power away from the local community to hold their council to account. In other words, it is not only the opposite of devolution; it is also the opposite of community empowerment.
2. Sheffield is a prime example of the committee system being a success and making things better for the residents of Sheffield.
Dissatisfaction of the people of Sheffield
3. Over time, the people of Sheffield became very dissatisfied with how the council ran things under the Cabinet model, in particular with its disastrous handling of the long-running street trees fiasco. This brought Sheffield into disrepute. The Lowcock Report in the eventual Independent Inquiry into the Street Trees Dispute found that while “a Strong Leader cabinet model with fewer checks and balances arguably gives authority to get things done, it can also, as in this case, enable the wrong things to be done without serious challenge.”
4. The ruling administration of Sheffield City Council never agreed to switch to a committee system. This was people power. Over 26,000 people signed a petition demanding a statutory referendum. On 6 May 2021, the people of Sheffield voted by 65% to 35% to require the council to change to a committee system. The new governance system came into force in May 2022, after a busy 12 months of preparation and configuration of the governance system.
5. The committee should be aware that abolishing the committee system would directly overturn the clear democratic mandate of the people of Sheffield. Abolishing the committee system is not simply removing powers from the local authority; it also takes power away from the local community to hold their council to account. In other words, it is not only the opposite of devolution; it is also the opposite of community empowerment.
6. We endorse the words of the Local Government Association (LGA): “It isn’t right for these democratic decisions to be disregarded. Councils using the committee system should be allowed to retain their governance system until they or their communities choose to move to a leader/cabinet model.”
Our observations of the benefits of the committee system.
7. We know from talking to our residents and our election campaigns that people wanted to see parties working together. They wanted to see an end to secretive decision-making behind closed doors and they wanted to see all the councillors taking responsibility for making decisions, not just a select few.
8. Under the committee system, this has been achieved. Since 2022, the council has made positive steps to improve its overall governance. All committees are cross-party and make timely and effective decisions with the benefit of open discussion.
9. There has been a culture shift, making working conditions better for staff, as well as improving outcomes for residents of the city. Even amongst those who were doubtful of the benefits of the committee system, very few argue for a return to the Cabinet regime.
10. The critical budget-setting process has worked better in Sheffield since the committee system was introduced, avoiding last minute wrangling and hasty deals between the parties. This is because the detail of the budget process is worked through each Committee in the months leading up to the budget, so all councillors are involved. This contrasts with the last budget brought under our Cabinet system where the budget proposal was voted down as the council meeting descended into chaos.
11. We note that none of the councils that have issued section 114 notices have been run under a committee system.
12. It might be said the committee system slows things down. We have proved this is not the case. For instance, Sheffield’s local plan needed reviewing. The previous Cabinet administration failed to make any progress each and every year from 2015 onwards. Once cross-party committees were established, it led to focussed work and a coherent local plan being progressed effectively.
13. The (Labour) leader of the council issued a statement with cross-party support in June 2025, to say,
“Since 2022 Sheffield City Council has been governed using a committee system, chosen by residents in a city-wide referendum.
“Since its implementation, and the publication of the Lowcock Report in 2023, we have been on an improvement journey to listen, change and rebuild trust with the city, a journey which was recognised in our recent nomination for Most Improved Council at the LGC Awards.
“We have worked hard to ensure decision making that reflects the needs of the people of Sheffield, to listen to our residents, and we have embedded the principles of openness, honesty and accountability at the heart of our system of governance.”
14. In July 2025, the council supported a cross-party motion and voted unanimously that the benefits of the Committee System demonstrated in Sheffield include: –
· greater collaboration across political groups in policy formulation and in decision making;
· overcoming party political tribalism and focussing on areas of agreement, not antagonism;
· improving the culture of the Council, with officers and Councillors focusing on what is best for the city;
· all Councillors being involved in the decision-making of the Council, and greater accountability to the electorate; and
· improved outcomes for the residents of Sheffield.
15. The Council also resolved, unanimously, that “it benefits nobody in Sheffield to return to the autocratic, top-down decision-making Cabinet system;” and that “Sheffield benefits from fairer, more representative governance arrangements, and that people expect the Councillors they elect to have a vote on the decisions that affect them.”
We trust the bill committee will find this evidence useful. We also endorse the more detailed evidence given by It’s Our City (EDCEB11) on the “largest citizen-led mobilisation for governance change ever seen in England” and agree with the recommendation to withdraw clause 57.
