Slough Borough Council has approved a major reshuffle of its committees following months of political changes, although one councillor criticised how appointments were made.
The authority has experienced a series of leadership changes and councillor resignations this year. Former council leader Dexter Smith stepped down in April and was replaced by Wal Chahal in May.
The leadership change was followed by a cabinet reshuffle, which saw Iftakhar Ahmed appointed as lead member for housing, homelessness and communities.
Former housing lead Robert Stedmond also resigned in April, leading to a by-election in Cippenham Green in June.
The by-election resulted in Chloe Hart becoming Slough’s first Green Party cllr.
Following the election, the council was required to review the political balance of its committees, with committee seats expected to broadly reflect the number of councillors held by each political group.
The changes were agreed during a full council meeting on July 30.
As part of the reshuffle, Paul Kelly and Subhash Mohindra stepped down from the Corporate Improvement Scrutiny Committee.
They will be replaced by Cllr Hart and Independent cllr Chandra Muvvala.
Labour cllr Maroof Mohammad was also appointed to the committee.
Under the council’s political balance calculations, the additional seat would normally have gone to the Conservatives, meaning Cllr Mohammad’s appointment required approval by the full council.
Further committee changes saw Cllr Kelly leave the Planning Committee, with Cllr Iftakhar Ahmed taking his place.
He will also join the Investigating and Disciplinary Committee, replacing Conservative councillor Dhruv Tomar.
Cllr Tomar also stepped down from the Audit and Corporate Governance Committee alongside Cllr Muvvala. They will be replaced by Cllr Mohindra and Liberal Democrat councillor Naveeda Qasseem.
As Cllr Qasseem’s appointment also altered the normal political balance, councillors were required to approve it during the meeting.
Cllr Tomar also resigned from the Employment Committee, Corporate Parenting Panel and his role as chair of the Trustee Committee.
That position will now be held by Conservative cllr Neel Rana.
Addressing the council, Cllr Tomar said stepping down as trustee committee chair had been his own decision.
He said he had served on almost 15 committees, panels and outside bodies over the past municipal year and wanted to focus more of his time on supporting residents in his ward.
“The time has come for me to spend less time sitting in committee rooms and more time where I believe councillors make the biggest difference – meeting residents, dealing with casework, visiting estates and helping people face to face,” he said.
However, he also criticised the way committee appointments had been made.
“Looking at the appointments made over the last few months, it is difficult not to conclude that effort and commitment are not always what is rewarded,” Cllr Tomar told councillors.
He argued that while some members had carried significant committee workloads, others with fewer responsibilities had been given new appointments.
