Suffolk County Council

Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.

For Boy Scout Council in New York, see Suffolk County Council (Boy Scouts of America).

Suffolk County Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Chair of the Council
Cllr James Finch, Conservative
since 23 May 2019
Leader of the Council
Cllr Matthew Hicks, Conservative
since 24 May 2018
Chief executive
Nicola Beach
since May 2018
Structure
Seats75 (38 needed for a majority)
Political groups
Administration
  Conservative Party (50)
Other parties
  Labour Party (11)
  Liberal Democrat (5)
  Independent (5)
  Green Party (3)
  West Suffolk Independents (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
4 May 2017
Next election
7 May 2021
Meeting place
Endeavour House
Ipswich
Suffolk
United Kingdom
Website
www.suffolk.gov.uk

History

Established in 1974 and initially based at East Suffolk County Hall, the Council relocated to Endeavour House in Ipswich in 2004.[1] In September 2010, the council announced that it would seek to outsource a number of its services, in an attempt to cut its own budget by 30%.[2] Controversy surrounding the then CEO Andrea Hill, some concerning including £122,000 spent on management consultants, featured in the local and national press in 2011;[3] this led to her facing a disciplinary hearing, and subsequently resigning.[4]

Structure of the County Council

The County Council is led by its CEO Nicola Beach, who has been in this role since May 2018.[5]

The Council is split into 5 distinct areas known as directorates.[6] Each directorate has responsibility for a range of services and statutory requirements.

Directorates Directors
Adult and Community Services (ACS) Director Sue Cook
Corporate Services (CS) Director Chris Bally
Fire and Public Safety (FPS) Director Mark Hardingham
Growth, Highways and Infrastructure (GHI) Director Mark Ash
Health, Wellbeing and Children’s Services (HWC) Director Allan Cadzow

Responsibilities

Suffolk County Council is responsible for major services which are provided countywide. These include:

  • Education and learning: schools, evening classes for adults, youth clubs and higher education grants.
  • Environment: conservation of the countryside and public access to it, waste disposal and archaeological services.
  • Leisure and culture: archives and support for arts and museums.
  • Public safety: fire rescue service and emergency planning advice.
  • Registrars: registration of births, marriages and deaths.
  • Social care: care for older people who are physically or mentally infirm, or have a mental health problem, those with physical or learning disabilities and children and families who need protection and support.
  • Trading standards: protecting consumers and giving advice.
  • Transport and streets: maintaining and improving Suffolk's roads, footpaths and public rights of way, road safety, public transport co-ordination.

Shared services

Responsibility for some services is shared between the county council and borough, district and parish councils in Suffolk, including:

  • Conservation
  • Economic promotion
  • Emergency planning
  • Museums and the arts
  • Public transport
  • Street cleaning
  • Tourism

Suffolk Electoral Divisions
Main article: List of electoral wards in Suffolk § County Council

Suffolk County Council is organised into Electoral Divisions. These divisions are periodically reviewed. As of 2018, there were 63 divisions of which 51 each returned a single member, a further 12 divisions each being represented by two members.[7]

District No. Division Councillor
Babergh District 1 Belstead Brook Christopher Hudson
2 Cosford Robert Lindsay
3 Great Cornard Peter Beer
4 Hadleigh Mick Fraser
5 Melford Richard Kemp
6 Peninsula David Wood
7 Samford Gordon Jones
8 Stour Valley James Finch
9 Sudbury Jack Owen
10 Sudbury East and Waldingfield Colin Spence
Ipswich Borough Council 16 Bixley Paul West
17 Bridge Jack Abbott
18 Chantry Helen Armitage
Peter Gardiner
19 Gainsborough Kim Clements
20 Priory Heath Bill Quinton
21 Rushmere Sandra Gage
22 St Helen's Mandy Gaylard
23 St John's Sarah Adams
24 St Margaret's and Westgate Chris Chambers
Inga Lockington
25 Whitehouse and Whitton Kathy Bole
David Goldsmithh
East Suffolk District 45 Aldeburgh and Leiston Russ Rainger
46 Blything Richard Smith
47 Carlford Vacant
48 Felixstowe Coastal Steve Wiles
Graham Newman
49 Felixstowe North and Trimley Stuart Bird
50 Framlingham Stephen Burroughes
51 Kesgrave and Rushmere St Andrew Stuart Lawson
Robert Whiting
52 Martlesham Patricia O’Brien
53 Wickham Alexander Nicoll
54 Wilford Andrew Reid
55 Woodbridge Caroline Page
56 Beccles Mark Bee
Elfrede Bramley-Crawshaw
57 Bungay Peter Beer
58 Gunton Steve Ardley
Keith Patience
59 Halesworth Tony Goldson
60 Kessingland and Southwold Michael Ladd
61 Lowestoft South Jenny Ceresa
Jamie Starling
62 Oulton James Reeder
Keith Robinson
63 Pakefield Craig Rivett
Melanie Vigo di Gallidoro
West Suffolk District 11 Brandon Victor Lukaniuk
12 Exning and Newmarket Rachel Hood
13 Mildenhall Louis Busuttil
14 Newmarket and Red Lodge Andy Drummond
15 Row Heath Colin Noble
36 Blackbourn Joanna Spicer
37 Clare Mary Evans
38 Eastgate and Moreton Hall Trevor Beckwith
39 Harwick Richard Rout
40 Haverhill Cangle Paula Fox
Quillon Fox
41 Haverhill East and Kedington David Roach
42 Thingoe North Beccy Hopfensperger
43 Thingoe South Karen Soons
44 Tower Robert Everitt
David Nettleton

Elections

There are currently 75 Councillors elected to SCC. The council is run by the Conservative party. The Conservatives hold 52 seats on the Council, Labour 11, Liberal Democrats 5, Independents 3, Greens 3 and West Suffolk Independents 1.

These last elections were held in May 2017.

Previous elections include:

References
  1. Noble, Jason (27 December 2018). "New plans revealed for former County Hall in Ipswich". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 25 August 2020. The historic former County Hall offices in St Helen’s Street have been unoccupied since Suffolk County Council moved out in 2004 to Endeavour House.
  2. "Suffolk County Council to outsource most services". BBC News. 23 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  3. Private Eye
  4. "Council chief Andrea Hill quits Suffolk Council". BBC News. 6 July 2011.
  5. "Chief Executive Officer". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  6. "Directorates". Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  7. "Electoral Divisions – Key to Map" (PDF). www.suffolk.gov.uk. Suffolk County Council. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
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