A new law ends Sutton's committee system, in place since 2012. A cabinet takes over in May 2027, and the council has until 29 June 2027 to make the switch.
Sutton Council will have to give up the way it has made decisions since 2012. A new national law requires it to move from a committee system to a leader and cabinet model. The target is to go live at the annual council meeting in May 2027.
The plan goes to the Strategy and Resources Committee on Monday 5 October (committee report, agenda item 14). Councillors are asked to approve how the change will be managed and the principles behind it.
Why Sutton has no choice
The council voted in January 2026 to carry on with its committee system. The law then changed underneath it.
Schedule 29 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 requires councils running a committee system to move to a leader and cabinet model within a year. The report says the switch “happens automatically by duty without requiring a local council resolution or a public referendum”. Sutton’s deadline is 29 June 2027.
Missing it “could result in central government intervention, reputational damage and loss of local control”, the report warns.
What changes
Under the committee system, decisions are taken by cross-party committees such as Strategy and Resources or the People Committee. A cabinet model puts executive decisions with a smaller group led by the council leader.
The law fixes some features. The report lists:
- limits on the size and make-up of the cabinet
- a forward plan and rules on access to information
- at least one overview and scrutiny committee, able to “call in” decisions
Everything else is for Sutton to decide.
The principles councillors have drawn up
Officers met each political group on the council separately to agree what the new system should keep. Eight principles came out of those talks. Among them:
- Collective ownership. Strategic decisions should be shared, “without delegation to individual councillors, unless in exceptional circumstances”.
- Opposition involvement. Challenge “should involve opposition councillors on a cross party basis”, possibly through scrutiny before decisions are made.
- Public participation that is “genuine”, so residents know their input counts.
- No extra cost. The new model should run within current budgets.
The first of those matters most. In other words, the groups want decisions taken by the cabinet as a whole, not by individual members acting alone.
The finance comment adds a caveat. Elements of the budget “are likely to be adjusted to reflect the different roles and responsibilities” in the new system. The report does not say which.
The timetable
- October to December 2026: sessions with each political group on the design of the cabinet, scrutiny, councillors’ roles and resident engagement
- 16 February 2027: Strategy and Resources Committee considers the final proposals
- 2 March 2027: full council agrees the model and a new constitution
- May 2027: the cabinet system goes live at the annual council meeting
The April 2027 council meeting is held in reserve in case the March date slips. A cross-party working group will handle any parts of the constitution where the groups do not agree.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. Committees keep making decisions until May 2027.
- Your local committee’s future is not settled. The report does not mention the borough’s local committees, such as the Carshalton and Clockhouse or Sutton South, Cheam and Belmont committees. How residents take part is one of the areas the groups will discuss.
- Watch the February papers. The detailed design, including how many cabinet members there will be and how scrutiny works, is due at the 16 February 2027 meeting.
The committee meets at 7pm on Monday 5 October at the Civic Offices, St Nicholas Way (meeting papers). The same meeting considers the council’s £36.5m budget gap to 2030 and the debt left by Throwley Yard’s former operator.
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