Executive members

The Executive carries out functions that are not the responsibility of any other part of the council.

After the Leader has been appointed, they appoint the Deputy Leader. In consultation, they also appoint Executive Members who are allocated certain areas of responsibility, known as a portfolio.

Assistant Executive Members may also be appointed by the Leader in consultation with the Deputy Leader. Their role is to support an Executive Member or Executive Members in carrying out their duties, but they have no decision making powers.

Executive members

Portfolio responsibilities

Leader – Cllr Mike Bell

  • External liaison including strategic partnerships, Local Enterprise Partnership, North Somerset Partnership, Joint Executive Committee (WECA and North Somerset Council),
  • Strategic policy/corporate plan development, forward programme and strategic review
  • Strategic communications
  • Community engagement and consultation
  • Finance 
    • Revenue budget including revenues and benefits
    • Capital programme including major projects (Banwell Bypass & MetroWest/Portishead Rail)
    • Income generation
  • Corporate services

Deputy Leader and Children’s services, families, and lifelong learning - Cllr Catherine Gibbons

  • Children and young people’s services
    • Early help and family hubs
    • Family support
    • Safeguarding
    • Children in care
    • Adoption and fostering services
    • Care experienced young people
    • Corporate parenting
    • Youth offending service
  • Displaced Foreign Nationals
  • Cost of living crisis response
  • Education
    • Early years settings
    • Special educational needs and disabilities (education)
    • School place planning and admissions
    • Links with local HE and FE institutions
    • Links with schools and multi academy trusts
    • Elective home education
    • Children's licences and permits
  • Skills
    • Skills strategy
    • Careers advice
    • Community learning

Climate, waste and sustainability – Cllr Annemieke Waite

  • Delivery of Strategic Asset Management Plan including:
    • Decarbonisation of North Somerset Council assets
    • Accommodation strategy project delivery
    • Corporate estate operational management
    • Strategic asset planning
    • Green energy
  • Climate emergency
  • Ecological emergency
  • Marine environment conservation
  • Flood risk management
  • Green infrastructure strategy
  • Environmental services
    • Recycling and waste minimisation
    • Waste and street cleansing contracts

Homes and health – Cllr Jenna Ho Marris

  • Green homes
  • Housing development programme delivery 
  • Affordable housing delivery
  • Homelessness and rough sleeper support
  • Housing solutions
  • Private sector housing
  • Alliance Homes liaison
  • Equalities and diversity
  • Public health
    • Health and Wellbeing Board and Strategy
    • Integrated Care System and Locality Partnerships
    • Health improvement 
    • Health protection
    • Health and care services 

Highways and transport – Cllr Hannah Young

  • Highways operations
    • Highway network management
    • Highway maintenance contracts
    • Streetlighting
  • Highway technical services and delivery
    • Liveable neighbourhood schemes
    • Active travel schemes
    • Highway structures
  • Strategic transport
    • Transport policy
    • Transport decarbonisation including BSIP delivery
    • Public transport
    • Home to school transport
    • Bus and rail strategy
  • Parking strategy including parking operational management

Adult services and stronger communities – Cllr Roger Whitfield

  • Reablement and technology enabled care
  • Care reforms
  • Early intervention and prevention
  • Integrated commissioning
  • Domiciliary, residential and nursing care
  • Social work and occupational therapy
  • Customer services
  • Town and parish liaison
  • North Somerset Together
  • Voluntary sector liaison

Safety in the community – Cllr James Clayton

  • Regulatory services
    • Trading standards
    • Food and commercial health and safety
    • Environmental protection
    • Licensing
  • Emergency management
  • CCTV
  • Community safety
    • Night-time economy
    • Safety of women and girls
    • Public Space Protection Orders
  • Liaison with police and fire services
  • Resilience Forum
  • Unauthorised encampments strategy

Spatial planning, placemaking and economy – Cllr Mark Canniford

  • Placemaking delivery
  • Visitor economy development
  • Development and commercial programme
  • Planning policy
  • Heritage and design
  • Spatial planning
  • Building control
  • Resilient economy
    • Employment
    • Local economy
  • High street and town centre renewal, including Sovereign
  • Birnbeck Pier project
  • Grove Park, High Street and wayfinding levelling up projects

Culture and Leisure – Cllr Mike Solomon

  • Culture strategy and relationships with key partners including Arts Council England and Super Culture
  • Heritage Action Zones
  • Weston Hillfort project
  • Libraries
  • Community venues
  • Enabling events 
  • Sports and leisure strategy
  • Seafronts, parks and lakes operational management, and investment including Marine Lake and Tropicana
  • Concessions
  • Crematoria and cemeteries