Last month Cheshire East Council announced that three members of the council had been nominated for national local government awards.
Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of the Council, was in the running for the Leader of the Year prize in the 2015 C'llr Achievement Awards. Councillor Don Stockton, Cabinet member in charge of housing and jobs, was a contender in the Neighbourhood Planner of the Year category and Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member in charge of safeguarding children and adults, is on the shortlist for the Partnership Achievement of the Year award.
As the result of a Freedom of Information Request we can reveal that the nomination to recognise the work of Councillor Michael Jones was suggested independently of Cllr Jones by the Chief Executive, Mike Suarez. It was compiled by a Senior Communications Officer and approved by the Chief Executive.
Cllr Jones was nominated for: securing significant inward investment into the borough, the the healthy position of the Council's finances, leading the reinvention of Cheshire East Council as a strategic commissioning council and driving a demanding agenda of re-organisation, including a complete management restructure and creation of 'Alternative Service Delivery Vehicles' (ASDVs) to deliver local public services more efficiently.
The nomination stated "Cllr Jones' exceptional leadership and committed vision has put Cheshire East on the map. In only three years as leader, he has transformed both the way the council operates and relationships with key partners, re-inventing the organisation and its place in local public service delivery. He has demonstrated again and again a single-minded commitment to put residents first, taking a long-term strategic view over what will benefit the borough – even when this means making challenging decisions in the short-term.
"The borough is already seeing the benefits of this vision, for example, with investment from Bentley Motors and at Alderley Park bio-hub and improvements in education and children's services."
The Leader subsequently withdrew his nomination on Thursday 26th February.
The nomination for Councillor Rachel Bailey was suggested by the Youth Engagement Service Team, compiled by the Head of Cheshire East Engagement Service and approved by the Director of Children's Services. A Principal Planning Officer compiled and submitted the nomination for Councillor Don Stockton on his own volition.
The only cost incurred as a result of these nominations was £253 for travel costs.
The C'llr Awards are organised by the Local Government Information Unit, a think tank which publishes C'llr magazine. It is backed by CCLA, a fund manager for charities, faith organisations, and local authorities. The aim of the awards is to 'honour the hard work of councillors from across the country that often goes unrecognised'.
The winners were selected by a group of judges made up of local government experts and councillors and announced at an Awards Ceremony on Monday 2nd March.
Photo: Councillor Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council.
