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- Council services – who does what
- Chairman of Council
- Epping Forest Youth Council
- How we make decisions
- Constitution
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- Comments, compliments and complaints
- Policies, plans and strategies
- Pay a council bill
- Our customer promise
- Qualis Group
How we make decisions
Learn about decision making, including council meetings, the cabinet and our constitution. For full details of our decision making process view our constitution.
The Cabinet
At Epping Forest District Council, the Leader of Council leads the council with the support of the Cabinet, appointed by the Leader to manage a portfolio of services.
The Cabinet (also known as the Executive) is made up of 9 councillors. It makes many of the decisions relating to how Epping Forest District Council is run, working within its financial and policy guidelines.
The Cabinet is the Council’s main decision-making body and is responsible for strategic policy-making and budget setting. Routine decisions are taken by individual Cabinet Members acting under their delegated powers, rather than at Cabinet meetings.
Cabinet 2025 to 2026
| Portfolio | Portfolio holder 2025 to 2026 |
|---|---|
| Leader | Councillor Chris Whitbread |
| Contracts delivery and deputy leader | Councillor Ray Balcombe |
| Finance and economic development | Councillor Holly Whitbread |
| Shaping our district | Councillor Ken Williamson |
| Commercial and estates | Councillor Tim Matthews |
| Housing | Councillor Smruti Patel |
| Community, health and wellbeing | Councillor Kaz Rizvi |
| Regulatory services | Councillor Paul Keska |
Portfolio responsibilities
Chairman of the cabinet, Signatory for decisions taken in absence of other portfolio holders or where they have a material (disclosable or personal interest), co-ordination of cabinet business.
- Corporate change lead
- Corporate objectives
- Performance improvement
- Performance indicators and plans
Representation of the council across established forums and meetings.
Liaison with the chief executive, strategic directors, and leadership team.
Audit (including Corporate Fraud).
- Devolution
- Shared services
- North Essex Council Board
- Strategic partnerships
Transformation and shared services opportunities.
Democratic Services including:
- Elections
- Civic and member services
- Legal services
- Data protection
- Freedom of information
- Business support (including land charges)
Responsibility to give regular reports on the council’s major external contracts within the contract service, review and monitor for delivery, performance, service improvement and customer satisfaction including the following contracts:
- Waste and recycling, including Terra Verde Services Ltd board observer
- Leisure management
- Qualis board observer
- Customer services
- Compliments and complaints
- Improving customer services
Improving the commercial offer to town and parish councils – with the commercial and estates
portfolio holder.
- Accountancy
- Treasury management
- Accounts payable
- Revenues and benefits
- Accounts receivable
- Insurance and risk
- Debt recovery
- Cashier services
Economic development and business champion – Promoting business, investment and High Streets.
- Internal communications
- External communications (including website and public consultation)
- ICT and digital delivery
- People team
Responsibility for the place fund in conjunction with the whole cabinet.
- Local plan implementation, review and improving communication
- Planning policy (including masterplanning)
- Tree preservation
- Landscape
- Built heritage
- Conservation
Improving local infrastructure through large-scale S106 and CIL agreements.
- Climate change
- Sustainable transport
Car parking on street (NEPP) and off street – in partnership with the commercial and estates, and finance and economic development portfolio holders.
- Harlow and Gilston Garden Town liaison / joint committee
- Local masterplans
- Estates and valuation
- North Weald Airfield (landlord and airside)
- Commercial property
- Asset management (including North Weald Airfield assets)
Qualis client side (working with the contracts portfolio holder).
Improving the commercial offer to town and parish councils – with the contracts delivery portfolio holder.
Matters relating to those services within the housing and property service as follows:
- Housing management
- Housing options
- Older people’s housing
- Home ownership
- Housing repairs
- Housing assets
- Housing development
- Social cohesion
- Facilities management
- Depot management
Qualis repairs service – performance (in partnership with the contracts delivery portfolio holder).
- Community development
- Grant aid
- Youth council
- Young people
- EFDC health and wellbeing agenda
- Voluntary sector champion
Matters relating to those services within development management and planning enforcement, including building control.
Matters relating to those services within environmental protection including:
- Land drainage
- Flood risk
- Contaminated land
- CountryCare
- Highway rangers
- Highways liaison
- Tree team
- Fleet operations
- Licensing
- Environmental health
- Food safety, external health and safety and air quality
Private sector housing including:
- Disabled facility grants
- Community resilience including the community safety partnership and safeguarding
Full Council
Full Council is made up of the 54 elected councillors that represent the Epping Forest district.
Full Council is responsible for:
- Adoption of and changes to the constitution
- Approval of, adoption of and revisions to the policy framework and the budget
(The budget includes the allocation of financial resources to different services and projects, proposed contingency funds, the Council Tax base, setting the Council Tax and decisions relating to the control of the council’s borrowing requirement, the control of its capital expenditure and the setting of virement limits) - Adoption of plans and strategies including the community plan / strategy, capital strategy, and other plans which it decides, as a matter of local choice, should be the responsibility of the council to adopt
- Election / appointment of the chairman and vice-chairman of council, the Leader and members of the Cabinet, members of committees and sub committees
- Agreeing and amending the terms of reference for committees, deciding on their composition and making appointments to them
- Appointing representatives to outside bodies
- Adoption of the code of conduct
- Adopting an allowances scheme
- Confirming the appointment or dismissal of the head of paid service
- Making, amending, revoking, re-enacting or adopting bylaws and promoting or opposing the making of local legislation or personal bills
- Inviting contributions from relevant community groups or representatives
- Agreeing and supporting the community engagement activities
Committees and panels
There are a number of other committees and panels where councillors take decisions, each focusing on a specific council function. The committees consider issues in detail at scheduled meetings, and then decisions or recommendations are made to the Cabinet or to the Full Council.
Decisions
View decisions that have been taken, Search by date, decision maker or decision status.
Forward plan of decisions
The forward plan is a list of key decisions made over the foreseeable future. By law the Cabinet must give at least 28 days notice before making a key decision.
Delegated decisions
Certain officers of the council are empowered under the council’s constitution to make certain decisions which are recorded here to ensure openness and transparency in the council’s decision making.
The decisions registered here do not include executive decisions taken under the statutory executive decision making process.