Newham is one of only a handful of boroughs to have a directly elected Mayor. Accordingly the Mayor, with his direct mandate from local residents, has very substantial powers. The current Mayor is Sir Robin Wales who will remain Mayor until 2006.

See Mayor for more information about the Mayor. See Mayor and Executive for more information onhow the Mayor makes decisions and the role of his Cabinet and Mayoral Advisers and their portfolios.

Decision Making

The Council introduced a Mayor and Cabinet style of governance. These new governance arrangements:

• separate the different roles that Councillors have:

• Advising the Mayor (Executive)
• Scrutinising the work of the Executive
• Representing their wards and local communities

• provide positive steps, such as through Community Forums, to encourage the people of Newham to actively participate in the running of the Council in line with the aims of the Council’s vision;

• enhance the public's understanding of the work of the Council and ensure better provision of services to the people of the borough.

The Council has a constitution which details how decisions are made.

In summary, the structure includes:

• Council ("Full Council")
• Mayoral Proceedings and Cabinet meetings, where the Mayor makes his decisions
• Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Scrutiny Commissions
• Local Strategic Partnership
• Committees, including the Development Control and Licensing Committee which deals with planning applications

You can look at all the agenda and minutes of these meetings and search them by keyword. You can find out which councillors sit on council bodies and when the meetings take place in the Calendar.