By Richard Youle
Copyright walesonline
Two councillors have been appointed to Swansea Council’s cabinet in the second job share of its kind. Clls Rebecca Forgarty and Andrew Williams will share the new post of corporate services in a mini-reshuffle. Cllr Fogarty will oversee the mayoralty, civic functions and commercial services among other duties. Cllr Williams will look after planning, public protection, performance monitoring, customer services and licensing. Labour leader of the council Rob Stewart said the move came following the announcement that Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, who has the investment, regeneration, events and tourism brief, is taking a leave of absence due to ill-health. “We all want to wish Cllr Francis-Davies a speedy recovery during his temporary leave of absence,” said Cllr Stewart. “In the meantime I want to welcome Cllr Fogarty and Cllr Williams to their new roles. By introducing a second job share post, we are embracing new ways of working that support cabinet members and ensure the we remain resilient and responsive to the needs of our residents.” Two councillors, Hayley Gwilliam and Cyril Anderson, already share a cabinet post overseeing community services and support. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here In other changes Cllr David Hopkins, cabinet member for delivery, will take responsibility for parks and sports development as well as inward investment alongside his existing portfolio which includes health and safety and building control. Cllr Andrea Williams, cabinet member for service transformation, will now be responsible for residential inward investment and strategic housing delivery on top of her current role. Both she and Cllr Hopkins remain as joint deputy council leaders. The mini-reshuffle also means Cllr Stewart will work alongside Cllr Hopkins and Cllr Elliott King, cabinet member for culture, human tights and equalities, in areas such as tourism and regeneration – activities previously overseen by Cllr Francis-Davies. Meanwhile Cllr Andrew Stevens, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, will take over responsibility for electric vehicle infrastructure and sports development while working alongside the leader and Cllr Hopkins on community regeneration and suburban centres. Cllr Stewart added: “We’ve reshaped the cabinet and brought two new members on board to make sure we remain focused on our residents’ priorities, delivering the services that touch their lives every day.”
