THIS last week has seen two of my South East Cornwall Liberal Democrat colleagues take up their roles in the Cabinet of Cornwall Council. After spending time together discussing their priorities and a period spent assessing their skills, experience and strengths, each Cabinet member was allotted a Portfolio.

Previous chair of Cornwall Council, Hilary Frank, elected as councillor for Saltash Essa for a third term, brings her enormous experience to the portfolio for Children, Families and Schools. Her role is to enhance the Council's corporate role in protecting and championing children’s rights and to promote opportunity for all children in Cornwall. Hilary will lead on budget, policy formulation and implementation of children’s rights and involvement of young people in decision making, children’s social care, children’s safeguarding, early intervention services for vulnerable children and early years provision including health visiting. She will oversee schools, special educational needs provision, transitions for disabled young people, youth offending, universal youth provision and post 16 employment and training. She will also work in partnership with the Health and Wellbeing Board to achieve better outcomes for children and families and lead on budget and policy development and implementation in relation to capital investment in schools’ infrastructure.

Meanwhile Sarah Preece, councillor for Lostwithiel and Lanreath, brings fresh eyes to local government and a wealth of experience from strategic leadership roles to the portfolio for Tourism, Localism and Planning. Sarah will lead on budget, policy formation and implementation of the visitor economy, leisure services, cultural services, libraries and Cornish language; build relationships across the Community Area Partnerships, Town and Parish Councils, Registrars and the voluntary and third sector; enhance social inclusion, digital inclusion, employability and welfare; develop Neighbourhood Plans, the new Local Plan and associated local planning guidance and work with the Development Control Service and Planning Enforcement. Sarah will be a member of the Cornish National Minority and Tate St Ives Working Groups.

I will be serving on the Audit Committee, which scrutinises the methods used by officers to manage the accounts and carry out the internal audit for Cornwall Council. I will sit on the Planning East Committee, which deals with applications for approximately a third of the Duchy. Less than two per cent of planning decisions are made by committee as most can be delegated to officers. However, those that are contentious or which fail to comply with the National, Local or Neighbourhood Development Plans come to committee for scrutiny and decision. I will also be serving on the two Joint Committees – the Tamar Crossings Committee, which manages the finances of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Service, and Mount Edgcumbe Committee, responsible for the House and Country Park, both of which are a shared responsibility between Cornwall Council and Plymouth City Council.

We are going to be busy undertaking these roles and supporting the residents of our divisions, but we are hard-working individuals, a strong team and passionate about Cornwall and we will dedicate our efforts to the betterment of our community in every way possible.