Barnet LBC members have voted to change governance structures and move from a cabinet to a committee system, it has emerged.

The decision to abandon the model of an executive with a leader, cabinet and scrutiny committees after 13 years was passed at a meeting of full council on  21 January.

Explaining the decision, Barnet leader Cllr Richard Corneilus said the borough had made great strides in recent years cutting millions of pounds of costs with two key contracts signed with business provider Capita.

‘However, we are only half way through a decade of challenge,' Cllr Cornelius said.

‘The council is committed to  dealing with these challenges as openly as possible and a think a move to the committee system allows us to do just that,' he added.

Cllr Cornelius said a committee system would allow policies to be debated by all councillors as they took shape, permit alternative proposals to be aired openly and give community groups the chance to send written submissions at the earliest date.

‘These reforms should be seen in the context of a wider policy of transparency,' he added.

‘We have published our key contracts online, we publish performance and risk information as a matter of course and even publish all of the critical comments about customer performance online.'