Council profile and governance
Elected Mayor and Cabinet
North Tyneside has a directly Elected Mayor and is made up of 20 electoral wards. Each ward has three Elected Members. Full Council comprises the Elected Mayor and all 60 Elected Members. The Elected Mayor and Cabinet form the Council’s Executive. The role of the Elected Mayor is to:
- be the Authority’s principal public spokesperson
- give overall political direction to the Authority
- appoint the Cabinet and Deputy Mayor
- decide on the scheme of delegation for Cabinet functions
- chair meetings of the Cabinet
- represent the Authority on such external executive bodies as the Elected Mayor decides
The table below provides details of Cabinet members and their areas of responsibility:
| Member | Portfolio | Key Areas of Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Councillor Karen Clark | Elected Mayor |
|
| Councillor Carl Johnson | Deputy Mayor |
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| Councillor Anthony McMullen | Cabinet Member responsible for Finance and Resources |
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| Councillor Janet Hunter | Cabinet Member responsible for Adult Social Care |
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| Councillor Steven Phillips | Cabinet Member responsible for Inclusion, Employment and Skills |
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| Councillor Joan Walker | Cabinet Member responsible for Public Health and Wellbeing |
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| Councillor John Harrison | Cabinet Member responsible for Housing |
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| Councillor Sandra Graham | Cabinet Member responsible for the Climate Emergency |
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| Councillor Hannah Johnson | Cabinet Member responsible for the Environment |
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| Councillor Peter Earley | Cabinet Member responsible for Supporting and Protecting Children |
|
Electoral Wards
In 2023 the Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) reviewed North Tyneside to make sure councillors represent a similar number of electors, and that ward arrangements ensure the council works effectively. They recommended that North Tyneside retain 60 councillors and 20 wards, as was the case prior to the review. However, the LGBC recommended that the boundaries of all wards, together with the names of some wards, should change, as set out in this map:
Figure 2: 2024 Ward boundaries
Other Elected Representatives
UK Parliament
Also in 2023 the Boundary Commission for England (BCE) made final recommendations on the future location and boundaries of UK Parliamentary constituencies. This resulted in changes to constituencies covering North Tyneside, which became effective from the July 2024 Parliamentary general election. The geographical area of North Tyneside is now covered by Tynemouth Borough Constituency; part of Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend Borough Constituency; part of Newcastle upon Tyne North Borough Constituency; and part of Cramlington and Killingworth Constituency.
North East Combined Authority
The North of Tyne Combined Authority was abolished in May 2024 and replaced by the North East Combined Authority (NECA). This is Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. The first mayoral election took place on 2 May 2024 and led to the election of Labour’s Kim McGuiness as Mayor.
Each authority is a ‘constituent member’ of the combined authority Cabinet chaired by the North East Mayor. A designated representative from each council (typically the council leader or elected mayor) can vote on all decisions. Representatives from the area’s business board and voluntary sector act as non-voting members of the board. As in other mayoral combined authorities, NECA holds devolved powers over transport, skills, planning and regeneration, and economic development.
Young Mayor
The Elected Young Mayor represents young people locally in North Tyneside and is elected by young people in schools. Any young person aged 11 to 18 (school years 7 to 13) who lives or studies in North Tyneside can stand for the position and all young people in this age group can vote for who they want to represent them. The elected Young Mayor for 2025/26 is Diamond Okoye who has pledged to provide an inclusive environment and opportunities for all students irrespective of race, gender, religion or disability.
The Young Mayor works with North Tyneside Youth Council. This is made up of fifty youth councillors, aged 11 to 18 years old, or up to 25 years for those young people with additional needs. They represent the views and ideas of young people across North Tyneside and meet with elected members and key decision makers.
North Tyneside also has a Member of the UK Youth Parliament (YMP). North Tyneside’s YMP for 2025/26 is Maggie Stead. She has pledged to use spaces within the Borough for regular youth clubs and inclusive, safe socialising.
Senior Leadership Team
The Senior Leadership Team provides strategic, professional and managerial leadership for the Authority. It is made up of a Chief Executive and eight Directors.
| Role | Name | Key Areas of Responsibility (to update) |
|---|---|---|
| Interim Chief Executive | Jackie Laughton |
Leadership within North Tyneside Council Leadership within North of Tyne Combined Authority |
| Director of Adult Services | Eleanor Binks |
Wellbeing and Assessment Health and Social Care Integration Crisis Response and Support Services Care Point, Assessment and Discharge Business and Quality Assurance Whole Life Disability, Gateway and Emergency Duty Team Adult Mental Health Strategy and Transformation Commissioning – Adults |
| Director of Children's Services | Julie Firth |
Children’s Social Care Services Education, Inclusion and Employment Services Children, Young People and Learning Commissioning – Children and Families Fair Access SEND Transformation/Commissioning, Partnerships and Transformation Education and Inclusion Review |
| Interim Director of Corporate Strategy and Customer Services | Haley Hudson |
Policy, Performance and Research Customer Service and Experience Public Service Reform Communications and Marketing Mayor and Cabinet Office Communities and Inclusion |
| Director of Environment | Samantha Dand |
Sport, Leisure and Libraries Environment and Safer Neighborhoods Environmental Sustainability |
| Director of Housing | Peter Mennell |
Property Services Housing Need Housing Management Housing Strategy |
| Director of Public Health | Wendy Burke |
Core Public Health Public Protection, Community Safety and Emergency Planning 0-19 Children’s Public Health Service |
| Director of Regeneration and Economic Development | John Sparkes |
Regeneration Highways and Infrastructure Inclusive Economic Growth Culture Planning |
| Director of Resources | Jon Ritchie |
Governance Finance IT People Team Internal Audit and Risk Legal Strategic Investment and Asset Management incl. Catering and Cleaning and Commercial Services incl. Claims and Insurance |
Strategic Property Group
The Strategic Property Group provides robust governance to all strategic property decisions. The Group makes recommendations to Cabinet about the retention, disposal or development of sites or can authorise decisions through the Officer Delegation Scheme. The Group also oversees receipt of capital receipts, the delivery of key property projects, and ensures a direct connection between retained property assets, the council’s policy priorities and the Estates Strategy.
Investment Programme Board
The Investment Programme Board provides strategic leadership for all of the Authority’s capital project activity. The Board oversees the investment programme, acting as a gateway to inclusion of projects on the investment programme to ensure that funding and resources are in place. It also retains line of sight on the delivery of the programme holding programme and project managers accountable for delivery.
IT Board
The Authority’s IT Board provides strategic guidance, oversight and holds decision-making authority for the successful delivery of IT projects and the Authority’s Digital Strategy. The Board ensures that projects align with: the aims and objectives of both the project and the strategy; will manage costs , risk and timescales; and deliver expected outcomes, within defined constraints and tolerances. More specifically, the Board:
- agrees Digital Strategy
- agrees and signs off business priorities against the Digital Strategy
- agrees allocation of the ICT capital plan to deliver organisational priorities
- agrees the progression of projects through the key stages
- acts to resolve escalations/conflict – variances, dependencies and policy changes – needed to enable that delivery
- sets tolerances to allow appropriate levels of monitoring, planning and budget
- monitors and tracks risk associated with services and project delivery
- ensures value for money, by holding suppliers to account for the quality and integrity of the specialist approach and specialist products created for the delivery of projects, and
- acts in a way that fosters a culture of improvement and transparency.