Councillor responsible for West Northants children’s services steps down

Cllr Kathryn Shaw will no longer be in the West Northants unitary cabinet

By Sarah Ward

Cllr Kathryn Shaw, centre, seen her on a trip with other councillors to learn about a youth project in London, has stepped down. WNC image.

The Reform UK councillor in charge of children’s services in West Northamptonshire has stepped down.

Cllr Kathryn Shaw, who has held the position since her election in May, has left the role and been replaced by council leader Mark Arnull, who says he will take over the cabinet role until another councillor is appointed. Cllr Shaw’s departure mean’s that Laura Couse will be the only woman remaining on the ten member cabinet.

Cllr Shaw will remain as a Reform UK councillor on the backbenches.

Her departure became known after her cabinet title was removed from the website this morning and in a statement this afternoon, Cllr Arnull, said:

“I would like to thank Kathryn for her contributions to the children’s, families and education portfolio during the formative months of our new administration as we continue to progress our work in making our area the best place to live, work and thrive.”

Like a number of the cabinet members, who are paid a sizeable allowance to undertake their role, Cllr Shaw’s voice had not been heard at many meetings. At the December full council, after a disagreement over a Reform UK motion about digital ID’s that was removed from the agenda by the council’s chairwoman, Cllr Arnull forbade his cabinet members from answering questions in person and instead said they would give written answers.

The children’s services department is one of the most complex within the authority, as along with the adult services, it accounts for the lion’s share of spending.

Children’s services are managed by an independent trust, which for many years has been running significantly over budget, with both north and west having to add tens of millions in year to cover the costs.

The major reason for the budget overspend is the cost of residential placements, as the authority does not have many children’s homes of its own and instead pays private providers to look after vulnerable children.