Cheshire East Council is set to sign off plans to change the way it is run, from a committee system to a leader and cabinet.
The authority moved to a committee system in 2021 but was now set to return to the previous structure.
An independent review last year recommended the council “urgently review” its decision-making process.
The authority’s full council is to approve the plans to move to the new system from May 2026 at a meeting on Wednesday.
The council previously had a cabinet and leader system from its formation in April 2009 until May 2021.
When it was approved, it was ruled this form of governance must remain in place for at least five years.
An external review into the council, conducted by senior councillors and others from other authorities, recommended the council needed to “urgently review” its decision-making process.
The corporate peer challenge review in 2024 made in total 18 recommendations to improve the way the authority was run.
The review team said it was “struck by the administrative burden which the current system places on both officers and members”, highlighting that 78 of the authority’s 82 councillors were involved in committees.
It said there was “recognition and appetite” from many senior leaders and officers of the need to “streamline” the structure and “improve the timeliness of decision making”.
Cheshire East has faced issues in recent years, and has had to request exceptional financial support from the government for the past two years.
A transformation plan was signed off last year, with the intention of saving around £90m over four years.
It also received a best value notice – a formal warning of the government’s concerns – earlier this year.
The notice said the council needed to ensure it had “effective corporate, governance and scrutiny processes” to allow decisions and improvements “to be made at pace”.
It added this should include improvements to its committee system, as recommended by the corporate peer challenge.
