If agreed at the full council meeting, the leaders of the four biggest groups – Labour (18), Reform UK (16), the Oldham Group (10) and the Lib Dems (6) – will each oversee an important area of the council.
These would be Resources (Lib Dems), Place (Labour), Children and Young People (Reform), and Health and Adult Care (Oldham Group).
However, the deal is meant as an “interim” arrangement, with groups still asked to meet once a month to try to agree on a long-term leader, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
In the meantime, these council bosses will not have any executive powers, meaning they won’t be able to direct officers or embark on any new schemes.
Currently, decisions are being delegated to council officers and published online afterwards.
Elected members and the public have been unable to weigh-in in the same way they usually would, meaning much of the council’s business is taking place behind closed doors.
While most of the executive power would remain with the council’s chief executive, the proposed system would allow for greater political and public scrutiny of the decision-making process, according to a report published on the full council’s meeting agenda.
The lack of political leadership has raised concerns that the government could intervene and impose commissioners on the local authority.
The council’s legal officer had previously warned there could be “significant” financial costs coming down the line if that happened.
Commissioners being imposed due to a political quarrel, such as has arisen in Oldham, is thought to be a first and could cost £1,200 or more a day.
