Reform UK has been allocated formal seats on six Medway Council committees for the 2026/27 municipal year, the first time the party has held seats inside the authority’s committee structure. The Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee also begins the new year with four co-opted-member places vacant.
The appointments were confirmed at the council’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at the St George’s Centre, Chatham Maritime. Seats on overview and scrutiny committees and the other council committees were allocated to the Labour and Co-operative group, the Conservative opposition, the Independent Group and Reform UK in line with the political proportionality rules under section 15 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989.
Reform UK’s first committee allocation
Reform UK took one seat on each of the council’s four overview and scrutiny committees and on three other council committees. Cllr Lammas was named to the Business Support and Digital Overview and Scrutiny Committee and to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Cllr Finch took the party’s seat on the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Cllr Vye was appointed to the Regeneration, Culture and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Licensing and Safety Committee, the Planning Committee and one of the council’s licensing hearing panels.
Cllr Vye was also named as a substitute member of the Member Working Group on Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution, the cross-party body considering Medway’s role in the wider Kent local government reorganisation conversation. Reform UK was not allocated seats on the council’s Audit Committee, the Councillor Conduct Committee, the Employment Matters Committee or either of the two Appointments Committees that handle senior officer recruitment.
Vacancies on Children and Young People scrutiny
The Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee — chaired for 2026/27 by Cllr Howcroft-Scott with Cllr Mandaracas as Vice-Chair — has thirteen councillor members alongside a roster of co-opted members covering church representatives, parent governors, teachers and the Medway Youth Council.
Four of those co-opted places will sit empty as the new municipal year begins. Two parent governor representative seats with voting rights on educational issues are vacant, both four-year terms. A headteacher representative seat and its substitute, both two-year terms, are also unfilled. A Healthwatch Medway CIC substitute place is similarly listed as vacant in the council papers.
The committee continues to provide scrutiny for the Lead Member for Children’s Services portfolio, held in 2026/27 by Cllr Adam Price.
Wider committee appointments
The Annual Meeting confirmed appointments across more than thirty council committees, working groups, joint committees and outside bodies for 2026/27. Cllr Vince Maple continues as Leader of the Council and Cllr Teresa Murray as Deputy Leader. The Leader’s portfolio formally includes Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution, reflecting Medway’s role in the wider Kent local government reorganisation discussion.
The full appointment slate is published in Appendix B and Appendix C of the council’s Annual Meeting agenda, available via the Medway Council democracy portal.
Reform UK takes first Medway Council committee seats for 2026/27 Quiz
5 questions
Sources
- Medway Council Annual Meeting agenda and papers, 13 May 2026
- Appendix B — Establishment of Committees, Appointments and Schedule of Meetings 2026/2027
- Appendix C — Schedule of Council Representation on Joint Committees, Outside Bodies and Charities for 2026/2027
Image: Medway Council Offices, Gun Wharf, Chatham by N Chadwick (2014) via geograph.org.uk on Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-SA 2.0.