Cabinet vacancy for church/religious representative for education related business
Our decision making structure comprises a Cabinet style system which consists of elected members overseeing the delivery of the education service within East Ayrshire.
There are five external appointments on the Cabinet when it deals with education business, namely:
- teacher representative
- parent representative, and
- three church/religious representatives
We are now seeking to fill a vacancy for a third church/religious representative.
In terms of the legislation, the third representative should come from other churches, denominational bodies or religion that has a place of worship in East Ayrshire (defined by statute as “duly constituted charges or other regular appointed places of worship”) and consideration on how large or active each group is compared to others in the area.
Nominations are open until Friday 14 November 2025.
Role of the church/religious representatives
Church/religious representatives play an important role in the decision-making process in relation to education business.
Two of these positions are allocated, one by the Church of Scotland and one by the Roman Catholic Church and there is currently a vacancy for a third church/religious representative to commence from 5 January 2026.
How to make a nomination
If you are interested then please write to us no later than Friday 14 November 2025:
Julie McGarry, Democratic Services Manager
East Ayrshire Council
Council Headquarters
London Road
Kilmarnock, KA3 7BU
Nominations should be in writing and should contain:
- the full name and address of the person nominated
- a statement by the submitting body indicating why the nominee should be considered for selection
- a note of the number of people who are members of the submitting body, and
- any further information which supports the nomination
What happens next
Soon after the nominations have been received, arrangements will be made to select the third church representative with the appointment commencing on 5 January 2026.
Everyone who has made a nomination will be informed of the outcome of the selection.
If you would like further information, please contact Education Services by emailing Education-ServiceSupportA@east-ayrshire.gov.uk.
Membership
Meetings of the Cabinet will be chaired by the Leader of the Council or, in his absence, the Depute Leader of the Council.
Terms of reference
To discharge all of the Council's functions (except those reserved to the Council and those matters specifically delegated to other Committees/Panels), namely:
- takes all key strategic and service delivery decisions
- implements policy framework
- promotes the core values of the Council
- develops Community Planning, working with partner organisations
- recommends revenue and capital budgets to Council.
To discharge on behalf of the Council its functions as an Education Authority in respect of the delivery of Education Services to pre-fives, children of primary and secondary school age and young persons.
The power to determine appeals made in terms of disciplinary proceedings involving dismissal, for all Council employees who are subject to teachers' conditions of service.
The power to uphold or reject such appeals, and to order the varying disciplinary action (such individual appeal decisions are not subject to 'call-in').
Cabinet outline
Each Administration Cabinet Member will have a specific area of responsibility for Council business with the aim of ensuring greater political accountability for the decisions taken by the Cabinet.
These Cabinet Members are politically accountable for service standards and service performance both in terms of direct service delivery and in terms of the contribution of individual services to the strategic priorities of the Community Plan, the Council's corporate plan. Cabinet Members are not responsible for service management.
The Cabinet Members also have a specific role as advocates for their service groups. In this capacity Cabinet Members will seek to ensure that relevant service needs and service views are taken into account in Cabinet decisions particularly where these relate to Community Plan priorities and strategies.
Cabinet Members will:
- meet on a regular basis with senior management, with a view to discussing service issues including service performance
- seek to resolve concerns regarding service delivery with service management
- lead on service issues at Cabinet and Council meetings
- lead on service reports at Governance and Scrutiny Committee
- attend Governance and Scrutiny Committees in respect of related called-in decisions to respond to questions and explain Cabinet proposals
Further information on Cabinet Members and their remits can be found on the extract from the Scheme of Delegation