The new leader of Basildon Council has been lambasted by the Labour Party for increasing the number of new committees - with claims it will cost £70,000 a year.

Andrew Baggott, who represents the Burstead ward, was appointed leader of the council following the Conservative Party’s success in the local election earlier this month.

The Conservatives had previously been overthrown from power when Labour, Ukip and independents joined forces to replace the cabinet system with the committee system, which has to stay in place until 2022.

One of the first changes Mr Baggott has made to the council is increasing the number of committees to 13, with 84 seats. Mr Baggott, who became leader of the Basildon Tories after Phil Turner stepped down, believes the changes are necessary.

Speaking at the first council meeting since the Conservatives regained control of Basildon, Mr Baggott said: “Last year, it was obvious to us that the committee system in place – and indeed as a principle – doesn’t work.

“We found the remit of the committees too wide to do the job that was at hand. We found that large areas of responsibility were untouched and unlooked at.

“There were committees whose roles were often overlapping with another, so items were either lost in the cracks or having to be referred to another committee. There was very little policy making that took place. As scrutiny committees, the role was so blurred it was untenable.

“The new structure is intended to address these issues as well as provide an overall strategic vision coupled with clear lines of communication.

“It provides an atmosphere of can-do, will-do and puts the responsibility of reports on chairmen – not officers.

“You could argue that it’s a cabinet that’s not a cabinet. It’s done so with no apologies in that respect.”

Chairmen and deputies have been appointed for each of the new committees, with the councillors receiving vast amounts of extra income.

Adele Brown, who replaced Gavin Callaghan as Labour leader after the local election defeat, believes the changes are being made simply to allow the Tories to pocket more money.

Ms Brown said: “We are returning to a cabinet system by stealth. This is entirely underhand. The decision to double the number of committees means that Basildon has the most committees of any authority across the whole country that uses a committee system.

“It adds around £70,000 a year additional expense to this council’s bottom line, at a time when we are facing cuts from central government and difficult decisions need to be made. Rather than making a saving, the Conservatives have decided to pay themselves in excess of £70,000 of taxpayers’ money.”