Cllr Sir Albert Bore
I am an Elected Member at Birmingham City Council. I have chaired a number of Council Committees and was Leader of the Council in 1999 – 2004 and 2012 – 2015.
I was a member of the Audit Committee in 2008 – 2012, 2016 – 2017 and 2021 – 2022. I was Chair of the Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee 2018 – 2021, Chair of the Co-ordinating Overview & Scrutiny Committee 2022 -2024 and I am currently the Chair of the Corporate & Finance Overview & Scrutiny Committee.
Andrew Burns
Andrew Burns is an Associate Director of CIPFA; previously he was President of the organisation in 2017/18. He was also a former Chairman of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB). Until December 2018, he was the Director of Finance and Resources for Staffordshire County Council (SCC) with strategic responsibility for Finance, IT, Digital, Property, Commercial and Customer Services and was Treasurer of the Staffordshire Pension Fund. Andrew led the financial transformation programme that delivered £200m savings and significant service improvement in Staffordshire. For his CCAB role, Andy took leadership of the group representing the main UK accountancy bodies, which has a combined membership of over 380,000 professional accountants worldwide. Andy has an MBA from Aston Business School and is also a Past President of the Society of County Treasurers. He is a Director of Andrew Burns Consulting Ltd, a paid Independent Adviser to Impower Consulting Ltd, and a paid Non-Executive Director of Housing Plus Group Ltd.
Balvinder Heran
Balvinder is the Interim Chief Executive at Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. She is responsible for leading the council’s transformation and financial sustainability programme serving population of over 320,000 and supporting a workforce of over 4,000.
Balvinder is also sponsor for the organisational change programme (new operating model for the Council, organisational re-structure, culture change and new accountabilities framework) underpinned by developing new service delivery models using new technologies.
Dr Catherine Howe
Catherine is Chief Executive of Adur and Worthing Councils. She is an expert in digital innovation, focusing on the areas of digital democracy, systems practice and digital transformation. Her current area of focus is public service reform and she writes and comments on that very many moving parts of this on her website as well as writing in other spaces. She has a background which connects together technology, community and social change and has worked across a number of different sectors including education, not for profit and the technology industry. She has worked with new collaborative technologies and social networking tools for over 15 years. Her research interests cover digital civic space, citizenship and systems thinking and she is the Chair of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.
Charlotte Eisenhart
Charlotte Eisenhart is Chief Executive at the Association of Democratic Services Officers. Her previous roles include being Head of Member Services at the National Association of Local Councils, Head of Engagement at The RSA, and Adviser at the Local Government Association. Throughout her career she has been passionate about supporting people’s efforts to make change in their communities, whether through leadership development programmes for councillors, national initiatives for parish councils, or engaging people in social change work. She is also a trustee at the perinatal mental health charity PANDAS.
Claire Ward
Claire Ward is a Partner at Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP, specialising in local government law. Claire spent 20 years in local government working in Cumbria County Council and then Herefordshire Council, as the Council’s Monitoring Officer and Deputy Chief Executive. She now advises local authorities on all aspects of governance and decision-making. Claire has extensive experience across strategic, unitary, county, district, town and parish councils enabling her to guide authorities nationwide on effective governance practices. Claire has advised on Local Government Reorganisation and assisted Council’s in all parts of the process.
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster serves as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB). In this capacity, he plays a pivotal role in overseeing the operational aspects of the ICB, ensuring the effective delivery of healthcare services across the region. Additionally, Daniel chairs the ICB Service Change Group, where he leads initiatives aimed at enhancing service delivery and implementing strategic changes within the integrated care system. His leadership and expertise contribute significantly to the continuous improvement of healthcare services in Birmingham and Solihull.
Dave Burn
Dave has over 20 years’ experience as a senior local government officer with a strong understanding of the democratic, legislative and organisational needs and requirements of how local government organisations work and function. Dave has extensive experience of leading teams and working tactically to support council’s to deliver their vision. He navigates well in the political environment, having worked effectively with senior members and officers to fulfil the council’s needs. As Director of Frontline Consulting Associates Ltd, Dave has been supporting local authorities for the past 10 years in order to support improvement and to ensure effective internal challenge. Dave is an Associate with CfGS, the Local Government Information Unit and SOLACE where he has supported a number of local authorities with their governance arrangements. Dave has also provided support to a number of local authorities with their improvement agenda through interim roles.
Dr Dave Mckenna
Dave is a dedicated scrutiny practitioner with ten years’ experience as manager of Swansea Council’s scrutiny team. Since 2017 Dave has been based in West Sussex working as an independent consultant, providing training and support sessions for scrutiny councillors across more than 30 different councils across England and Wales. He has also hosted workshops at Centre for Governance and Scrutiny and Association of Democratic Services Officers annual conferences. As a Tpas associate Dave also provides training, support and research for tenant scrutineers. bDave has been BRIEF trained in solution focussed techniques and has expertise in public governance; particularly local government scrutiny, partnership working and public participation. He has a PhD in local politics and is an associate of the Institute of Local Government Studies, working as a researcher on projects such as the 21st Century Public Servant’. Dave is a longstanding volunteer organiser for the Notwestminster local democracy conferences.
Dawn Plimmer
Dawn is Director of Practice at Collaborate CIC, a consultancy that helps people, organisations and places work together to tackle complex social challenges. She oversees Collaborate’s work on funding and commissioning, learning and evaluation as well as a number of projects with place-based partnerships. Recently, she led work helping Wigan Council review the Wigan Deal and develop a new collaborative whole-place strategy, and worked with Involve to provide external scrutiny of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s development of the Grenfell Support programme, which has included a focus on embedding a restorative approach to scrutiny. Dawn has played a key role in developing Human Learning Systems as an alternative approach to public management which aims to enable more relational, adaptive and collaborative public services. Her background is in grantmaking, with a focus on enabling more person-centred, collaborative and learning-focused approaches.
Professor Diana Stirbu
Diana is a professor of Public Policy and Governance at London Metropolitan University, where she co-leads the Centre for Applied Research on Empowering Society (CARES). Her expertise focuses on public engagement with parliaments and local authorities (especially in London), focusing on enhancing democratic processes and institutional design to foster participatory governance and community engagement. Professor Stirbu has played a pivotal role in participatory research projects, notably leading the Connected Communities initiative and the Social Intergration and Regeneration learning Network, which foster inclusive engagement between London local authorities and their communities. She has also served as a member of the Expert Panel supporting the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales (2022-2024), contributing to discussions on Wales’s constitutional arrangements. Beyond her university commitments, she co-convenes the Political Studies Association’s Parliaments specialist group and was an independent trustee of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny in the past. Diana is part of include London Metropolitan University / Centre for Applied Research in Empowering Society (LondonMet CARES).
Cllr Fiona Barrows
As an independent councillor at Frome Town Council, Fiona leads the Climate and Ecological Emergency and Communications work programmes, as well as serving on the advisory group of the pioneering Green and Healthy Frome partnership. She founded The Community Councillor Collective—a network uniting councillors committed to putting citizens at the heart of local decision-making. Drawing inspiration from the Flatpack Democracy movement and her own experience in local government, she identified the need for deeper support and connection among councillors who aim to reimagine their role as community facilitators rather than traditional representatives. Through her work, Fiona champions a new approach to local governance that bridges political divisions, sparks community action, and shows how participatory democracy can transform decision-making at all levels of government.
Fiona Bottrill
Fiona has worked in local government scrutiny for over 15 years in councils across the West Midlands and has worked at Birmingham City Council as Senior Overview and Scrutiny Manager since 2022.
Her work in scrutiny is informed by her previous roles in the community and voluntary sector, as a primary school teacher, the West Midlands Combined Authority and the NHS England Health and Justice Service. She is co-chair of the County and Unitary Scrutiny Network and works collaboratively to share ideas and learning.
Gloria Dawson
Gloria is part of Research for Action, a worker co-operative focusing on local democracy, accountability and information rights. Since 2017, RfA’s work has explored local government loan schemes, audit and accountability, and information rights, with an emphasis on citizen and grassroots action, including journalism and local media. We are currently working on a 3-year project ‘Councils in Crisis’, exploring the democratic effects of government interventions in local authorities. Gloria lives in Glasgow and is an experienced participatory and grassroots researcher in housing, regeneration and urban planning, as well as a trained community organiser.
Hamida Ali
Hamida Ali is the Head of Learning and Practice at the Future Governance Forum (FGF), an organisation dedicated to enhancing governance practices in public services. With over 20 years of experience addressing equality and diversity in public sector organisations – including roles in local and regional government, the criminal justice system, public service broadcasting, and the trade union movement – Hamida brings a wealth of knowledge to her position.
Heather Wills
Heather Wills leads the Corporate Programmes team within the Partnerships and Improvement directorate at the Local Government Association. The LGA provides a comprehensive support offer to councils including peer challenges, leadership development and mentoring, benchmarking, and bespoke support including finance and governance improvement. Following more than 20 years’ experience working in local authorities before joining the LGA, Heather has more recently completed secondments in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Croydon, delivering programmes of governance-related improvements. Heather has led work to map the Improvement and Assurance Framework for local government and to produce tools and guidance to help councils as they seek to gain assurance of the effectiveness of their governance.
Dr Jason Leman
Dr Jason Leman is a campaigner and academic who explores how the many challenges faced by humanity can be addressed democratically, and particularly how these global issues can be tackled within every neighbourhood. His academic study focuses on independent local political parties, the role of town and parish councils, and what democracy means at a local level. As campaign coordinator at the Neighbourhood Democracy Movement, Jason works to place neighbourhood at the heart of democracy. What happens on our doorstep has always been the bedrock of our democratic life. However, to enable neighbourhoods to truly flourish needs a culture that values everyone as equal citizens who can, and should, contribute to the life of the community. Democratic institutions and practices are just one part of this wider movement towards a world where everyone matters.
John Cade
John has a rounded local government career in London, Southampton and Edinburgh, culminating in the post of Director of Scrutiny with Birmingham City Council (2000 to 2010).
Previously, he was Chair of the County and Unitary Scrutiny Officers’ Network (2014–2024).
Currently, John is an Associate with INLOGOV University of Birmingham Representing INLOGOV.
John Cotton
Councillor John Cotton was elected as the Leader of Birmingham City Council in May 2023, alongside Cllr Sharon Thompson as Deputy Leader, pledging to “work with and for every single community to deliver the service improvements our citizens deserve.” Cllr Cotton previously served as the Council’s Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community Safety & Equalities, and was responsible for leading the city’s response to the cost-of-living crisis, tackling social and economic injustice and building stronger safer communities. John has previously held Cabinet portfolios covering adult social care, public health and housing, which also reflect his passionate interest in tackling the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. As Leader, John has pledged to continue his to improve the lives and life chances of the people of Birmingham and help our communities through the continuing cost-of-living crisis. A member of both the Labour and Co-operative parties, he was first elected to Birmingham City Council in 1999 and represents the Glebe Farm and Tile Cross Ward in the east of the city. John was born and raised in Birmingham. Over the course of a varied career, he has worked in private industry, in the office of a Labour MP, in the voluntary sector and as a freelance public affairs consultant. John is also National Chair of Labour Housing Group, the Labour Party’s official affiliated organisation dedicated to developing housing policy to addresses the shortage of decent affordable housing across the UK.
Professor John Denham
John is the Director of the Centre for English Identity and Politics at Southampton University.
In addition, John is a former Labour Minister and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and has written widely on England’s governance, England and the United Kingdom, English devolution and the politics of national identity in England
Jonathan Flowers
Jonathan’s governance experience has been gained in non-exec board roles at charities, a trading company, science and education institutions, and an employee-owned company. He has held executive leadership roles in the financial services sector and in corporate leadership teams in local government. He’s currently independent chair of audit at St Albans City and District Council and an independent audit member for Hertfordshire Police. He chairs a charity and is a NED of two CICs – Care City and Democracy Club. He has a certificate in company direction from the Institute of Directors, where he is a Fellow, and has advised many organisations on board governance, leadership and strategy.
Joseph Bright
I am a Democratic Services Officer at Solihull Council, where I have supported various Scrutiny functions over a number of years – including the Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board on a permanent basis, from 2022 onwards. I have worked with the Local Government Association, to support development sessions, for Councillors to consider the role of Scrutiny now, within the new Integrated Care System arrangements. I have also worked with colleagues at Birmingham City Council, to develop a Memorandum of Understanding, to clarify the role of Health Scrutiny, specifically in regard to consultations on substantial variations and developments of health services.
Julia Cushion
Julia Cushion is the Policy and Advocacy Manager at mySociety. In her role, she promotes recommendations from mySociety’s research and digital services, aiming to improve the information ecosystem available to citizens, especially around climate issues. Julia’s work involves engaging with policymakers and supporting NGOs, community groups, and individual citizens to enhance data provision from all layers of government across the UK. Before joining mySociety, Julia worked with Hope for the Future, a charity focused on training people to talk to politicians about climate change, and the UK Parliament Outreach & Engagement Service, where she supported student workshops and led tours around Westminster.
Juliet Baker
Juliet is a Strategic Program Lead at Adobe, driving transformation and strategic initiatives across various routes to market, geographies, products, and services. With over 17 years of experience, she excels in driving global programs by leveraging data, insights, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver scalable, customer-centric solutions. Her expertise spans multiple industries, including FMCG, Solution Consulting, Retail, Tourism and Technology. Beyond her corporate role, Juliet is also an ICF Certified Life Coach (International Coaching Federation), specializing in career coaching, work-life integration, navigating change and burnout recovery. She is passionate about inspiring young people into STEM Education and Careers, she actively mentors and engages in charitable work, particularly focusing on empowering women.
Laura Hughes
Laura is Head of Public Law at Browne Jacobson LLP and has more than 23 years’ experience as a solicitor advising the public sector on the full range of public law matters. Laura is heavily involved in advising local authorities on devolution, and local government reorganisation, as well as associated issues of governance and decision making. Laura advised on the creation of the first Combined County Authority, in the East Midlands, and has advised on the creation of several other combined authorities and has been instructed by several clients to advise on local government reorganisation following publication of the English devolution white paper.
Leigh Redman
Councillor Leigh Redman sits on Somerset Council and has for nearly 14 years, he chairs their children and family scrutiny committee, being part of their journey to a ‘Good’ OFSTED rating. He was a town, district and county councillor before the new Somerset unitary was vested in 2023. He was involved in the unitary process from the first announcement of the proposal. As group leader he worked hard at every stage to ensure the new council became effective as soon as possible. An LGA peer mentor, Children and young people’s board member, young person’s advocate, community champion and political nerd who enjoys reading a good constitution.
Linda Jones
A dynamic and results-orientated leader with strategic and commercial skills gained over nearly 30 years of working within all tiers of Local Government and the voluntary sector. Currently the Chief Legal and Monitoring Officer at Westmorland and Furness Council and Lead Officer for the Armed Forces, Linda has, during her time in Local Government, held the roles of Deputy Chief Executive and Acting Chief Executive. Possessing an in-depth knowledge of the legislative and governance framework and experience of key local Government and voluntary sector work. A proud public servant whose key qualities are commitment, excellent communication and negotiating skills, attention to detail, ability to act quickly and hit the ground running, solving mission impossible, resourcefulness, sense of humour, fierce loyalty and renowned for having infectious enthusiasm and dedication. Linda is a passionate advocate for our Armed Forces and has delivered significant change in the way that Councils and partners support Armed Forces Families. Linda was invited to Downing Street in 2014 for her transformative work and, in 2016, was a finalist in the Soldiering On Awards. Working with Councils and partners, Linda secured nearly £2 million in funding for transformative armed forces projects.
Osian Jones
Osian Jones is the Head of Corporate Strategy at Camden Council. They have held various roles in local government, including serving as the Head of Cabinet Office at Camden Council.
Prior to their current role, Osian worked as a Policy Officer at Westminster City Council and Lewes District Council.
Manisha Patel
Manisha is an experienced consultant, facilitator, and executive leadership coach. She brings a unique and wide range of expertise to her work including a background in neurology, speech therapy, social research, equality, diversity and inclusion and first-hand leadership experience of building award winning high performing teams. Manisha’s career began in the NHS, where she developed a deep understanding of leadership as a practice rooted in connection, courage, and creating environments where people feel valued and empowered. Today, she specialises in elevating performance and well-being by fostering cultures of growth, inclusivity, and purpose within both the public and private sectors. Manisha works closely with local communities to increase participation and civic engagement. She holds two board roles; Chair of the WTC Community Space Board and Non-Executive Director for Lawyers in Local Government.
Natalie Rotherham
Natalie Rotherham holds the position of Service Lead: Governance, Risk & Assurance at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
In this role, she manages teams responsible for information governance, committee services, internal governance, risk, and security. Previously, she served as Head of Scrutiny at Hertfordshire County Council, where she led various governance initiatives.
Paul Cutler
Paul Cutler is an Associate for the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny. He specialises in health, children’s services and community participation.
He has worked with a variety of organisations across local government and the voluntary sector as a trainer and consultant. He has held a range of governance positions in the NHS and international NGOs.
Simon Morrow
Simon is from the People’s Audit. The People’s Audit is a volunteer-run network of people who believe local government spending should be open and accountable to local people. We share a common interest in ensuring that our local councils spend money wisely and can account for that expenditure. Our network contains finance professionals such as accountants, a statistician and a quantity surveyor, as well as people who have no finance background but who have legitimate concerns as to how local councils are spending money. We came together because of a shared concern about the spending decisions of our own local authority, Lambeth. However, we also wanted to make the general public aware of their rights to audit their councils, which we aim to do through our reports, public events and social media.
Sunita Sharma
Sunita is an experienced independent consultant, coach and facilitator. Her 30 years plus experience in local government has provided her with deep understanding of the challenges, complexity and dilemmas facing leaders wherever they are in a system. Her leadership style and approach encourage trust building and creating space to hold difficult conversations. Sunita takes a systems approach in her work with individuals and teams. With a focus on culture and behaviour she is passionate about improving performance of individuals and teams through addressing and overcoming challenges to sustain positive change. Her knowledge and expertise of political contexts, collaborative working, as well as addressing inequalities, have led to improved decision making and sustained change for clients. Facilitation to address team dynamics and improve performance of boards/teams along with conflict resolution and working with individuals to address self-limiting beliefs are core strengths. She is flexible in her approach and uses a variety of tools and techniques to draw out issues and improve performance. Sunita is a longstanding associate with the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny.
Our core team
Don’t forget to read about our CfGS Team too.
https://www.cfgs.org.uk/about-us/#coreteam
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