2024 Public Sector Building Back Britain

Cllr James Lewis has been Leader of Leeds City Council since February 2021, having previously been Deputy Leader of the Council since May 2015.  In May 2021, the newly elected Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin, also appointed Cllr Lewis as the Deputy Mayor of West Yorkshire.

Cllr Lewis has responsibility in Leeds for devolution and local freedoms as well as leading the Council’s budget and strategic planning matched to the needs of the citizens and communities in its area and ensuring the delivery of strategic priorities.   

 

Cllr Lewis was first elected as a Labour Councillor to represent the Barwick and Kippax ward, now the Kippax and Methley ward, in 2003.  He has held numerous positions during his time as a Councillor, including being the Chair of Metro (West Yorkshire’s Integrated Transport Authority) between 2011 and 2015.

Experienced Director and Local Government Councillor with a demonstrated history of working in the construction/development and local Government industries. Skilled in Community liaison, Negotiation, Mediation, Customer Service, Local Government.

Sarah has been working with Midlands Connect since early 2016, working to develop the Sub-national Transport Body into a single voice for the region.  She spends her time working with the partners to ensure an integrated approach to their work.  She also is a Teaching Fellow at Aston University.

Prior to joining Midlands Connect Sarah spent 20 years working as a transport planner and economist, developing business cases and proposals for projects all over the world; this includes working on business continuity and behavioural change for London2012, integrating transport services with the Dubai Metro and assessing bids for railways in South Africa.  

I retired from Banking in 2006, and entered local politics in 2009, when I first became a County Councillor. Soon after, I also became a Borough Councillor for Woodfield Ward, Stevenage. In May 2018, I became Executive Member for Highways and Transport for Hertfordshire County Council. As well as my strategic role for the County Council, I really enjoy working on behalf of my communities, which I also do as a school governor at The Leys Primary and Nursery School. In the past, I have been finance director and captain of my golf club, treasurer of a large sports club and chairman of a tennis club, but I am currently a director / trustee of Groundwork East, who do good work to improve the environment.

Helen joined the West Yorkshire Combined Authority in 2017 and has held the Head of Transport Policy role since May 2021. Helen has previously had almost 10 years in transport Consultancy working in and leading transport policy teams. Whilst in Consultancy Helen led on a number of large funding bids and business cases for several Combined Authorities and worked in the team to establish Transport for the North.

Helen is now leading the Transport Policy team at the Combined Authority to lead and develop the policies and strategies across the full transport portfolio. Working in partnership with Senior Political Members, District Partners and external stakeholders Helen leads complex and challenging policy discussions and negotiations. She also leads on the development of the transport policies and strategies as they move into programmes for delivery, through the development of funding bids and subsequent negotiations with Senior Government officials.

In recent years, West Yorkshire has established itself as a major urban transport force and as an exemplar city region for multi-modal transport delivery. In the coming year, in particular, WYCA will develop and consult on a new Local Transport Plan, progress the move to bus franchising; bring forward its proposals for the first mass transit lines for consultation; continue to deliver its current £1 billion-plus multi-modal investment programme; progress the case Northern Powerhouse rail connectivity; and, most importantly, continue to support the travel needs of our 2.3 million residents on a daily basis.

Helen has a passion for the role transport plays in delivering sustainable and inclusive city regions for everyone to be able to live and work, creating a positive outcome for West Yorkshire. Helen enjoys working with a range of people to champion change and particularly enjoys collaborating with partners and stakeholder organisations and has extensive experience of managing complex and competing priorities, communicating and negotiating with senior partners, officials and political members including senior Leaders and the Mayor.

Finlay Gordon-McCusker is the Cabinet Member for Transport, Infrastructure and Regeneration on Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Responsible for the delivery of several ambitious regeneration projects, including Goods Yard, a new urban neighbourhood at the heart of Stoke-on-Trent. 

He also oversees the city’s transport portfolio, including the nationally-recognised Bus Service Improvement Plan, which has seen additional routes created to connect people to good jobs, education, leisure, healthcare and retail - as well as extensions in operating hours.

As Director of Place at Local Partnerships, Michael leads housing and sustainability projects with local authorities and Government departments. He led the production of the Local Authority Domestic Retrofit Handbook for BEIS and is currently supporting Welsh Government to launch the new Warm Homes Wales domestic retrofit programme and its alignment with Welsh Local Authority energy efficiency schemes. As Assistant Director of Environment for GMCA, Michael led domestic retrofit and energy advice programmes across Greater Manchester from 2010 to 2015. He is also a NED Board Member for Wythenshawe Community Housing Group, where he takes a Board lead on retrofit and net zero issues.

Tom Renhard is a Labour and Co-operative councillor and the cabinet member with responsibility for housing delivery and homes in Bristol City Council. Tom is also the Leader of Bristol Labour Group of Councillors on Bristol City Council. Tom’s background is as a housing campaigner and has been a member of ACORN since 2014, campaigning for better housing conditions for tenants. This has included being involved in high profile campaigns to bring in the eviction ban at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside an award-winning campaign that as part of the End Unfair Evictions Coalition secured a government commitment to bring an end to s21 no-fault evictions in the private rented sector. Tom is also a mental health campaigner, having setup the charity Independent Mental Health Network, which empowers people with lived experience of mental health problems to influence mental health support across the Bristol and Greater Manchester areas.

Brett Leahy serves as Director of Planning and Growth at Enfield, where he manages various departments such as Culture, Town Centres & High Streets, Economic Development, Employment & Skills, Strategic Transport, Journeys and Places, Digital Infrastructure, and Planning & Building Control. Additionally, Brett oversees Enfield's district heat network company, Energitek, and fulfils a role as a Trustee for the Enterprise Cooperative Trust, a charity committed to enhancing young people's life prospects through holistic education, fostering collaboration among schools, charities, businesses, and community groups to improve education and opportunities for all children in Enfield, irrespective of their abilities.

Gerry is Director of Inclusive Regeneration and Employment at Brent Council. He has extensive experience in planning having worked for various Councils in London and in Hertfordshire. His present role combines responsibility for planning, regeneration, employment and skills. He is also responsible for housing partnerships and estate regeneration.

Penny has spent time as a writer and journalist, corporate communications professional, and university lecturer. She now leads the multi-award-winning digital skills and adoption team at Dorset Council, using networking and people-centred approach to build collaborations across the region. She started Dorset’s Digital Skills Partnership, works closely with health colleagues to build a digital inclusion approach for the Integrated Care Board and is investigating the role of culture in embedding a forward-thinking, digital mindset in business alongside Futuredotnow.

Will Plant, Digital Inclusion Lead for Connecting Cambridgeshire. Connecting Cambridgeshire is a connectivity/infrastructure/digital programme funded by the CPCA to boost better connectivity across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. As the Digital Inclusion Lead, I focus on helping communities and businesses utilise this infrastructure to realise benefits in their lives through digital and technology. We also aim to improve digital skills, literacy, and confidence, and work together with employers and education providers to develop clear pathways into digital and technology roles.

I am an experienced Project and Programme Manager within the energy sector. My experience to date includes delivery of a large scale investment programmes in both the domestic and non-domestic energy sector to European, Government and Public sector clients.

I have considerable experience of working alongside and managing private sector organisations and am currently Programme Manager for the national RE:FIT programme, a scheme designed to help public sector organisations across the UK achieve substantial financial savings, improve the energy performance of their buildings and reduce their CO2 footprint.

As RE:FIT Project Director at Local Partnerships I am responsible for the management and rollout of the national programme in partnership with the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Bret is Head of Climate Change & Sustainability for the City of Coventry. He is responsible for strategic oversight of all energy and environmental programmes across the City as a Council and also Citywide for an independent Sustainability & Climate Change Board in partnership with other public, private and third sector partners and stakeholders. Much of this work includes a number of major energy transformation initiatives the Innovate UK funded Regional Energy Systems Operator (RESO) in Coventry. He also oversees two professional environmental consultancies (Business Sustain and the Green Business Programme) which support SME’s and large companies with advice support and guidance for energy and environmental management, health and safety and compliance with standards (e.g. ISO4 0001) and legislation.

A former Director in Birmingham City Council and CEO of Sunderland’s New Deal for Communities Regeneration Programme with over twenty years senior management experience in local Government and the Charitable sector (Henry Doubleday Research Association and Soil Association) with a particular focus on addressing environmental and sustainable development issues. Bret led the development of the City of Cardiff’s first Environmental Strategy with achievements that earned the City the status of first ‘Energy City’ (with Newcastle) and ‘Recycling City’ (with Sheffield) and winning an International Council Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) award during the Rio Earth Summit. Coventry, a CDP ‘A’ Rated city, is committed to delivering a zero carbon agenda cutting across all areas of its business activities covering transport as well as buildings and infrastructure and in addition to the RESO Project it has a number of joint ventures delivering energy infrastructure across the City.

A Graduate ecologist from University College Cardiff and Chartered Biologist and fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Entomological society with a history of addressing environmental and public health issues. Bret represented Welsh interests on the Environment, Energy and Regional Development policy at the Wales European Centre in Brussels and represented Eurocities in the EU’s Urban Environment Expert Group assisting in the drafting of the Aalborg Charter and the European Strategy for Sustainable Cities and Towns as well as representing local government interests during the development of the UN’s Habitat II Global Strategy and Programme for Sustainable Human Settlements in the New York PrepComm meetings and the Summit in Istanbul.

Retired commissioned officer at HM Forces. Currently NHS Head of Estates & Capital Development.

Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen has served as the Leader of Breckland Council since May 2019, following his prior role as Deputy Leader. With a steadfast commitment to public service, he guides the council's strategic direction and ensures the fulfilment of its statutory responsibilities. Under his leadership, the council actively pursues initiatives and projects designed to enhance the well-being of local residents and support the growth of businesses.

Sam’s dedication to public service was first evident when he was elected to the council in 2007. Alongside his council duties, he has worked closely with the Rt Hon Sir Brandon Lewis MP, particularly during Mr. Lewis's tenure as Minister of State for Housing and Planning at the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Currently, Sam holds the prestigious position of Chairman for the District Councils' Network (DCN), where he represents every district council in England, advocating for their interests in place-shaping, planning, housing, and economic development. His leadership extends to his role as a national board member for the Local Government Association (LGA) Executive Board, further cementing his influence in local governance. Additionally, he is recognised for his contributions as an LGA Member Peer and Regional Peer for East Anglia.

Beyond his responsibilities in local government, Sam brings extensive experience from his nine-year tenure with the Ministry of Defence, a relationship he continues to nurture through part-time volunteer work. On a personal note, Sam enjoys walking his two lively Springer Spaniels and occasionally finds relaxation in operating a tractor.