Bradford Improvement Panel

To meet the requirements of the Best Value Notice and support the delivery of the Improvement Plan an independent advisory panel has been established to add value and bring strategic capacity.

The best value notice was issued by government in February 2024 in response to the council requesting exceptional financial support of £80m in 2023-24 and £140m in 2024-25.

The panel members sit on the Bradford Council Improvement Board, along with representatives of the council. The board meets monthly to provide oversight of the Improvement Plan.

The Council has asked the Panel to:

Challenge the rationale behind the improvement plan to assure the council that the scale of the challenge is adequately captured and it presents a realistic route map for Bradford.
Challenge the implementation of the improvement plan and assure the council that there is evidence of progress with sufficient pace.

The Panel comprises of independent members who are industry experts with extensive expertise of local government, finance and children’s services.

The combined knowledge, skills and experience of the panel members will support and help the council drive improvement and transformation. The panel are expected to:

Provide challenge and act as a critical friend.
Provide support and guidance.
Identify and signpost appropriate good practice.
Align with the work of the Bradford Children’s Services Improvement Board, chaired by the DfE appointed Commissioner.

Meet the panel

Dame Mary Ney (Chair)

Mary has had a distinguished 40-year career in local government, culminating in her serving as Chief Executive of the Royal Borough of Greenwich for 14 years during a period of major regeneration and service transformation in the borough, which won Council of the Year in 2013. Mary joined the DCLG Board as a Non-Executive Director in October 2016 and continued in this role for the MHCLG Board from January 2018 and the DLUHC Board from September 2021. In February 2015, Mary became one of five government commissioners at Rotherham metropolitan borough council, who assumed decision-making powers and were tasked with improving the council’s performance and helping rebuild the trust of local residents. Mary became Lead Commissioner in 2017 and oversaw the full restoration of powers back to the Council in 2018. Mary undertakes strategic consultancy projects, mentoring and coaching primarily in local government.

Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton

Sir Steve has been an Elected Member of Barnsley MBC since 1988 and Leader of the Council since 1996, including when Barnsley MBC was awarded Council of the Year 2023 and Local Authority Council of the Year 2023 - the only ever Council to win both in the same year. Sir Steve is the Chair of Barnsley 2030 Partnership Board, Member Yorkshire Leaders’ Board. Alongside this, he has been a Member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority since 2011. He also holds a range of external roles, both regionally and nationally. He has Chaired the Special Interest Group of 48 Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) since 1999 and is the Chair of Migration Yorkshire. He has also been the LGA Labour Regional Improvement Peer since 2006, a Local Government Association Executive Member since 2010 and LGA Labour National Lead Improvement Peer since 2016 and is a Political Advisor to the Office for Local Government. Sir Steve has a Master’s Degree (MSc) Local Governance from the University of Birmingham. He received a CBE for Services to Local Government 2004 and a Knighthood for Parliamentary Services in 2013.

Sir Roger Marsh OBE DL

Sir Roger Marsh, former Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) until 2022, led significant transformations and secured over £2bn in investments for the region. Recognised with an OBE in 2015 and a knighthood in 2021, he also serves as a Deputy Lieutenant for West Yorkshire. Roger chaired the NP11, uniting 11 Northern LEPs to support the Government’s vision for the North. With nearly 40 years at PwC, 25 years as a Partner, including a role as Director-General Strategic Finance and Operations in the Cabinet Office, he has vast experience in business recovery, turnaround, and managing sensitive projects across various sectors.

Michael Parsons

Michael Parsons read Natural Sciences and Computer Science at Cambridge University, and subsequently qualified as an accountant (CIPFA) with Cambridgeshire County Council. He has held a number of executive and non-executive board positions in the wider public and charitable sector. Michael was Director General, Government Property at the Cabinet Office (2017-2021) and head of the Government Property Function, leading a network of over 5,000 colleagues with responsibility for a range of property-related activities across a range of government departments, delivery organisations and agencies. He was responsible for the Government Estate Strategy and launched the Government Property Agency. Michael previously held the role of Director General, Capabilities and Resources (Chief Operating Officer) at the Home Office. Joining the Home Office in February 2013, he led the consolidation of corporate functions within the department following the ending of the agency status of UKBA and HMPO. Prior to 2013, Michael had extensive experience in local government, including in Hertfordshire County Council as Director of Resources and Performance where he led the council’s ambitious transformation programme, and as Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Resources at Cambridgeshire County Council where he worked closely with the City Council and the University.

Saleem Tariq OBE

Saleem (Sal) Tariq is the Director of the Leeds Relational Practice Centre and an independent consultant with STAR-IQ consulting and has been a social worker since 1994. He has worked as a social worker and manager at all levels of children’s services in Leeds and as Director of Children and Families until September 2022. He has also acted as Director of Children and Families in Kirklees during and improvement partnership and continues to work alongside several Children’s Services and Councils in their improvement journey.

Anthony Douglas CBE

Anthony Douglas was Chief Executive of Cafcass from 2004-19 and now has a small consultancy business working in the UK and internationally, specialising in system leadership and rapid improvement. He took Cafcass from an ‘inadequate’ to an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating and from working with 60,000 children a year in 2008 to 140,000 in 2019. Anthony was an economist and a journalist prior to becoming a social worker and has written 4 books on UK social care and is now writing a fifth book on the contribution social care makes to a civilised society. His portfolio now includes being a DfE Commissioner for 2 local authorities, including Bradford: developing a National Practice Framework for the Welsh Government; and building a new children’s guardian service for the Irish Government.

Mark Edgell

Mark leads across the North East, Yorkshire & The Humber and the East Midlands for the Local Government Association (LGA). LGA are the national voice of local government, working with councils to support, promote and improve. Mark has direct experience of local government as both a councillor and officer, but was previously a professional economist.