Council Leader Kaya Comer-Schwartz has announced a new Executive Team to deliver our vision of a fairer, safer, greener borough.
The new team is as follows:
Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz: Council Leader
Executive Member for Finance and Performance: Cllr Diarmaid Ward
Executive Member for Inclusive Economy, Culture and Jobs: Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford
Executive Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods: Cllr Una O’Halloran
Executive Member for Community Safety: Cllr John Woolf
Executive Member for Environment, Air Quality and Transport: Cllr Rowena Champion
Executive Member for Children, Young People and Families: Cllr Michelline Safi-Ngongo
Executive Member for Health and Social Care: Cllr Flora Williamson
Executive Member for Equalities, Communities and Inclusion: Cllr Sheila Chapman
The Executive is welcoming two new members, who will continue Islington Labour’s work to create a more equal borough for all of Islington’s residents.
Councillor Sheila Chapman has been appointed as Executive Member for Equalities, Communities, and Inclusion.
She has previously been Chair of the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee and has served as a ward councillor for Junction since 2018. She also has a vast amount of experience working with the voluntary sector.
Councillor Flora Williamson has been appointed as Executive Member for Health and Social Care.
She has previously been Chair of the Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee, where she has led scrutiny and direction of how Islington Council approaches the funding challenges facing local government. Councillor Williamson has been a ward councillor for Tollington since 2014.
Welcoming our new Executive Team, Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz described them as “representing the best of Islington” adding that “I am extremely excited to welcome Cllrs Williamson and Chapman to the Executive, and I look forward to working with them as we continue to deliver on the Islington Labour manifesto that local people supported in 2022.”
Paying tribute to the outgoing Executive, Kaya said that she was “incredibly grateful to former Executive members Cllrs Roulin Khondoker and Nurullah Turan, and I thank them for their tireless efforts for the people of Islington.”
In addition, there are some changes to responsibilities within the Executive Team.
Councillor Una O’Halloran now has responsibility for new build planning, bringing it together with housing maintenance to ensure a single focus on housing finances and ensuring Islington’s housing stock is the best it can be.
This will allow Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Performance to focus on the task of the financial stability of the council after years of central government underfunding that has forced the Council to make £300 million of budget savings since 2010.
Councillor Santiago Bell-Bradford has played a pivotal role in Islington’s work on Community Wealth Building. The next stage of this work is incorporating Islington’s diverse cultural sector, which is now part of his portfolio as Executive Member for Inclusive Economy, Culture and Jobs.
Councillor John Woolf will now be taking on the night-time sector responsibility as part of his Community Safety Portfolio. This will mean he can bring the night-time sector together with licensing to ensure Islington has a thriving, safe and exciting nighttime economy.
There have been no changes to the portfolios of Councillor Rowena Champion (Environment, Air Quality and Transport) or Councillor Michelline Safi Ngongo (Children, Young People and Families).
Our new Executive and the whole Islington Labour team are getting on with the job of delivering on our manifesto commitments.