Each week I hope to be able to bring you a new quango board to illustrate the proliferation of these unelected agencies in our region, and to expose those ‘professional board members’ who are paid for with our money and are increasingly powerful.
Taxpayers have a right to know exactly where their tax pounds are being directed. And don’t forget to commit these names to memory, you’ll be seeing some of them again in coming weeks…
This week it’s the turn of the ‘Independent’ members of the West Midlands Police Authority (the ones who like paying vast sums to commission useless reports from consultants!), but don’t look for these profiles on their own website – interestingly, they won’t publish them for the benefit of the public who pay for them, so the WMTPA are saving them the bother:
Ronald Amann
Lives in Edgbaston, Birmingham
Ronald is a retired senior civil servant and has a Ph.D in Soviet Science Policy.
He has worked for the Cabinet Office, Whitehall, where he held the post of Director General to the Centre for Management and Policy Studies, responsible for civil service training and the development of new systems of policy-making across the whole of government.
His previous roles have included
- Chief Executive for the Economic and Social Research Council, Swindon and
- Pro Vice Chancellor and then Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Social Science, University of Birmingham
Brendan Connor
Lives in Berkswell, Coventry
Brendan’s current roles include
- Trustee for the Royal Air Museum at Hendon and Cosford
- Non-executive Chair at the Centre for Excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technology at Loughborough University
- Board member at Advantage West Midlands
- Board member of Motorsport Development UK and
- Chairs of trustees/governors for Coventry Schools Foundation.
He has also experience of working in industry and has been Operations Adviser at the PEEPUL Centre (a black and minority ethnic community centre) in Leicester
Jean McEntire
Lives in Hockley, Birmingham
Jean has been accustomed to working closely with police colleagues during her career which has spanned the education, health and voluntary sectors.
She is Chief Executive Officer of the National Governors’ Association, where she is responsible for leading the organisation.
Previously to that, she has served as Head of Education for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA),
Jean’s started her career in teaching, where she progressed on to become a Schools Adviser and Ofsted Inspector.
Zahid Nawaz
Lives in Walsall
Zahid is Head of the Commission for Racial Equality, West Midlands Hub. His role includes advising regional partners of practical strategies for maximising their impact on local policy, regeneration, community cohesion, regional development agencies and regional assemblies.
His previous roles have included
- Non-executive Director for Walsall Hospitals NHS trust where he has contributed to the strategic development for long-term plans for healthcare and
- Presidential Advisor on Mediterranean Security and Islamic Affairs for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly
Derek Webley
Lives in Hodge Hill, Birmingham
Derek is District Bishop for the New Testament Church of God (NCTG) and has responsibility for all NCTG churches in his area which covers parts of Birmingham and Solihull. He has been in full-time ecclesiastical work since 1987. Derek’s role enables him to have close, constructive contact with the community and grassroots organisations.
Derek serves on a number of boards and committees, and presently chairs an arts organisation, a business enterprise centre and a social justice organisation.
He has served the Police Authority since 1999 and is currently its vice-chairman.
Are you interested in joining the West Midlands Police Authority yourself? Fancy seeing exactly what they get upto? Well you're in luck because they're advertising for someone new to join them - if you'd like further details then just drop me a line! [email protected]