New leader and cabinet announced
The county council's new leader and cabinet have been announced at its full council meeting this afternoon.
County Councillor Stephen Atkinson, leader of the Reform UK group and county councillor for the Ribble Valley South West electoral division, has been formally appointed as leader.
The cabinet announced by Councillor Atkinson are:
- County Councillor Simon Evans, deputy leader and cabinet member for Children and Families (county councillor for Skelmersdale Central)
- County Councillor Graham Dalton, cabinet member for Adult Social Care (county councillor for Lancaster Rural North)
- County Councillor David Dwyer, cabinet member for I.T. & Data (county councillor for Fylde South)
- County Councillor Warren Goldsworthy, cabinet member for Highways and Transport (county councillor for Clitheroe)
- County Councillor Daniel Matchett, cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing (county councillor for Whitworth & Bacup)
- County Councillor Ged Mirfin, cabinet member for Resources, HR and Property (county councillor for Ribble Valley North East)
- County Councillor Brian Moore, cabinet member for Economic Development and Growth (county councillor for Morecambe South)
- County Councillor Joshua Roberts, cabinet member for Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities (county councillor for Fylde East)
- County Councillor Matthew Salter, cabinet member for Education and Skills (county councillor for Wyre Rural Central)
Councillor Atkinson said: “I am incredibly proud to be the new leader of the county council and very much looking forward to my new role and getting down to business.
"I will be ably assisted by my cabinet, which is filled with people who come from a wide range of backgrounds and have a huge wealth of experience in their chosen careers.
"Sitting around my cabinet table will be councillors who have decades of experience in areas such as children's services, education, health, economic development and expertise in digital industries.
"Together we will be working hard to serve the people of Lancashire and tackling the issues which are most important to residents."
Notes to editors
Councillor Simon Evans, deputy leader and cabinet member for Children and Families.
Simon has worked in Children's Services in a range of areas including early years, management of adolescence services and has led in anti-social behaviour and community justice for more than 30 years delivering innovative solutions that make lives and communities better.
Councillor Graham Dalton, cabinet member for Adult Social Care
Graham is a highly experienced care service manager with a deep knowledge of complex care settings and understanding of how the NHS functions. He is experienced in managing care in the community.
Councillor David Dwyer, cabinet member for Information Technology and Data
David has a deep knowledge of IT systems and infrastructure, especially data platforms. He is a specialist in cyber security and blockchain technology. He has extensive experience of working in North America.
Councillor Warren Goldsworthy, cabinet member for Highways and Transport
Warren has experience of working in the automotive industry. He was a regional manager for the AA, the UK's largest automotive assistance company, where he was responsible for managing large numbers of staff, coaching and mentoring the managers who reported to him. More recently he has also worked in a special educational needs school.
Councillor Daniel Matchett, cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing
Daniel is a mental health nurse with over 20 years of experience in caring for individuals with mental health problems. He has worked for Blackpool Hospital in the A&E department and for the Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.
Councillor Ged Mirfin, cabinet member for Resources, HR and Property
Ged is a vastly experienced county and borough councillor having served as scrutiny chair focussing on Building Use & Occupancy, the LCC Estate, Asset Disposal, Staffing & Human Resources, Data & I.T. Systems, Change Management, Procurement & Partnership Working. He is also a published academic who has taught at three universities, and the author of a number of high profile award-winning papers.
Councillor Brian Moore, cabinet member for Economic Development and Growth
Brian has been a board director of the Prince's Trust and has deep knowledge and experience of the business support community, training, business finance and graduate placement. He has run a number of business hubs assisting in the delivery of economic development projects, for which he has been in receipt of national awards.
Councillor Joshua Roberts, cabinet member for Rural Affairs, Environment and Communities
Joshua is a director of a web site design and development company specialising in digital and social media functionality, search engine optimisation and online branding. He is a specialist in political communications and press relations.
Councillor Matthew Salter, cabinet member for Education and Skills
Matthew is an experienced councillor – a former academic - who was first elected in 2018 and has served on the Education, Children’s Families and Skills Scrutiny Committee. He has served as chair and deputy chair on the Regulatory Committee and has deep knowledge of the structure of and how the council functions.