Carolyn Downs Explained

Carolyn Grace Downs CB (born 25 February 1960) is chief executive of Brent Council, London.[1] [2] She is the principal policy advisor to the council and senior manager with responsibility for operational issues and overseeing the council's annual expenditure of around £1 billion.[3]

Biography

Downs has an MA in Library and Information Studies from UCL and began her career working in a council library.[4] Her career has included top jobs in several local councils. From 2003 to 2009, Downs was the first female chief executive of Shropshire County Council.[5] [6] She had worked at the Council since 1999 and was previously a corporate director, which included having responsibility for Environmental Services.[7] During her tenure, the Shropshire County Council became the highest performing county council in the UK.

She then worked as director general of corporate performance at the Ministry of Justice, a position which included being seconded to the Legal Services Commission in March 2010 to take over as chief executive after Carolyn Regan resigned.[8] She was appointed chief executive of the Local Government Association in September 2011. She was awarded Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2011 New Year's Honours list.[9]

In 2015, she was appointed as chief executive of Brent Council. Under Downs' leadership, Brent became LGC's Council of the Year and London Borough of Culture in 2020.[10] The programme included funds to support local people and organisations to produce cultural activities.[11] [12] Downs has spoken out on the need for housing reform,[13] social care,[14] and poverty issues.[15]

References

  1. Web site: Carolyn Downs, Brent Council Housing: Profile and Biography. 2021-03-24. Bloomberg.com. en.
  2. Web site: Downs, Carolyn Grace, (born 25 Feb. 1960), Chief Executive, Brent Council, since 2015. 2021-08-17. WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO. 2007. en. 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U10000345. 978-0-19-954088-4.
  3. Web site: Brent Council - Council Management Team. 2021-03-24. www.brent.gov.uk.
  4. Web site: Baksi. Catherine. 5 August 2010. Interview with LSC chief executive Carolyn Downs. 2021-03-24. Law Gazette. en.
  5. Web site: King. Lorraine. 2015-05-20. Brent Council names its new chief executive as current head of the Local Government Association. 2021-03-24. Kilburn Times. en-UK.
  6. Web site: Tributes as county chief on move. 2021-03-24. www.shropshirestar.com. en.
  7. Web site: 2012-05-15. Carolyn Downs, chief executive, Local Government Association. live. 2021-08-17. The Guardian. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20151013073408/http://www.theguardian.com/publicservicesawards/carolyn-downs . 2015-10-13 .
  8. News: Baksi. Catherine. 9 September 2011. Downs to leave LSC for top local government post. The Law Society Gazette.
  9. Web site: New Year Honours List 2011 in full. 2021-03-24. The Telegraph. en-GB.
  10. Web site: Downs. Carolyn. 2020-11-11. Brent is an 'antidote to today's fractured society'. 2021-03-24. Local Government Chronicle (LGC). en.
  11. Web site: Brent 2020: London Borough of Culture Team London. 2021-03-24. www.london.gov.uk.
  12. Web site: Brent 2020 promises to 'challenge definitions of culture'. 2021-03-24. ArtsProfessional. en.
  13. Web site: Downs. Carolyn. 2017-11-22. Carolyn Downs: Without housing reform our work is wasted. 2021-03-24. Local Government Chronicle (LGC). en.
  14. Web site: Downs. Carolyn. The future health and social care system rests on 'combos', not 'trade-offs'. 2021-03-24. www.nhsconfed.org. en.
  15. Web site: Poverty Commission: Covid-19 highlights scale of deprivation in Brent. 2021-03-24. Harrow Times. en.

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