1st Meeting for Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board

A pioneering board which will ensure that fairness and social justice inform everything that the Liverpool City Region does met for the 1st time, on Thursday, 25 January 2018.

The Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board, established by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, is made up of representatives from across all elements of society, and is the 1st of its kind in the county.

Whilst other local authorities have established commissions to look into justice, fairness, poverty and related areas, all of these have produced a 1 off series of recommendations and then been disbanded.

The Fairness and Social Justice Advisory Board will be the 1st to exist as a permanent body, providing an independent sounding board, to ensure that issues of fairness and social justice are considered by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as part of its decision making and policy development process.

Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said:- "Establishing this board was a cornerstone of my manifesto. My ambition is to drive transformational change for the City region, to create prosperity and opportunities for all, and that has to be underpinned by the principles of justice and fairness. I am deeply grateful for all of the people who have agreed to serve on the Board, and to Lynn Collins for agreeing to be its chair. They genuinely reflect the diversity of the City region and I am relying on them to hold the Combined Authority to account, to act as a critical friend, and to tell me if they feel that we are doing the wrong thing. This is a different way of doing business which is why I was insistent that this be a permanent, standing board, rather than a 1 off piece of work. I want the board to be deeply embedded in the work of the combined authority to ensure that fairness and justice underpin everything that we do.

New fairness tsar Lynn Collins said, "I was really pleased to be asked to take on this role and I am even more excited to be getting started. I know that Steve shares commitment to ensuring that economic growth benefits everyone in our society and leaves no 1 behind. Fairness and social justice needs to extend across our entire region in workplaces and throughout our communities. It should mean great jobs and education for all. The advisory board's role will be to ensure that no-one in the Combined Authority loses sight of that. The real work starts now."

Fairness And Social Justice Advisory Board Members

► Lynn Collins - Chair - Liverpool

Lynn has headed up the Trades Union Congress in the North West since 2013, the 1st woman to hold that position, representing the region's 800,000 unionised workers in over 50 different trades unions. Prior to her appointment as TUC Regional Secretary Lynn worked as an IT specialist in Manufacturing Industry and as a senior trades union official, playing an active role promoting equality and tackling disadvantage and poverty. Lynn has served on the Women's National Commission, and Poverty Commissions in both Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region. She lives in Liverpool City Centre with her 2 teenage children.

► Jeanie Bell - St Helens

Jeanie has known the challenges of caring responsibilities from a young age, for her disabled mother, for a partner, and for 3 daughters. She returned to education at the age of 28 and developed a career working with offenders to address severe mental health and moderate learning disabilities, leaving care services, young people who are NEETS (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and as a lecturer in further education. Jeanie also serves as a St Helens Borough Councillor.

► Debbie Brannan - Sefton

Debbie began her career in local Government prior to becoming a trade union official. She now works for unite the union which represents union members across all sectors. As a Regional Campaigns Coordinator she is a senior member of the North West management team. Along with her team of Regional Officers she has particular responsibility for the public and not for profit sectors. Debbie is also a foster carer.

► Miro Griffiths MBE - Wirral

Miro is a distinguished human and disability rights campaigner, academic and expert who has advised the UK Government, non-Governmental organisations, and has worked at a European level. Miro also represented the UK at the signing ceremony of the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

► Debs Gwynn - Halton

Debs is a School teacher and active member of the National Education Union (previously the NUT) and their LGBT+ advisory committee, together with the NW TUC LGBT+ network.

► Lesley Martin Wright JP DL - Knowsley

Lesley is Chief Executive Officer of Knowsley Chamber of Commerce and a founding trustee of the Knowsley Foundation, in which capacities she has been involved in the pioneering work being done by the local authority to capture social impact and social return on investment in their approach to procurement. Lesley is also engaged in the work of the City region Social Economy Panel and serves as a member of the LCR LEP Enterprise Board.

► Gill Moglione MBE - Liverpool

Gill is chair of the Women's Organisation and runs her own training business. Previously she worked for the TUC education service and the Workers Education Association, pioneering women only courses for women trade union members in the 1980's. Gill was closely involved in the Merseyside Objective One process and chaired the informal advisory group on equality. She became Deputy Director of the Women's Technology Scheme which trained socially and economically excluded women in ICT, and was integral to the ₤5m redevelopment of Blackburne House Women's Centre in 1994.

► Mo Mohammadi - Sefton

Mo is a Chartered Building Surveyor and NRAC Consultant with 35 years' experience in the built environment accessibility and inclusive design. He is a Trustee Director of the Dyslexia Foundation and Board Member of Level Playing Field, an advisory national organisation promoting inclusion and accessibility of sporting venues.

► Jo Morfee - Liverpool

Jo is a Director at Liverpool Girl Geeks and the Co-Founder of Innovate Her, a pioneering organisation with a mission to tackle the gender imbalance within the digital and tech sector, through education and campaigning. Working with young women aged 11 to 17, Innovate Her uses Schools based programmes and industry role models to reverse gender inequality, improve digital skills and invest in the future of our young people.

► Dr Shyamal Mukherjee MBE - Wirral

Shyamal is now retired after a long and widely respected career as a Wirral GP and NHS medical director serving the peninsular. In addition he has a distinguished record of community and charitable service, for example as a founder member of Wirral Multicultural Organisation, and a founding trustee of The Reader, which inspires and supports vulnerable people to develop through reading great literature aloud together.

► The Venerable Pete Spiers - Knowsley and Sefton

Pete serves as an Archdeacon in the Diocese of Liverpool and has worked as a parish priest in Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley, ministering to a diverse cross section of local communities. In the 1990's he was a founder member of Browside Credit Union in Everton and currently chairs Sefton Faith Forum. He is on the steering group which formed the innovative 'New Realities' partnership uniting the local authority and the voluntary, community and faith sectors in a 'can do' collaboration.

Having experienced disability through Thalidomide, Pete has a heightened sense of injustice and will also provide an invaluable voice for the perspective of our faith communities.

► Dr Gee Walker - Knowsley

Dr Gee Walker's 18 year old son Anthony was murdered on 29 July 2005 in an unprovoked racial attack at a park in Huyton, Merseyside. Out of her grief the Anthony Walker Foundation was born, a charity working to promote racial harmony through education, sport and the arts. The foundation works with both the victims and perpetrators of hate crimes, celebrating diversity, challenging prejudice and promoting forgiveness in line with Gee's deeply held values. Gee is also a fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and Senior Fellow to Hope University.