The Secretary of State has appointed Sally Cheshire CBE as the Chair of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass).The Secretary of State has also reappointed Catherine Doran, Paul Grant and Mandy Jones as board members of Cafcass.
Sally Cheshire has been appointed as Chair of Cafcass for 3 years from 1 April 2021.
Sally Cheshire CBE, Interim Cafcass Chair since December 2019 and a Board Member since May 2018, is an experienced Chair, Board member and Audit Chair across the public sector and is an adoptive parent of three children. She was a Board Member of the regional adoption agency, Adoption Counts and remains an independent member of Adoption Panels in the North West, which approve adopters and family matches in the best interests of children.
Sally is Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, the UK's regulator of the fertility sector and embryo research. She has held several senior leadership roles across the NHS and the wider health and care sector including with Health Education England, NHS North and the Health Research Authority. Sally is also a member of the Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee at the Department of Work and Pensions, and is a Board member of the Care Quality Commission.
She has not declared any political activity.
Catherine Doran has been reappointed as a member of Cafcass for 4 years commencing 14 May 2021.
Catherine has a background in social work, safeguarding and policy development. She was previously an executive director of children services in London before retiring. She has worked in a variety of public sector services for over 36 years. Her portfolio at executive level has spanned both central and local government, the NHS and more recently the not-for profit Sector.
Catherine was a non-executive director at the Disclosure and Barring Service before joining Cafcass. She is presently a member of the Children's Advisory Board of the British Board of Film Classification and a board member of a children's charity.
She has not declared any political activity.
Paul Grant has been reappointed as a member of Cafcass for 2 years commencing 1 April 2021.
Paul has been the 'Responsible Individual' and a director of an independent fostering agency since 2012. He has held several other non-executive director roles, since 2007, working in the criminal justice, housing and health sectors. Since 2014, Paul has sat as a lay panel member on fitness to practise/professional conduct panels.
Paul is also a member of the Nursing & Midwifery Council's Test of Competence Assurance Advisory Group. He also acts as the Reg 44 'Independent Visitor' for a children's home. He is currently a member of the Cafcass Children's Advisory Board.
He has not declared any political activity.
Mandy Jones has been reappointed as a member of Cafcass for 4 years from 14 May 2021.
In 1990, Mandy joined the Civil Service as policy lead for the Prison Service Medical Directorate. She has undertaken a range of roles based in various locations across the UK and France. The majority of her career has focused on operational delivery, organisational improvement, change management and programme delivery working in the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Cabinet Office. Working at senior level for the last 15 years of her career she was accountable for the delivery of a number of major organisational change programmes.
Mandy is currently a full time foster carer and foster care ambassador based in Kent where she lives with her husband and adult children. As a care leaver herself and, from the work she undertook within the National Prison and Probation Service, she understands the impact individuals can have in helping others change their lives and create better futures.
She has not declared any political activity.
Cafcass is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), sponsored by the MOJ and created under the Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000. The Body safeguards and promotes the welfare of children involved in Family Court proceedings.
These reappointments have been made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Appointments to the Cafcass Board are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
