Councillor Chris Read

Leader – Councillor Chris Read

Councillor Read was elected on 5th May 2011 and he was elected Leader of the Council on 4th March 2015 in the wake of Louise Casey’s corporate governance inspection report. As Leader, he has taken personal responsibility for leading the drive towards corporate improvement, organisational and cultural change, and is responsible for the Council’s governance and ethical framework. 

Councillor Read is the Chair of the Rotherham Together Partnership.  He is the Vice-Chair of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, appointed chair of the SCR Transport and Environment Board and a member of the SCR LEP.  Councillor Read is also chair of South Yorkshire Leader’s Meeting which rotates on a 4-yearly cycle.

He was born and raised in Rotherham and is a councillor for Rotherham’s Swinton Rockingham ward.

Previously he worked for a Member of the European Parliament and the leadership of another local authority.

As Leader of the Council, Councillor Read has responsibility for:

·       Overall leadership of the Council

·       Overall responsibility for ensuring the Council sets and delivers a balanced budget

·       Oversight of the Council’s response to Child Sexual Exploitation

·       Setting Corporate Policy including the Council Plan

·       To lead on corporate performance management arrangements

·       Reputation management and corporate communication

·       Corporate Improvement, Innovation and Organisational change

·       To lead on Standards & Governance

·       Overall responsibility for Corporate Governance, including signing the Council’s Annual Governance Statement to confirm the Council has appropriate rules, policies and procedures in place and operating effectively for managing its business

·       To lead the Council’s formal Conciliation and Consultation arrangements

·       Member of the Rotherham Together Partnership Board

·       To lead on City Region activity and devolution, including as member of South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

·       Customer Services

·       Community Cohesion

·       To be responsible for Social Value through corporate Commissioning and Procurement strategies and their implementation including Community Wealth Building

Working with you to help build communities that we can all take pride in has always been a priority for the Council.

We value the contributions that people make within their local area, through volunteering and getting involved in decision making, to really make a difference for everyone who lives there. By building on the work we've already done together we can continue to find new ways to meet the challenges facing Rotherham.

Further information regarding the Swinton Rockingham ward can be found on the Council’s website.