The Chief Officer Advisory Appointments Committee of Newham Council met on Wednesday 2 September 2026. The primary item scheduled for discussion was the appointment of a new Director of Public Health. The meeting also included procedural items such as apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

Appointment of Director of Public Health

The committee was scheduled to consider the appointment of a Director of Public Health. This is a statutory chief officer role within the council, responsible for providing strategic leadership on all health matters to elected members and officers, with the aim of improving population health and reducing health inequalities. The Director of Public Health is accountable to the Newham Health and Wellbeing Board, the Chief Executive, and the Secretary of State for Health through the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities.

The report pack indicated that a previous recruitment process for this role, which concluded with interviews on 1 May 2026, had been halted due to a formal objection raised in accordance with the Council's Constitution. The Monitoring Officer had subsequently determined this objection to be well-founded, preventing the appointment from proceeding.

Following this, the Chief Officer Appointment Committee met on 19 June 2026 and resolved that the four shortlisted candidates should be re-interviewed to maintain the integrity and fairness of the original recruitment process. The recruitment campaign had been supported by Penna recruitment agency, resulting in eight applications, four of which were longlisted. These candidates were assessed by Eleanor Roaf, Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Assessor, and a representative from Penna. Shortlisting took place on 17 April 2026, with four candidates invited to a selection assessment centre between 20 and 29 April 2026, followed by one-to-one meetings with Fiona Connolly, Corporate Director of Adults and Health. Eleanor Roaf confirmed that all shortlisted candidates met the required qualifications, registration, training, and experience. The final shortlist was approved by Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director for Public Health England.

However, by the time of this meeting, one candidate had withdrawn, leaving three candidates to be interviewed. Details of these candidates, their supporting documentation, and interview papers were provided in an exempt appendix.

The report pack outlined a recommendation for the Chief Officer Appointment Sub-Committee and the Advisory Appointments Committee to recommend the successful applicant to the Council for appointment, following the conclusion of interviews. The details of the successful candidate would be recorded in the formal minutes of the meeting.

The report also noted that the recommendation of the Committee would be subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for a period of two working days, during which they could raise any reasonable, well-founded objections based on material fact. Furthermore, as the post of Director of Public Health is a joint appointment with the Secretary of State, Julie Billett, Deputy Regional Director for the DHSC's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, would confirm whether the Secretary of State approves the appointment.

The report confirmed that the appointment process and recommendation were in accordance with the Council's Constitution and Officer Employment Procedure Rules, and that all appointments must comply with general employment legislation and the Council's recruitment policy. Financially, the role is an established and budgeted post, with salary and associated on-costs to be met from existing resources within the Public Health budget, meaning no additional budget pressure for the Council. Recruitment costs had also been met from existing approved budgets.

The committee membership for this discussion included Mayor Forhad Hussain (Chair), Councillor Susan Masters, Julie Billett (Deputy Regional Director of Public Health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities - London Region, DHSC), Eleanor Roaf (Faculty of Public Health Assessor), Dame Marie Gabriel (Chair of the North-East London Integrated Care Board), and Fiona Connolly (Corporate Director of Adults and Health). Caroline Bloch, Strategic HR Business Partner, was also in attendance.