The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee met to interview candidates for the position of Director of Early Help and Safeguarding. Following interviews with two candidates, the sub-committee agreed to recommend the appointment of Mahfuzul Khan, currently the Acting Director of Early Help and Safeguarding at the London Borough of Newham, subject to no objections from Cabinet Members within two working days. The meeting was held partially in private due to the confidential nature of the candidate information.

Appointment of Director of Early Help and Safeguarding

The Chief Officer Appointments Sub-Committee convened to interview candidates for the Director of Early Help and Safeguarding position and recommend an appointment. The recommendation is subject to consultation with every member of the Cabinet for two working days, during which they can raise objections based on material fact.

The report for the appointment stated that the recruitment process began with an advert on Wednesday 16th July 2025 in the online Guardian, Jobs Go Public, and the Newham Council website for three weeks. Laura Eden, Corporate Director of Children and Young People Services, oversaw the recruitment, with support from Caroline Bloch, Strategic HR Business Partner. Councillor Sarah Jane Ruiz, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children Services and Education, and Sustainable Transport, was also consulted.

Twenty-two applications were received, with five applicants longlisted. Thirteen of the applicants were Social Work Registered, which was an essential requirement for the role. Tim Aldridge, Corporate Director of Children's Services, London Borough of Camden and former Corporate Director of Children's Services with the London Borough of Newham, assessed the longlisted candidates on 19 and 20 August 2025. Three candidates were then invited to a selection assessment centre between 4 and 10 September 2025, which included a partner stakeholder panel and a young people's panel.

The minutes of the meeting record that the sub-committee interviewed two candidates for the post.

The sub-committee agreed to recommend the appointment of Mahfuzul Khan, currently employed as Acting Director of Early Help and Safeguarding at the London Borough of Newham, subject to there being no objections from Cabinet Members.

The report for the appointment noted that the position is a budgeted post, and salary costs will be within the range set out in the Council's Pay Policy for 2025/2026.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The Sub-Committee resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting under the provisions of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972¹, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985². This was because the information to be considered fell into paragraphs 1 and 3 of the legislation, relating to information about individuals and financial or business affairs. The Sub-Committee determined that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.

Under the provisions of the Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as amended by subsequent legislation, the Sub-Committee RESOLVED that press and public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting as Members considered information the nature of which fell into paragraphs 1 and 3 of this legislation. In view of the nature of the information it was not considered that the matter passed the public interest test and therefore all discussion were held in closed session.

Declarations of Interest

Councillor Sarah Jane Ruiz, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Children Services and Education, and Sustainable Transport, declared a non-pecuniary interest because she had worked closely with one of the candidates for several years. Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, of Newham, also declared a non-pecuniary interest because she had interacted with one of the candidates.

The Public reports pack included guidance on declaring interests, referencing the Members' Code of Conduct and the Localism Act 2011³. It covered Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) and Non-Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, as well as bias and predetermination.