Dr Jane Roberts, DBE (Chair of the Commission)

Jane Roberts has extensive experience in local government. She was a councillor for the London Borough of Camden for 16 years, and Leader of the Council from 2000 until 2005. She is currently carrying out work for the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and the Local Government Leadership Centre. She is an Associate Fellow at Warwick University working with the Leadership Development Research Programme at Warwick Business School.

Professionally, Jane is a medical doctor specialising in child and adolescent psychiatry, and Director of Quality and Performance at Islington Primary Care Trust. She became Chair of the charity Parenting UK in December 2006. She has been a member of a number of commissions covering children's services, local government, sustainability and governance. Most recently, she has been a member of the Gilbert Teaching and Learning Review 2020 and has been appointed to the new OfSTED Board. She is also a member of the board of trustees of the Institute of Public Policy Research (ippr), and New Local Government Network (nlgn). In addition to numerous articles, she has published a number of academic papers in paediatrics, psychiatry and child psychiatry and was co-editor and contributor to 'The Politics of Attachment' (Free Association Books 1996).

Jane Roberts was awarded a DBE in 2004 New Year's Honours List for her services to local government.