Paul recently became an independent consultant/adviser following thirty years of work in the public sector in the Midlands. Having started in further education and adult guidance, Paul spent most of his career in education administration and inspection. Following a spell as the West Midlands Skills and Knowledge Advisor, Paul has spent the last four years at Wolverhampton Partnership leading on performance and improvement, inspection and Total Place and organisational development. Most recently, Paul developed and wrote Wolverhampton’s Child Poverty Strategy and Needs Assessment and supported the voluntary and community sector in developing partnership-based approaches to early intervention and prevention. He has just completed developing a “One Council” operating model for Wolverhampton City Council reflecting new ways of working and the localism agenda.