About the commissioners and political advisors
Commissioners
Tony McArdle (Lead Commissioner)
Tony McArdle was Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council for 12 years and, before that, of Wellingborough Council for 8 years.
- Lead Commissioner at both Northamptonshire County Council and Nottingham City Council.
- Improvement Board Chair for the London Borough of Croydon.
- Lead Inspector for the Best Value Inspection of Thurrock Council.
The Secretary of State has nominated Tony as Lead Commissioner to:
- bring together the team
- set the direction
- co-ordinate work to make sure the direction is followed
John Coughlan CBE (Commissioner 2)
John is very skilled in local council governance. He was Chief Executive of Hampshire County Council and has a lot of experience in local council interventions, especially in children's services.
John has been asked to focus on broad improvement and governance by:
- supporting cultural change and transformation
- driving forward work on the long-term sustainability of the council
He will work alongside his role as Commissioner for special educational needs and disability (SEND) services in Birmingham, for which he reports to the Secretary of State for Education.
Chris Tambini (Commissioner 3)
Chris was the Director of Corporate Resources at Leicestershire County Council, where he has held other roles, including Section 151 Officer and Head of Strategic Finance.
He was the President of the Society of County Treasurers and worked at city unitary councils.
Chris will focus on the council's financial position and recovery. This will include:
- supporting our work to develop and implement a plan for managing the significant equal pay liabilities that led to the section 114 notices
- overseeing the steps needed to manage other budget pressures for the current financial year (2023 to 2024) and beyond
- returning the council to a position of long-term financial sustainability
- considering what action may be necessary to make sure we have appropriate and effective processes, governance, and capacity in relation to our overall financial management
Pam Parkes FCIPD (Commissioner 4)
Pam is the current Executive Director for People and Transformation at Essex County Council, an FCIPD-qualified senior practitioner, and a member of the Best Value Inspection Team at Thurrock Council.
Pam will focus on improving our human resource and organisational design capacity and finding solutions to the equal pay issue.
This includes making sure the right steps are taken at the required pace to address and manage our equal pay liabilities in a way that is sustainable and represents value for money.
Myron Hrycyk (Commissioner 5)
Myron has held senior executive roles as Group Chief Information Officer and Chief Procurement Officer at Severn Trent Water, and Chief Information Officer at Yusen Logistics.
Myron has worked in a range of sectors, including:
- financial services
- technology
- utilities
- logistics
Myron will focus on supporting us in fixing our Oracle issues, improving IT, and providing commercial insight.
Jackie Belton (Commissioner 6)
Jackie is the Chief Executive of the London Borough of Bexley.
She was the Executive Director of Operations at the London Borough of Newham, where she was responsible for:
- housing
- planning
- regeneration
- environment
She was also Assistant Director of Housing Strategy at the London Borough of Camden.
Jackie will focus on supporting our housing services.
Political advisors
John Biggs (Political Advisor)
John Biggs was Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets and previously served as Leader of the Labour Group and Council Leader.
He has also served in the London Assembly.
He has now retired from elected politics.
Page last updated: 8 September 2026
