Leadership of the Council

Councillor Nadine Peatfield Labour and Co-operative councillor for Sinfin and Osmaston since 2018. She is also the Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy.

Prior to becoming Leader of the Council, Councillor Peatfield was the Deputy Leader of the council for one year and Labour Group Deputy Leader for four years. She has previously been Shadow Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Regeneration and also the Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride prior to that. She has been a Board Director of both the Cathedral Quarter and St Peter’s Quarter Business Improvement Districts for four years and sat on Derby Museums Trust Board for a year.

As a drama and English graduate, Nadine has a life-long love of theatre, literature, and music, running her own community choir for more than 15 years. Having run her own Derby-based family magazine and events business, Nadine has a unique understanding of communities, business, culture, and events.

Councillor Peatfield was appointed to serve as the Leader of the Council at an Extraordinary meeting of Full Council on 18 June 2024. She is also the Cabinet Member for City Centre, Regeneration, Strategy and Policy.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Regeneration and Economic Growth
• Culture
• City Centre (Market Place, Becketwell, Market Hall, Castleward)
• Strategic Partnerships

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

City Growth and Vibrancy

• Regeneration and Economic Growth
• Culture

Corporate Management

• Communications and Marketing
• Strategy, Performance and Partnerships
• Projects and Change
• Policy and Insight

Labour and Cooperative Councillor for Abbey Ward since 2014, Paul is a retired secondary school teacher.

He served as the Cabinet Member for Cost of Living, Equalities and Customer Inclusion from May 2023 until he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills in July 2024.

In opposition, Paul served as Shadow Cabinet Member for Cost of Living, Adults and Health and Children and Young People. Paul was formerly the Chair of the Audit and Accounts Committee and is a long-standing member of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Board and the Corporate Parenting Committee. Paul is also a longstanding member of the Poverty Commission and a Trustee of Bramblebrook Community Centre.

Councillor Hezelgrave was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Skills at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Early Help and Children’s Social Care
• Learning and Inclusion
• Commissioning and Delivery
• SEND
• Jobs and Skills

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

Early Help and Children’s Social Care

• Children’s Quality Assurance
• Specialist Services
• Early Help
• Social Care Fieldwork
• Children’s Residential Care
• Fostering and Permanence

Learning, Inclusion and Skills

• Inclusion and Intervention
• Transition 2
• Employment, Skills and Adult Education
• SEN Quality and Improvement

Commissioning & Delivery

• Children’s Commissioning, Brokerage and Market Management
• School Organisation and Provision

Sarah has a wealth of experience, holding various roles of responsibility in the public and private sector. Sarah has witnessed firsthand how poverty, modern day slavery, the cost of living crisis and inequality affects many people in our society. Sarah will draw on these experiences, as well as work with partners and agencies to positively influence change for the people of Derby. 

Sarah has volunteered for many community groups over the years and recognises the benefits and how valuable these groups are, especially over recent years. This prompted Sarah to stand to be a Councillor in Sinfin and Osmaston, the ward she and her family grew up in, spanning 70+ years. The richest thing Sarah had growing up, was community and always strives for more UNITY in the commUNITY. 

Since being elected in May 2023, Sarah has been a member of the Licensing Committee, Communities, Public Protection and Housing Scrutiny Review Board, Regeneration, Vibrancy and Climate Change Scrutiny Review Board and is the chair of Sinfin and Osmaston Neighbourhood Ward Board Committee.

Family is the most important thing to Sarah, along with her other passion, her beloved Derby County FC!

Councillor Chambers was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Cost of Living, Equalities and Communities at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Community Cohesion
• Libraries
• Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) and Partnership Engagement

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

Corporate Management

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Communities
• Community Safety and Localities (Cohesion)
• Libraries

Hardyal Dhindsa has been a councillor for 30 years and is currently the Labour and Cooperative councillor for Blagreaves Ward. Hardyal previously served as a councillor for Normanton Ward for 19 years; and Boulton Ward for 9 years. He was the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner from 2016-2021.

Hardyal was appointed Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride in May 2023 and as Cabinet Member for Digital and Organisational Transformation in July 2024. He was previously Shadow Cabinet Member for Communities and Streetpride and was also the Chair of the Communities Scrutiny Board. He has also served as a member of the Executive Scrutiny Board and is a Derbyshire Police and Crime Panel member. He has been the Council’s Ethnic Minorities Champion, Chair of the Race Equality Forum, and is a Trustee of the Restorative Justice Council.

Professionally, Hardyal is a qualified Probation Officer, with 30 years’ experience, including 22 as a strategic manager. He has extensive experience of the Criminal Justice System and victim support services, gained during his 5 years as Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

In the past Hardyal has held other Cabinet posts including, Adult Health and Wellbeing, Education and Lifelong Learning, Highways and Environment and Leisure and Culture.

Councillor Dhindsa was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Digital and Organisational Transformation at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Digital Enablement and Automation (AI)
• Human Resources and Workforce Development
• Customer Engagement
• Trade Union liaison

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

Digital Infrastructure and Customer Engagement

• Digital Enablement and Automation
• ICT Infrastructure and Cyber Security
• Customer Engagement and Registration Services
• Accommodation, Facilities, Health and Safety

Corporate Management

• Human Resources and Workforce Development, including Trade Union liaison

Shiraz Khan has been a councillor for Arboretum Ward since 2004. He was the Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regulatory Services from May 2023 until July 2024.

Shiraz served as Shadow Cabinet Member for Housing for three years and more recently served as the Chair of the Planning Control Committee and Chair of the Standards Committee. He has also been the Chair of the General Licensing and Personnel Committees.

He was the Mayor of the City of Derby during the Municipal Year 2014-15.

Councillor Shiraz Khan was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Housing, Strategic Planning and Regulatory Services at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Strategic planning, including HROs
• Strategic housing
• Homelessness & rough sleeping
• Regulatory Services

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

City Growth and Vibrancy

• Planning, including HMOs

Communities

• Strategic Housing
• Licensing
• Regulatory Services

Derby Homes

• Derby Advice
• Housing Options and Homelessness
• Temporary Homelessness

Councillor Kathy Kozlowski was first elected to represent Chaddesden West ward in May 2023. She has worked in the charity and health sectors for more than 30 years in Derby City and Derbyshire. Previously, Kathy was the CEO of a charity that provides housing and support to people recovering from mental health problems and most recently was a Director of Governance and Safeguarding for a national social inclusion charity.

Over the past three decades, she has worked with many charitable and voluntary groups in the community.

Kathy has served on the Council’s Personnel Committee, the Licensing Committee and also the Children and Young People and Skills Scrutiny Board.

Councillor Kozlowski was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Governance and Finance at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Corporate Governance, Property and Procurement
• Finance
• Demand and Insight
• Asset Rationalisation

Their responsibilities include:

Corporate Governance, Procurement and Property

• Legal, Insurance and Information Governance
• Democracy
• Procurement
• Property and Consultancy Services
• Estates and Property Review

Finance

• Corporate Finance
• Business Partnering
• Major Projects
• Business Support and Debt Management
• Internal Audit

Alison Martin has been a Councillor for Darley Ward for three years, and was previously a Councillor for Boulton Ward, when she was a Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture. She has been the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care since May 2023.

She was formerly: Chair of the Adults and Health Scrutiny Board; Chair of the Resources and Governance Scrutiny Board; Shadow Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, and Shadow Cabinet Member for Children and Young People.

Alison is currently Chair of the Derby Health and Wellbeing Board and Co-Chair of the Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Partnership. She is a Council representative on the Déda Board and on SACRE. Formerly, she was a Board member of Derby Homes, Quad and Sinfonia Viva. She was, for many years, a governor, and Chair of Governors at Woodlands School.

Councillor Martin was re-appointed as the Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Care at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Health Inequality
• Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) (Joined Up Care Derbyshire)
• Community Support
• Adults Commissioning

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

Public Health

• Health Inequality

Adult Social Care Services

• Community Support and Frailty
• Learning, Disabilities, Autism and Mental Health
• Safeguarding and Professional Standards

Commissioning and Delivery

• Adults Commissioning, Integration and Market Development

Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha was elected to represent Mackworth and New Zealand ward in 2023. He is the first African to be elected in the city of Derby.

He is a Creative Director with over 16 years of experience creating marketing communications for global brands such as Uber, Guinness, Johnnie Walker, Ciroc, British Council, ABInBev, E.On Next, Total Energy, WorldRemit, Fidelity Bank, and others. He is also a storyteller and an Arts Council England-endorsed spoken word poet.

He has previously served as a juror on international advertising festivals such as the New York Festivals Advertising Award, AD Stars, South Korea, Pitchers Awards, and Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival.

Councillor Onuoha was born and raised in Aba, Abia State, Nigeria. He moved to Derby in 2021 with his wife and two children. Councillor Onuoha has served on various committees and is a member of the board of Déda.

He is also a member of the Neighbourhood Board for Mackworth and New Zealand.

Councillor Onuoha was appointed as the Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Public Safety and Leisure at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• Neighbourhood Services
• Community Safety, including Public Protection Officers (PPOs)
• Leisure and Parks
• Neighbourhood Working and Community Recovery

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

Communities

• Neighbourhood Services
• Waste Disposal
• Community Safety and Localities, including PPOs and Public Safety
• Leisure and Parks

As a dedicated Councillor for Darley Ward, Carmel understands the complex relationship between environmental sustainability, transportation systems, and public well-being. With her experience working in health and social care and human rights, and her current position as a CEO championing financial inclusion she has witnessed the struggles of marginalised communities affected by environmental issues.

Carmel is a passionate advocate for initiatives that address social determinants of health. Carmel believes in collaboration and actively seeks input from specialists, activists, and community leaders to develop holistic strategies, prioritising the environment, transportation, and public health of Derby.

Councillor Swan was first appointed as the Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Transport and Sustainability at the Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2023. She was reappointed at Full Council on 17 July 2024.

Portfolio Themes and Priorities

• City Sustainability
• Climate Change
• Our City Our River Project
• Rewilding
• Bus Partnership

This includes overall strategic responsibility for the following Council services:

City Sustainability

• Highways Maintenance
• Traffic and Transport
• Climate and Environment