Cllr Ian Cuthbertson

Constituency: City of York Council
appointed to the: Council of Governors

After a successful professional career as a software engineer, I retired some years ago, having worked for employers large and small, from government and public service organisations to large retail companies. Besides technical competence, good relations with client organisations and their staff were paramount in my work.

On being elected to City of York Council in 2003, I joined the Council’s Health & Social Care Scrutiny Committee and became its Chair a year later. I also sat on the Adoption Panel and the Committee responsible for one of the Council’s Family Resource Centres.

From 2011, I joined the Council’s Audit and Governance Committee alongside my work on the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee. When the latter was renamed as the Health & Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee, I also became a member of the Corporate Parenting Committee, the Committee responsible for the Young Person’s Family Resources Centre and the School Improvement and Monitoring Committee.

In 2019, I became the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education. Besides the main functions of this role, I took an active interest in developing our Early Years approach and our SEN Strategy, also giving strong political support to the Early Talk for York project from its inception to its roll-out across the city.

I have been a school governor at a primary school in my ward since 1998 and, in parallel with this, at a secondary school based in a nearby deprived part of York for some 8 years. In these roles, I have had a variety of governor responsibilities including literacy, phonics and safeguarding. During the last five years, I have volunteered in school, listening to children reading and helping them to understand the written and spoken word.

As the development of children’s communication skills and self-confidence is important to me, I intend to continue in this voluntary role and, as a member, will contribute to and support the Trust in whatever way I can.