Waltham Forest Council leader Grace Williams has re-organised her cabinet team following the local election earlier this month.

Ahsan Khan, previously responsible for community safety, has been given the key job of managing housing and will join Clyde Loakes as deputy leader. Other changes include the promotion of previously junior cabinet member Vicky Ashworth to a lead role overseeing jobs, social inclusion and equalities.

Announcing her new team cabinet this week, Cllr Williams said: “Our newly-elected Labour administration will tackle the tough challenges we face, that  have been created by government failures.

“We will offer a fairer future for all. We will fullfil our pledges to the community and will be confident about how we use our resources, powers and assets.

Read more: Council leader promises 'fairer future' and to tackle 'government failure'

“Where we have outgrown old ways of doing things, we will come up with innovative ways of doing things locally.”

Cllr Williams became leader in September last year, after former leader Clare Coghill moved to Devon and became vice-chair of a housing developer that had won a council regeneration contract in Waltham Forest six months earlier.

Four councillors also have ‘commissioner’ roles in the leadership team, including former mayor Elizabeth Baptiste and newly-elected councillor Kizzy Gardiner, who was the UK’s first locum MP when she covered Stella Creasy’s maternity leave. Commissioners have an action-focused role and do not have any decision-making or voting powers, reporting directly to the council leader.

Departing cabinet members include Simon Miller, who did not stand for re-election, and Liaquat Ali, who was refused the chance to run for re-election by the local Labour Party.

The cabinet roles in full:

  • Leader: Grace Williams; strategy and policy, budget, communications, events and culture.
  • Deputy leader and climate and air quality portfolio: Clyde Loakes; climate change, waste, transport and parking.
  • Deputy leader and housing and regeneration portfolio: Ahsan Khan; housing targets, regeneration schemes and regulation of private housing.
  • Health and wellbeing portfolio: Naheed Asghar; public health, parks, Whipps Cross Hospital development, sport and leisure.
  • Jobs, social inclusion and equalities portfolio: Vicky Ashworth (formerly te Velde); financial support, jobs and overseeing the University of Portsmouth project.
  • Public service portfolio: Paul Douglas; libraries and leisure centres, human resources, commercial operations, emergency planning and democracy.
  • Community safety portfolio: Khevyn Limbajee; safety and crime, working with the police, planning enforcement.
  • Adults portfolio: Louise Mitchell; adult social care, wellbeing and poverty reduction.
  • Children and young people: Alistair Strathern; schools, children’s social care, youth offending, early help and special educational needs.
  • Cabinet commissioners:
  • Shaping places: Elizabeth Baptiste 
  • Culture: Ros Doré (formerly Flowers)
  • Youth hubs and engagement: Kizzy Gardiner
  • Customer experience: Sharon Waldron