The Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has named Dame Rachel de Souza as his preferred candidate to be the next Children’s Commissioner for England, following approval by the Prime Minister.

Dame Rachel de Souza will now go on to attend a pre-appointment hearing before the Education Select Committee, on a date to be confirmed by the Committee.

Mr Williamson has also appointed Annie Hudson as the new Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, a key oversight role in children’s social care.

The independent panel of experts was established in July 2018 to review serious child safeguarding incidents, when children have died or suffered serious harm, or where abuse or neglect is suspected. Ms Hudson will take over from Interim Chair Karen Manners QPM, whose appointment ends on 24 December.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

It is more important than ever before to have experienced and dedicated colleagues working with us in a shared ambition to protect and defend the most vulnerable children.

Annie Hudson’s impressive and proven leadership in children’s services makes her best placed to drive the important work of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel.

I look forward to finalising the appointment of Dame Rachel de Souza as the next Children’s Commissioner, where she will bring her considerable experience of raising outcomes for every child to this essential role.

I am grateful to Anne Longfield and Karen Manners for their service, acting as a champion for the children in this country who need the most support.

The Children’s Commissioner serves a six year term and current Commissioner Anne Longfield OBE will continue in her role until 28 February 2021.

Dame Rachel de Souza is currently the Chief Executive of the Inspiration Trust – a multi-academy trust of 14 academies based in Norfolk and north Suffolk, which aims to turnaround poorly performing schools. She was appointed a Dame in the New Year’s Honours in 2014 for her services to Education.

Following her pre-appointment hearing, the Education Select Committee will publish their recommendations, which the Education Secretary will consider before deciding whether to finalise the appointment.

Formerly Director of Children’s Services at both Lambeth Borough Council in London and Bristol City Council, Ms Hudson is an experienced children’s services leader. She also comes with a wealth of experience on several national boards, including as a member of the What Works Centre for Children Social Care advisory board and as a trustee at The Social Care Institute for Excellence and Oxfam GB.

Incoming Chair of the Panel, Annie Hudson, said:

I feel immensely privileged and excited to have been appointed to the role of Chair of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel. I want to do all that I can to make sure that the Panel’s work has a very clear and positive impact on safeguarding practice and, most crucially, on the lives of children, young people, and their families.

Anne Longfield OBE will continue in her role as the Children’s Commissioner for England until 28 February 2021.

Its re-opening and improvement, which will benefit cyclists and pedestrians in particular, was made possible by Highways England’s designated funds programme which covered almost half the £7.9 million project costs.

Bruce Parker, Highways England’s head of planning and development for the North West, said:

As part of our ongoing commitment to giving cyclists and pedestrians a better deal along our major A roads network, including the A66, we were delighted to be able to provide almost half the money needed to restore and enhance the link between Keswick and Threlkeld. It is fitting that the route has re-opened today exactly five years after it was so badly damaged by Storm Desmond.

The route provides a much safer and far more pleasant alternative to cyclists and pedestrians using the busy A66 and we hope it is used and enjoyed for many years to come.

To mark the re-opening on Friday two local school children from Threlkeld and St Herbert’s Primary Schools were the first through the Bobbin Mill tunnel which has been re-opened for the first time in nearly 50 years as part of the project to fully reconnect the route.

Monty and Holly both aged 10, were joined by the Mayor of Keswick, Paul Titley, Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park Authority, Richard Leafe, along with various other community and partner representatives for a socially distanced celebration.

The Keswick to Threlkeld Railway trail has been fully reconnected and enhanced, new picnic benches, seats and perches at viewpoints have been installed as well as new comprehensive on-site interpretation to fully tell the national park local history and heritage story of the trail and give information on local wildlife and flora and fauna. In 2015 Storm Desmond brought the worst floods the county has seen, with around 178.4 mm of rain falling in Keswick. As a result two of the original Victorian railway bridges that cross the River Greta and around 200 metres of path were completely washed away, Rawsomes Bridge was deemed unsafe and the well-used route between Keswick and Threlkeld was completely cut off.

As much as possible the Lake District National Park found some alternative routes but through feedback it was clear how important the route was to the communities of Keswick and Threlkeld, visitors to the area and to local businesses. As part of the design stage, a survey showed that the reconnection of the trail could be worth around £2 million to the local economy.

The extensive reconnection project has included:

• rebuilding and repairing 5 kilometres of the trail
• re-opening and extending of the Bobbin Mill railway tunnel
• construction of two new bridges
• extensive repair of a third bridge
• creation of 200 metres of brand new path
• work completed to stabilise the river bank along the way
• entire route being made more resilient to future flooding
• new on site interpretation project completed

Richard Leafe, Chief Executive of the Lake District National Park Authority said:

This has been the most ambitious construction project we’ve undertaken as a National Park Authority. It’s taken five years to complete due to the scale, but we’re thrilled to be able to reopen the trail on the anniversary of Storm Desmond. I’d like to thank all of our funders and project partners for their input and the local community for their initial fundraising and for their patience whilst the work was ongoing. I very much look forward to using the trail and seeing others make use of this fantastic safe, local route which provides a sustainable transport link between Keswick and Threlkeld.

A £7.9 million package was agreed to enable the project to go ahead and consisted of funding from the European Structural Investment Funds which supports innovation, businesses, low carbon activity to improve local growth and create jobs. Funding was also received from Highways England, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and the Lake District Foundation.

Jim Jackson, Chair of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership’s Investment Panel, said:

We are delighted that with the assistance of a £300,000 contribution from the Local Growth Fund, the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway Path is set to reopen to the public. This much-loved route will strengthen the visitor experience and economic performance of the Lake District National Park. We’re looking forward to seeing both Keswick and Threlkeld communities benefit as visitors enjoy the route once again.

Additionally the Lake District foundation led a fundraising campaign which was supported by the local community, with businesses, residents, visitors and organisations all playing their part in raising money through everything from duck races to online auctions.

Sarah Swindley, the Lake District Foundation’s CEO, commented:

The community fundraising campaign raised an incredible £130,000. We were thrilled to have had so much support from the local community, businesses, residents, visitors and organisations; everyone played their part to make it happen. We would like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who donated during the campaign. We are looking forward to the opening this Saturday and for everyone to enjoy the new path for years to come.

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A copy of the letter sent to Liverpool City Council on 8 December seeking written assurances, including on the steps the council has taken to improve governance and to ensure that the council is operating properly and in line with its Best Value Duty.