Mayor and cabinet
The Mayor
Lewisham has a directly elected Mayor. Brenda Dacres was elected following a byelection on 7 March 2024.
The Mayor appoints a Cabinet to lead on decision making across the Council. She will confirm her Cabinet at the Council’s AGM.
Brenda has been a councillor since 2014, representing wards in New Cross and Deptford. She has been Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Development and Planning since 2021. She has also held the Environment and Transport Safer Communities briefs.
Brenda has lived in Lewisham for over 40 years. Her parents came to England from Jamaica in the 1960s as part of the Windrush generation, her dad working as a mechanic and black cab driver, and her mum as an NHS nurse.
Brenda received a grant from Lewisham Council and became the first in her family to go to university at London South Bank. She completed a degree in Physical Sciences with Computing before taking a Law degree at the University of Wolverhampton. She was called to the Bar in 2006 by Middle Temple.
To get in touch with Brenda email brenda.dacres@lewisham.gov.uk.
Brenda Dacres, Mayor of Lewisham
- Council events
- Civic calendar
- Mayor's Charity
- Trade unions
- Armed Forces Covenant
- Social housing building programme
- Planning
- Regeneration
- Bakerloo Line Extension
Councillor Chris Barnham, Cabinet Member for Children & Young People
- Primary and secondary school performance
- School admissions, attendance, inclusion and school place planning
- Special Educational Needs
- Early years education and childcare
- Early help and prevention, including children’s centres and family support
- Child protection and safeguarding
- Support for children in need
- Corporate parenting for looked after children and care leavers
- Youth services
- Child poverty
- Young Mayor's programme
- Youth violence
- Youth justice (including the Youth Offending Service)
Councillor Paul Bell, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care
- Adult social care, including care home and at-home provision and quality assurance
- Primary care
- Mental health
- Health & Wellbeing Board
- Health and social care integration
- Adult safeguarding
- Joint commissioning
- Supporting people
- Health services for LGBT+ residents
- Older people, including representation, active citizenship, combating isolation, housing, technology, aids and adaptions
- Technology, aids and adaptions
Councillor Juliet Campbell, Cabinet Member for Communities, Refugees and Wellbeing
- Community development
- Grants programmes
- Community centres
- Local Assemblies
- Refugee resettlement and migrant support
- Sanctuary Borough programme
- Birmingham & Lewisham African and Caribbean Health Inequalities Review (BLACHIR)
- Equalities
- Lewisham Disabled People's Commission
- Bereavement services
- Partnership with police
- Anti-social behaviour
- Violence against women and girls
- CCTV
Councillor Will Cooper, Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Homelessness
- Housing need, including lettings and allocations policy
- Repairs
- Future management of Lewisham Homes
- Homelessness and temporary accommodation
- Landlord licensing
- Private rented sector regulation
- Relationship with housing providers including housing associations
- Gypsies and Travellers
Councillor Amanda de Ryk, Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategy
- Council budget
- Manifesto implementation and Corporate Strategy delivery
- Human resources and organisational development
- Transformation
- Income generation
- Internal audit
- Efficiency
- Revenue collection and benefits
- Pensions
- Council contracting
- Ethical procurement and modern slavery
- Emergency planning and resilience
- Policy development
- Customer services and complaints
- Digital strategy
- Governance
- Legal services
- Democratic and electoral services
Councillor Louise Krupski, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Action
- Environment and climate change
- Air quality
- Transport, including walking and cycling
- Highways
- Parking strategy and enforcement
- Recycling and waste reduction
- Street cleaning and fly tipping
- Renewable energy, including district heat networks
- Street trees
- Fuel poverty
Councillor Kim Powell, Cabinet Member for Businesses, Jobs and Skills
- Local economic development and inclusive growth
- Evening and night-time economy
- Community Wealth Building
- Youth employment
- Mayor's Apprenticeship programme
- Business and retail support
- Markets
- Social enterprise
- Higher education
- Further education
- Regulatory services
- Environmental health and food safety
- Trading Standards
Councillor James-J Walsh, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Communications
Within the portfolio, Councillor James-J Walsh leads on:
- Culture, including London Borough of Culture 2022 legacy
- Arts
- Libraries
- Broadway Theatre
- Communications
- Adult education, including Adult Learning Lewisham
- Parks and green spaces
- Leisure centres
- Sports development