John W Spence

Tuesday 22 January 2008

Board Member for Wales and Chair of Welsh Food Advisory Committee

Prior to his retirement in 2003, John Spence worked for over 36 years in local government in England and Wales, a substantial portion of which was at a senior and strategic level in district and, most recently, unitary authorities.

After a successful period as Director of Environment and Health for Swansea unitary authority, where he oversaw a number of complex and difficult structural changes, he was invited to fill a newly-created Deputy Chief Executive post, before stepping up to become the Council’s Acting Chief Executive. During this period, he introduced a corporate planning process for the entire authority, linked to a performance management and personal appraisal system.

John has been an adviser to the Welsh Local Government Association and is a former Chair of one of the regional Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAATs) in Wales. He has also been an adviser to the Welsh Assembly’s Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Review Board and has served on a number of other national advisory bodies. He is a former President of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health in Wales, and has previously held the post of Chair of the Welsh Collaboration for Health and Environment and the Society of Public Protection Officers (Wales).

Since his retirement, John continues to work with organisations in the public sector on a consultancy basis in England, Wales (including the National Assembly for Wales) and Northern Ireland.