Outstanding Individual Contribution
Westminster City Council
Shummi Begum
Shummi Begum has transformed Westminster City Council’s approach to supporting vulnerable residents through her resilience, compassion, and innovation. As a cornerstone of the Customer Advocacy Team (CAT), she has personally resolved over 1,000 cases and helped the team achieve a 10-day average resolution time for 80% of cases. Shummi’s approach fosters trust, collaboration, and systemic improvements, earning exceptional resident feedback (97% for empathy and satisfaction). She champions proactive solutions, prevents complaints, and drives cultural change within the Housing Contact Centre. Shummi’s dedication has set a new standard for public service, ensuring Westminster’s vision of a fairer community becomes a reality.
Enfield LBC
Mervin Cato
Mervin Cato’s innovative mindset and challenging of the status quo has been fundamental in addressing complex education challenges, in particular, how to keep vulnerable young people in school. By implementing creative strategies and thinking outside the box, he has championed those with less of a voice. The data on permanent exclusions, is evidence of impact. It is under Mervin’s leadership that a team of dedicated, passionate, professionals have worked tirelessly to support vulnerable young people in Enfield. The supporting material document of testimonials speaks for itself.
Sheffield City Council
Tracey Ford
Our brilliant City Centre Operations and Development Manager, Tracey Ford, has overseen a significant improvement in support available for the most vulnerable people in Sheffield. Tracey’s approach, hard work and resulting impact has been selfless and has a positive impact upon the council and voluntary partner’s interaction and offer to these groups. The biggest example of this is her designing and leading on a unique initiative that brings together partners around an intensive package of support to reframe our approach to homelessness and criminal offending. Overall, her efforts and contribution over the past year have been nothing short of outstanding.
Northumberland CC
David Green
David performs far beyond the standard expectations of his role, delivering extraordinary results that benefit the community, the environment, and Northumberland County Council as a whole. His management of the Lynemouth Bay Coastal Landfill Remediation project demonstrates his ability to manage complex, high-profile projects while balancing this with our regular programme of works. David has delivered a project that will leave a lasting impact on the Northumberland coastline and its residents. He has actively sought opportunities to enhance the project’s wider benefits, from securing additional funding and creating job opportunities for residents, to engaging with schools and organizing community events.
Richmond upon Thames LBC and Wandsworth LBC
Lisa Poole
Lisa is an inspirational officer, consistently generating innovative ideas for how the Council and its partners can better utilise and share data to support residents at risk of financial exclusion. Her tenacity and refusal to accept no for an answer have won over partners, including utility companies, the DWP, and the Cabinet Office, securing their agreement to share data and target support. This work has already yielded incredible results in improving outcomes for our most financially vulnerable residents, with many more ideas and projects in the pipeline.
Kensington and Chelsea RBC
Kirsty Tobin
Kirsty Tobin is nominated for the Outstanding Individual Contribution Award for her exceptional achievements in local government communications. Joining the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in 2017, she led Grenfell community communications and continues to deliver innovative, resident-focused initiatives. This year, Kirsty spearheaded the impactful New Homes, Safer Homes campaign, addressing housing and safety concerns while fostering trust. Achieving record engagement, positive media coverage, and measurable outcomes, Kirsty’s leadership and creativity shine. She also launched new digital channels, championed the Service Standards initiative, and nurtured a collaborative team culture. Kirsty’s resilience, professionalism, and compassion make her an exemplary candidate.
Hackney LBC
Michael Wiktorko
Michael Wiktorko has transformed Hackney Council’s Parking Service through visionary leadership and innovative solutions. Overcoming significant challenges like financial constraints, union disputes, and low staff morale, he restructured and insourced the service, achieving over £500,000 in annual savings and dramatically improving staff welfare and operational efficiency. His initiatives, including rebranding enforcement roles, introducing a four-day workweek, and fostering a coaching culture, have earned industry recognition and set a benchmark for excellence. Michael’s work exemplifies the qualities of resilience, creativity, and public service and challenges the status quo to deliver better service for residents.