Local Government Association improvement lead to join Council following damning “best value” inspection

WARRINGTON Borough Council has confirmed the appointment of a new Executive Director for Transformation and Improvement, a requirement following the damning “best value” inspection on the council’s debt.

Claire Hogan, who is currently Assistant Director for Regional Improvement and Support at the Local Government Association (LGA), will join the Council next week, November 11.

The appoinntment is part of the Council’s ministerial directions – following the damning best value inspection on the council’s debt and the appointment of ministerial envoys, with the council required to appoint a senior transformation lead to ensure it can deliver the positive changes required.
Claire will therefore be joining Warrington on a secondment basis, part-time basis from November, and taking up the role on a full-time basis from January 2026.
Claire currently leads the work of nine regionally based teams to provide improvement support across local government. Her work has included policy development, strategic planning, programme delivery, transformation and continuous improvement.
Warrington Borough Council’s Leader, Cllr Hans Mundry, said: “We are looking forward to Claire bringing much-needed improvement expertise to Warrington, as we continue to make positive progress to satisfy our ministerial directions.
“Through her work with the LGA, Claire has helped a number of councils to improve, ensuring that they can deliver their very best for their communities. She will therefore be familiar with the challenges councils face, and will know how we can overcome our own challenges in Warrington.”

Joanna Killian, Chief Executive of the Local Government Association, said: “Claire brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of what drives effective local government improvement and her leadership, insight and collaborative approach will be invaluable to Warrington on its improvement journey.
“This secondment also shows the strength of the LGA’s evolving, sector-led model of improvement in action where we can add real, hands-on capacity to support councils.”
Harry Catherall, Warrington Borough Council Lead Envoy, said: “I have worked with Claire at a number of councils embarking on their own improvement journeys. The guidance and leadership Claire provided to these councils was excellent, and I am delighted that she has agreed to join us here at Warrington.
“I am very confident that her contribution will help deliver the improvements that the Council and residents expect.”

Claire is a committed public servant with over twenty-eight years of experience working in Central Government, Local Government and at the LGA.  She has also held various roles including with the Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government. She has extensive experience of developing and managing partnerships and building relationships at local, regional and national levels and has an extensive knowledge of the issues facing the local government sector.
Claire said: “It is an honour to be joining Warrington at such an important point in the organisation’s development. Drawing from my experience of supporting councils with various challenges, I am looking forward to working with Warrington and the ministerial envoy team to implement their plan for improvement and recovery, that quickly and effectively addresses the issues raised in the best value report.
“I am already impressed by the commitment of the council to improve, and I can’t wait to become part of the team.”