South Yorkshire Governance

The South Yorkshire Joint Authorities Governance Unit is a department of Barnsley Council's Legal and Governance Directorate. Officers provide independent and impartial support and advice to:

This support includes governance, service improvement, policy and scrutiny advice to ensure our clients meet their expectations of good governance.

Our history

The staff supporting South Yorkshire Joint Authorities and other sub-regional bodies are part of Barnsley Council's corporate governance unit. It was formerly known as the Joint Authorities Governance Unit from 2015 to 2021, and before that the South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat (SYJS).

South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat (SYJS and the Secretariat) was established in 1986 following the closure of South Yorkshire County Council.

Under an agreement entered into by the four district councils within South Yorkshire, SYJS became a department of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and the organisation was subject to Barnsley Council's conditions of service and employment policies. It was set up to provide support services to the sub-regional bodies such as police, fire and rescue, pensions and transport, and has expanded over the years to include support for other organisations.

From March 2022, South Yorkshire Pensions Authority is managed by South Yorkshire Pensions Service.

Who's involved

  • Shokat Lal
    Executive Director (Core Services)

  • Sukdave Ghuman
    Service Director (Law and Governance)

  • Carol Tague
    Head of Governance

  • Mel Bray
    Senior Democratic Services Officer

  • Post to be filled
    Service Improvement and Scrutiny Officer

  • Andrew Shirt
    Senior Democratic Services Officer

  • Neil Copley
    Executive Director - Finance Section 151 Officer (FRA, Pensions, Police and Crime Panel)

For more information

Watch our meetings online

Watch our meetings live online and access our archive or recent webcasts.

View webcasts

Police Authority archived material

Find archived South Yorkshire Police authority documents at UK Web Archive.

Access the archive

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