South Yorkshire Governance
South Yorkshire Governance
The South Yorkshire Joint Authorities Governance Unit is a department of Barnsley MBC's Legal and Governance Directorate. Officers provide independent and impartial support and advice to:
- South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Authority
- South Yorkshire Police & Crime Panel
- Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority
- Doncaster Sheffield Airport Consultative Committee
- Safer Roads Partnership
- Yorkshire Wildlife Park
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 Joint Authorities and other sub-regional bodies are part of Barnsley MBC’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 the 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 Councils conditions of service and employment policies. It was set up to provide support services to the sub-regional bodies such as Police, Fire & 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) – from July 2022 - 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)
Vacancies
- Find out more about our upcoming vacancies.
- We have current vacancies for Independent person for standards at Sheffield City Council.

For more information
Police Authority archived material
Find out more about our archived South Yorkshire Police authority document.