THE new person responsible for delivering adult social care in Cumbria as well as running the county’s libraries, archives, registrars, coroners, Local Links and customer contact services has been appointed by Cumbria County Council.
Richard Parry has been named the new corporate director for adult and local services after working as acting corporate director since Jill Stannard left the previous role to become chief executive of the county council.
As well as shaping the way adult social care is delivered, Richard Parry will also be responsible for local services in a new corporate structure at the county council.
He was appointed after a robust competitive interview process, with full involvement from partner organisations in the county.
The 41-year-old, who lives near Brampton with his wife and two young daughters, is originally from Lancashire and worked at Hampshire County Council in a range of roles managing mental health and learning disability services before joining Cumbria in August 2006 as head of service for disability and mental health services.
Cumbria County Council’s chief executive Jill Stannard said:
“Richard has a proven track record of delivery and fully deserves the job. He has earned the admiration and respect of his team since stepping up to the role of acting corporate director and helped the council to get a rating of ‘performing well’ in the most recent Care Quality Commission inspection of how we deliver adult social care.”
Richard Parry, corporate director for adult and local services, said:
“I was delighted to hear the news and am looking forward to carry on the hard work on one of the biggest challenges we face as a society – the way we care for older people and vulnerable adults. Another major challenge for a county the size of Cumbria is to shape our services so they’re flexible and accessible to everyone in our community. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach and localism is a key priority for the council.”
