Bob Ashford, the
ex-Director of Strategy at the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, is to
join User Voice.
Bob has spent a
lifetime working with young people. A qualified social worker and Children's
Services Manager, Bob was one of the first Youth Offending Team managers in the
country before joining the YJB, first as Head of Prevention and latterly as
Director of Strategy.
During his time at
the YJB, Bob has been responsible for, amongst other things, the huge uplift in
funding for prevention schemes and the recent development of resettlement
consortia designed to improve services for young people leaving custody.
Bob has worked
extensively across Whitehall with other government departments and with a wide
group of stakeholders in the justice sector including the Association of
Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Magistrates Association, the National Offender
Management Service (NOMS) and community and voluntary organisations, including
User Voice. Bob has also worked internationally with the Council of Europe and
countries as diverse as Canada and Bulgaria to improve their justice systems.
Mark Johnson, Chief
Executive of User Voice said:
"Bob will be an extremely valuable member of User Voice. With his experience and commitment to the values and ethos of our work, he will ensure we continue to grow and sustain the opportunities for ex-offenders in the justice system and beyond."
