My Work
House of Lords
Lady Wilcox was introduced on November 4th 2019 and gave her maiden speech in February 2020.
She became an Opposition Whip in February 2020 with a shadow role in the Women & Equalities team. This was shortly followed by moving to the Wales team and finally the Education team.
Lady Wilcox worked on several Bills including the Skills Bill and the Education Bill securing several amendments from the government.
She continues to focus her work on Education matters and those concerning Wales but has widened her scope to include her experiences of local government including housing and planning issues which will be at the forefront of government bills in the new session.
Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre
Lady Wilcox is Chair of The Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre, a role she has held since 2022.
It is the go-to body for quality assurance and membership support in the performing arts, and the first point of contact for employers, students and teachers seeking information about quality training, education and assessment in dance, drama, musical theatre, and related performing arts across the UK.
CDMT’s mission in advancing both outstanding artistic performance and creative opportunity for all chimes strongly with her own personal and professional experiences both within and outside the political arena.
South Wales Fire & Rescue
Following the publication on 3 January 2024 of the Morris Review of culture and values of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, the Welsh Government used powers under Section 29(5) and (6) of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 to remove the governance functions of the South Wales Fire and Rescue Authority and transfer them to four appointed Commissioners.
Lady Wilcox was appointed as a Commissioner, tasked with ensuring the full and sustainable implementation of recommendations arising from the Morris Review, as well as acting on recommendations of the Welsh Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor. With her fellow Commissioners, she has full powers to restructure and reform Service management and instil a positive, non-discriminatory culture and will remain in post until the Welsh Government are satisfied that substantial progress has been made and a revised governance process has been implemented.
Labour & Cooperative Party
Lady Wilcox worked closely with Cllr Antoinette Bramble, Deputy Leader of the LGA Group as Co-Chair on the Cooperative Party Democracy Charter.
The project initially began whilst Lady Wilcox served as Leader of the Welsh LGA, developing the Welsh Diversity in Democracy charter and evolved into the Diverse Councils Declaration for England. It is aimed at increasing diversity in local government chambers across England.
Recommendations included encouraging people from different background to stand for elected office, promoting cultures of inclusion and practical measures such as mentoring and greater provision for flexibility and job-sharing.