2. Commissioners | Improvement

The 'Ask the Commissioners' section below contains details on how to contact any of the Commissioners.

The current commissioner team as of July 2025 comprises:

Gavin Jones	Lead Commissioner
Denise Murray	Finance Commissioner
Dr Dave Smith	Managing Director Commissioner

Previously Essex County Council acted as 'Best Value Commissioner' for Thurrock Council from the point of intervention in September 2022. Dr Dave Smith was appointed Managing Director Commissioner in March 2023. In October 2023, Gavin Jones and Nicole Wood were appointed as Commissioners, replacing the previous appointment of Essex County Council. Denise Murray was appointed as Finance Commissioner in March 2025 replacing Nicole Wood.

Gavin Jones, Lead Commissioner

As Lead Commissioner, Gavin: 

provides oversight of, and strategic leadership for, the wider Commissioner team

chairs the Improvement and Recovery Board

Gavin served as Chief Executive of Essex County Council between 2016-2025, having previously spent 10 years as Chief Executive of Swindon Borough Council. For 8 years, he also served as the Chairman for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE), working with councils across the UK. 

Prior to his 20 years in Local Government, he worked in senior positions within the private sector. His last role before joining public service in 2005 was as Vice President for Marketing and Customer Services within the airline industry. Recognised as one of Britain’s most innovative leaders, he’s been listed among the top 50 New Radicals and voted as one of the most influential people in the UK Local Government sector.

Gavin was also appointed as the Lead Commissioner at Slough Borough Council in May 2023 and sits as Chairman of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Challenge Board. Gavin was recently appointed a senior advisor to a large UK based consulting company, Newton.

Dr Dave Smith, Chief Executive and Managing Director Commissioner

As Managing Director Commissioner, Dave:

fulfils the role of Chief Executive for Thurrock Council and is responsible for its day-to-day operations.

chairs the Governance Recovery Board.

Dave uses his independent position as the Managing Director Commissioner to provide advice and guidance to the council on matters concerning infrastructure or regeneration in the local area – for example, Thames Freeport, local transport initiatives. He also represents Thurrock in any discussions and negotiations on the expression of interest submitted to the government on wider devolution in Essex.

Most recently Dave was Chief Executive at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority from 2016. He has held senior executive positions within local government since 2008, including 7 years as Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council and senior positions at Liverpool City Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

Denise Murray, Finance Commissioner

As Finance Commissioner for Thurrock, Denise:

provides oversight of Thurrock Council's finance functions

chairs the Finance Recovery Board

Denise Murray has been a Best Value Finance Commissioner since 2023 and was formerly a Section 151 Officer from 2015- 2024, most recently for Bristol City Council. Denise has a strong public sector ethos and extensive experience of successfully delivering service improvements and transformation in large complex organisations. Her local government, voluntary and private sector roles have provided a sound understanding of a wide range of People, Place, Commercial and Corporate functions at unitary, county, borough, district, and parish level across the south of England. Denise is also currently the Finance Commissioner for Slough Borough Council.

While tackling the key challenges facing local government, Denise has played a critical role in navigating complex decisions, to enable the development of balanced 5 year rolling medium term financial plans, building financial resilience for future shocks, and simultaneously retaining capacity and capability to deliver wider strategic objectives.

Chief of Staff

The Commissioner team is supported by Chief of Staff, Cristina Hall – a civil servant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 

Ask the Commissioners about their work

You can contact the Commissioners using the email below. Before asking a question, check our Improvement pages to make sure the information you need isn't already online.

When asking a question, try to be as specific as possible about what you'd like to know, so we can be sure we send you the right information.

Commissioners

: commissioners@thurrock.gov.uk

Commissioners cannot respond to questions or complaints about council services – if you need to contact the council about a service or to make a complaint, please use one of these services:

Commissioner publications

The Commissioners report progress to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on a regular basis.

Commissioner reports to the Secretary of State:

For openness and transparency, each Commissioner declares any interests that may affect their role.

Commissioner declarations of interest

Declaration of Interest – Dr Dave Smith (PDF 144.43KB)

Declaration of Interest - Gavin Jones (PDF 164.44KB)

Declaration of Interest - Denise Murray (PDF 164.22KB)

Commissioners receive reasonable expenses and fees that the Secretary of State determines are to be paid to them by Thurrock Council. The Secretary of State is mindful that expenses and fees need to represent value for money for local taxpayers. For more information, go to GOV.UK: Thurrock Council Explanatory Memorandum, 16 March 2023.

Commissioners Costs - Q3 - 2025 (PDF 106.60KB)