New chair of GLAA appointed

Julia Mulligan has been appointed as the new Chair of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. 

She takes over from Margaret Beels who has stood down after more than 10 years in the role, both for the GLAA and its predecessor the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. 

Julia is a former Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, where she was responsible for putting in place services for victims of crime and setting up a new team to support victims in the county. She also successfully attracted government funding to establish a new women’s centre in York.

In 2018 she became one of the first Police, Fire and Crime Commissioners in the country, subsequently sitting on the national Fire Standards Board.

She was a Director of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners for six years. During that time she chaired the Police Reform and Transformation Board, set up by the Home Secretary to lead the transformation of policing across England and Wales. She held three national portfolios; for Victims, Rural Affairs and Integrity and Transparency, working closely with the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Independent Office for Police Conduct on reform of the police complaints system.

Julia has been a Member of the Advisory Panel to the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner since January 2019;  the Chair of the Independent Domestic Abuse Service since January 2020; a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority since May 2020; and the Chair of the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales since April 2021.

Julia said: “I’m delighted to be appointed chair of the GLAA. Protecting vulnerable workers from exploitation is something I am hugely passionate about and I look forward to helping play my part in being able to do that, supporting the dedicated team at the GLAA.”

Note: The GLAA Chair is responsible for leading the Board in carrying out its responsibilities to deliver ministerial expectations and the strategic objectives of the GLAA. As such, the GLAA Chair is generally responsible to the Home Secretary for the governance and performance of the GLAA.