Chief Community Lawyer, London Borough of Islington

When the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) introduced the Public Law Outline (PLO), the new case management system that has revolutionised childcare cases, Uma Mehta, Islington's Chief Community Lawyer, played a national role as the lead local authority lawyer. As well as drafting key parts of the statutory guidance and facilitating training across the country, Uma used her in-depth knowledge of the PLO to ensure that Islington's childcare service is fit for purpose and able to deal with the new procedures. Whilst many other local authorities are still struggling to get to grips with the PLO, Islington is leading the way and is cited nationally as one of the two or three most advanced social services authorities in the country. As a result, Islington has been asked to take on a number of childcare cases from neighbouring boroughs and has set up a separate team to deal with this additional caseload. Uma's pioneering work and unerring dedication to innovate and improve has played a huge part in both enhancing Islington's reputation and protecting the most vulnerable of children.