BPA governance Forward focus Louise Parfitt asks three Presidents past, present and future about the demands of the role, what it brings to the sector, and their plans for the next 12 months How has the vice-presidency prepared you for the role? Stuart Harrison (SH): Having this year beforehand to get ready has definitely been helpful, although it has gone so quickly! I have attended all the service board meetings since the beginning of the year and, wherever possible, the regional meetings too, to help me prepare for the responsibilities I will have to all members next year. It has been great to get out and meet more of our members. I may be from the private sector, but I am here to represent all members, from all areas. Why do we need the role of President? SH: Its important to have someone slightly separate from the BPA senior leadership team, who also sits across Council as its chair, who is a representative of members and to whom members can speak about their concerns and issues. The President is also a figurehead for the Association, to speak on its behalf with external stakeholders without getting pulled into the deeper BPA policy and position details that the CEO would do. Would your younger self be surprised you are BPA President? SH: Yes and no, because I have always believed that you can achieve the things you put your mind to. But in those early days, when I first joined the BPA Operational Services Board and saw all the expertise in the room, I certainly thought the role was beyond me. I think I have got here partly because of my personality: I always spoke up if I didnt agree and made sure I got the point across politely that I wanted to make on behalf of those I was representing. As time went on, I bounced the idea of putting my hat in the ring off a few people and, when they didnt shrink back in horror, it gave me confidence to go for it, even though I was much younger than most people who have held the role (Jade excepted)! Thats what I would say to others you have to be prepared to put yourself out there. amazing work Jade has done and she has certainly set the bar high preventing frontline officer abuse, tackling violence against women and girls, and promoting work on equality, diversity and inclusion. Theres also all the great work being done by the BPA team with BPA Advance, Park Access, and the new EV Connect Interest Group. I want to make sure we bring everything back to the Strategic Plan: that should be our point of reference for everything we do. I am very much looking forward to working with Richard he is very well respected and is such a great man. I am very pleased I wasnt running against him for President! Together, I am sure we can do some really good work in the year ahead. What are you hoping to achieve in the next 12 months? How did you get involved with the BPA? SH: Obviously, as a private operator, I am going to be working hard to get the outcome we feel is right for everyone with the Parking Code of Practice but there is so much else I want to do. The public sector is rightly worried about the level of penalty charge notice, so I will be working with Richard, and drawing on his wealth of experience in the public sector, to ensure we represent local authorities on that. Also, I will continue to champion all the Richard Walker (RW): I first got introduced to the BPA when I started working for Ipswich Borough Council in 1999. It was looking at moving to decriminalised parking enforcement, so I visited a few other local authorities to see how they were implementing it and discovered there was a network of support through the BPA. I started to attend some of the Eastern regional meetings, but it was when I heard about the Positive Parking Agenda (PPA) that I got more involved, because it really struck a chord with me. I was asked to speak at a BPA event about setting up the PPA, and things progressed from there. I got elected on to the BPA Council and championed the I am looking forward to working with Richard he is very well respected and is such a great man. Together, we can do some really good work in the year ahead 38