On the move

Children, schools and families secretary Ed Balls has appointed Contact a Family chief executive Francine Bates as a special adviser. Balls, who has been put in charge of the new Department for Children, Schools and Families, credits Bates with first introducing him to the problems faced by disabled children and their families. Bates was appointed chief executive of the disability charity in 2000, after 10 years at Carers UK (then known as the Carers’ National Association).

David Crawford has been appointed as the new director for social work at Glasgow Council. Currently the director of social work at Renfrewshire Council, the former president of the Association of Directors of Social Work will take on his role in August as part of the council’s new Education and Social Work Department.

Dr Hamish Meldrum, a GP from East Yorkshire, has been elected chair of the BMA Council. Dr Meldrum, will now stand down as chair of the BMA’s GPs’ Committee, a position he has held since 2004.

Sarah Wood has been appointed as programme director of the Third Sector Commissioning programme at the Improvement and Development Agency. In March, the IDeA was appointed by the Office for the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office to host, develop and manage the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning. Wood was previously director of policy for the Local Government Association and, most recently, interim director of resources for the Border & Immigration Agency.