Cheshire Probation Area

The Board is currently made up of eleven members, one of whom is a judge appointed by the Lord Chancellor, another is the Chief Officer. The Board comprises members selected to reflect the diversity and concerns of the community it serves. The Board must appreciate the needs of the local community. As will be seen from the biographies of the members of the Cheshire Probation Board, they represent a vast range of experience from the private and public sectors as well as the independent voluntary sector. They reflect experience of the world of business, the criminal justice system and local communities.

Leslie Robinson, JP – Board Chair

Leslie has served, successively, as Chair of the Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Cheshire Probation Boards since the inception of the National Probation Service in 2001. He has been a Magistrate in the Macclesfield Division of the Cheshire Courts Service since 1990.   He has been Chair of the Trafford Primary Care NHS Trust since 2004.

Leslie’s main career was with the BBC as a journalist, editor and senior executive. In February 1998, he became Chief Executive of the Halle Orchestra and led the successful process of rescuing the orchestra from imminent insolvency. Educated at Exeter University, with a degree in Economics, he also has an MBA and a degree in Law.

Steve Collett – Chief Officer

Steve Collett is the first Chief Officer of Cheshire Probation Area having been appointed on 1 April 2001.   Prior to this, Steve had worked in a variety of roles within both Merseyside and Greater Manchester Probation Services.   He has also been a lecturer in Social Policy and Probation Studies at Liverpool University, where he is Honorary Fellow within the Department of Sociology.  He is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the Probation Journal, a series editor for the Issues in Criminal and Community Justice Monograph series and a member of the North West Committee of the British Society of Criminology.  A qualified social worker ( Liverpool University), he has two degrees from Manchester University including an MA(Econ) in Social Policy.   Steve is currently a Vice Chair of the Probation Chiefs Association.  

Andrew Backhouse

Andrew was appointed to the Board in January 2006.  Prior to joining the Board, he spent many years working with young people and volunteers as a teacher and youth worker with the Quakers.  More recently, Andrew was the Manager of Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate for the National Trust.  Andrew, who has an MBA from Manchester Business School, is currently the Heritage Tourism Executive for the North West, based with Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. 

His Honour Judge Stephen Clarke

His Honour Judge Stephen Clarke was the Lord Chancellor’s Appointee to the Cheshire Probation Board having previously been a member of the Probation Committee.   He was appointed as a Circuit Judge in 1995 having practised as a Barrister prior to that from Whitefriars Chambers in Chester.  He has also been appointed to the Magistrates’ Courts’ Committee for Dyfed Powys.

Michael Darby, DL, JP

Michael Darby is a Chartered Accountant by background with a broad range of experience at Board/Chair level with the Primary Care Trust (PCT), Police Authority, SureStart and the Criminal Justice Consultative Committee.  A Magistrate, he was Chair of the Magistrates Courts’ Committee during a period of substantial change.  He has also been on the Board of Cheshire Health Authority before Chairing the PCT, is a Director/Trustee of Sport Cheshire and Chair of Governors of a community primary school.  He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Cheshire in September 2006.

John Eccles

John Eccles headed the Land Registry Operation on Merseyside before taking charge of the Telford Business for the final six years of his Land Registry career prior to retirement.  He is a non-executive Director and now appointed Deputy Chair of the Arena Housing Group (a social landlord) with particular strategic responsibilities for HR, business planning, performance management and customer-service delivery across six subsidiaries.  He also sits as a Board Member on the North West National Housing Federation Forum and is a Panel Member and Strategic Representative for “Investors in People" in the North West. 

Councillor Myles Hogg

Myles Hogg is a chartered accountant by profession.  He was a Borough Councillor in Ellesmere Port and Neston for over 16 years, representing the Willaston and Thornton Ward and was the Borough’s Mayor in 2002/03.  He remains a Councillor now on the newly formed Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority.  He is Vice Chairman of the Ellesmere Port and Neston Primary Care Trust, has served on the governing body of the Whitby High School for 14 years, including being Chairman for 10 of those years, and also serves as a school governor for Childer Thornton Primary School.  He is also a Director the Parkgate and Neston Housing Association.

Ronald Howarth

Ronald Howarth was a Director of Corporate Banking for Nat West/Royal Bank of Scotland until his retirement in 2003 after 38 years in the bank.  He is a non-executive Director of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust (Chair of the Audit Committee) and was a non-executive Director and Chair for Wirral Partnership Homes Ltd between 2003 and 2008, a Registered Social Landlord set up in 2004 to acquire the housing stock of Wirral Borough Council.  He was formerly a Director of Liverpool and Manchester Design Initiative Ltd for 7 years, until stepping down in 2004.

Yvonne McLean

Yvonne McLean worked in a variety of development roles within the voluntary sector prior to joining the Board.  Latterly Assistant Director with The Children’s Society, she had national responsibility for volunteer recruitment and development within the organisation.  She has recently set up her own coaching and training business and is currently working at Manchester University.  In addition, she is involved in developing healthy eating initiatives at her children’s school.

Jane Miller, JP

Jane Miller retired from the Royal Mail in 2005 after a long and varied career.  Her last post was People and Organisation Development Adviser in Cumbria and Lancashire.  In the past she has also been the Equal Opportunities Manager for the North West and has been involved in a number of large change programmes within Royal Mail.  A magistrate for 11 years, she is Chair of the Bench Training and Development Committee, where she takes the lead for Family matters.  She is a mentor to new Magistrates, and also appraises Magistrates within Cheshire.

Mary Roberts

Mary Roberts retired from Cheshire Police in 2005 after 31 years’ service. Most of her service was in crime investigation at Crewe, Northwich and Halton where she was a Detective Chief Inspector Crime Manager although she also spent time in the Professional Standards Department, investigating complaints against Police Officers.  Following promotion to the rank of Superintendent in 2000, Mary was posted to Crewe and Nantwich as a Divisional Commander where she remained until her retirement.

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