Council chief made an MBE
THE chief executive of Inverclyde Council has been named in the King’s New Year’s Honours List.
Louise Long has been made a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for Services to Local Government and the community of Inverclyde.
Louise became the first female chief executive of Inverclyde Council when she took charge in September 2021.
Prior to that, Louise served as Chief Officer of Inverclyde Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) where she led the authority-wide response to the pandemic.
Louise began her career as a home support worker then worked with children with disabilities before qualifying as a social worker in 1996.
She was a social worker in Glasgow, a manager for Aberlour Children Charity, and worked for Glasgow University before taking senior roles in various Councils across Scotland.
One of her achievements is chairing the board which supported the formation of Compassionate Inverclyde, a third sector organisation supported by Ardgowan Hospice and the HSCP which developed a community of kindness with initiatives such as ‘No One Dies Alone’ amongst others.
Over the last 12 months, Inverclyde Council has secured over £40 million of UK Government funding to help regenerate Greenock Town Centre with Louise at the helm.
Louise said: “It is undeniable that when someone in a role like mines receives an honour it reflects the hard work of all staff across local government.
“It is a privilege and a pleasure to be the Chief Executive of Inverclyde Council, but I am only one of many employees across our schools, our depots, our social care services, and our offices who work hard day in, day out to deliver important service to people in Inverclyde.
“I am most humbled at being nominated and receiving an honour, however, without the hard work, talent and creativity of the Inverclyde workforce this would not be possible.”
Louise is the co-chair of the Children and Families National Leadership Group.
She is also a trustee of Young Scot and on the board of the Improvement Service.