About the commission
The Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales was established in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. We were re-named the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales in 2013 under the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru etc. Act 2013 (external link).
The Commission was further renamed the Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru under the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024.
The Democracy and Boundary Commission Cymru is an independent Welsh Government Sponsored Body with the main purpose of publishing a programme of work which keeps under review the electoral arrangements for the 22 principal councils, as well as reviewing the constituency boundaries of the Welsh Parliament (Senedd).
Commissioners
Bev Smith - Chair
Bev is a passionate and committed public servant of 32 years starting her career in Lincolnshire Police and working in a wide range of District and Borough Councils within England. Her career has included Chief Executive of two local authorities within the East Midlands with a focus on economic regeneration and town centre renewal programmes.
She is the Independent Adjudicator to Local Authorities in Wales and continues to support the Local Government Association in both England and Wales as a lead peer reviewer, supporting local government improvement and is an experienced chair and board member in a wide range of sectors including the lead board member for Wales on the Mining Remediation Authority.
She believes strongly in the strength of partnership working and has built excellent relationships with regional, national and local government colleagues.
As an experienced returning officer she has managed Parliamentary, Mayoral, District, and Police and Crime Commissioner elections and is also a champion of inclusive and accessible democracy. Contributing to research on the voter ID pilots she firmly believes in ensuring the community voice is encouraged and heard to influence place shaping and local and national policy.
'I was born and brought up in the Rhondda valley and even though much of my career has been serving the communities in England my heart has always been in Wales and I am excited and proud to have been given the opportunity to use my experience and skills to work with the Democracy and Boundary Commission in Wales during its next phase’.
Frank Cuthbert - Member
Frank has lived in South Wales all his life, either in Cardiff or Caerphilly. He is married with one daughter. Educated at Whitchurch High School and Cardiff University, he holds a Master’s Degree in Research Methodology.
Frank has had a varied career, including spells in the civil service but also including time as a political consultant and as a research manager with Training and Enterprise Councils and Gloucestershire County Council. However, most recently he served for 18 years with the Welsh Government heading a team in the Local Democracy Division.
During his time at Welsh Government he had responsibility for liaison with the Boundary Commission and for advising Welsh Ministers on policy and legislative proposals in relation to the Commission.
He retired in 2018.
Michael Imperato - Member
Michael is a solicitor at South Wales solicitors Watkins and Gunn. He has acted for vulnerable people, trade unions, charities and campaigning groups for many years and has been involved in a number of the highest profile legal cases in Wales in recent years. Michael is a former president of the Cardiff and District Law Society and has served on several Law Society committees.
Michael holds a number of public roles. He is an independent member of Hywel Dda University Health Board, a member of the panel of chairmen of the Valuation Tribunal of England, a visiting scholar at Swansea University and trustee of the Bevan Foundation. He is a longstanding school governor.
He was born and bred in Cardiff, attending Whitchurch High School before graduating from Reading University. Michael is a keen follower of most sports and enjoys trying not to get lost on walks with his wife in the Welsh countryside.
Dianne Bevan - Member
Dianne was born in Cumbria, and she spent her childhood in the north of England. Moving to Cardiff in 1985, she has spent most of her life living in Wales, is married to a Welshman and has two grown up Welsh children.
She worked as a solicitor for 20 years in local government, mostly in South Wales. After ten years as a director with South Glamorgan and Cardiff Councils, where alongside her duties as the Council’s senior lawyer, she also acted as returning officer for many elections, she was appointed as the Deputy Clerk of the then National Assembly for Wales, later becoming the Assembly’s Chief Operating Officer. In this role she worked with elected representatives from all parties to support the Assembly’s legislative work and its scrutiny of the Welsh Government.
Since her retirement from full time employment in 2012, Dianne has demonstrated her keen interest in representative democracy and local services, working with organisations including the Northern Ireland Assembly, the UK Honours Committee and Taff Housing Association. As an Associate with Global Partners Governance, which helps to develop effective democracies across the world, Dianne was part of a project which provided advice and training for the Parliament and Governorates of Jordan.
Her spare time is divided between travel, walking, rugby (supporting Cardiff and Wales), the family allotment and helping to care for her two grandsons.
Ginger Wiegand - Member
Ginger Wiegand is a Senior Policy Associate on the Wales Team at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. She currently works on the Commission’s new strategic priority to address the equality and human rights impacts of digital exclusion and emerging technologies. Ginger has extensive previous experience in service delivery, community engagement and participation, and project management in the third sector in Wales. Previously, she was the Programme Manager All Wales, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Engagement Programme. She has lived in Cardiff for 15 years, is a parent governor at Cathays High School, and is an avid participant in No Fit State Circus community classes.
Bethan Williams Price - Member
Bethan Williams Price works as a Communications Consultant and is based in Gwynedd. She is fully bilingual in Welsh and English.
Having worked for BBC Wales for over 25 years, Bethan has an invaluable understanding of how Wales works. When Bethan left the BBC in 2020, her final role was Head of Centre, north Wales and she had previously been BBC Wales’ north Wales News Editor and worked on numerous elections over the years.
In the past few years, she has developed her governance skills as a trustee with CAB Gwynedd and as a Governor with Grŵp Llandrillo Menai.
Now working as a Communications Consultant, Bethan specialises in facilitation, public consultations and stakeholder engagement.
Karen Jones - Member
Karen Jones has worked for over 40 years in the public service in Wales. Having held senior roles at South Wales Police and Estyn, Karen has also spent 22 years in a variety of chief officer roles at Neath Port Talbot Council, which has included the statutory role of Head of Democratic Services, before serving the last four years as Chief Executive and Returning Officer.
Passionate about creating an environment where people want to live, work and invest, Karen has a strong track record in organisation development, is an advocate of collaborative working and has significant experience of corporate governance.
Karen also enjoys the beautiful natural environment of Neath Port Talbot in her spare time, often to be found on hiking and cycling trails.
Karen is a graduate of the University of Wales, holding two masters degrees in Business Management and Human Resources Management. Karen is also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Andrew Blackmore - Governance and Audit Committee Chair
Andrew has spent his career in financial services and held a number of senior risk and capital management roles with a focus on strategic business transformation and strengthening an organisation’s Board governance arrangements.
From 2020, Andrew has embarked on a portfolio career and now holds a number of non-executive director and independent member roles in the public and voluntary sectors as well as sitting as a Magistrate. In his spare time Andrew enjoys mountain walking (previously fellrunning) and has completed a number of long distance trails in the UK and Europe.
Kalwant Grewal - Independent Governance and Audit Committee Member
Kalwant Grewal stands out as a distinguished leader, renowned for his values-driven and people-centric leadership style. With a deep expertise in strategic and commercial insights, he is adept at nurturing innovative spaces, skill full handling of stakeholder interactions, and spearheading pivotal transformations. Kalwant's proficiency in analytical reasoning, coupled with his commitment to diversity and digital innovation, marks him as a dynamic and versatile leader capable of adeptly managing complex operational landscapes.
Serving in multiple capacities as a Non-Executive Director and Committee Chair on various Boards, Kalwant has played a pivotal role in shaping the vision, mission, values, and strategic goals of numerous organisations across diverse sectors. His expertise in financial management, risk assessment, and governance has been instrumental in these roles. Currently, as the Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary, Kalwant is key in driving strategic planning, governance, and business transformation, skilfully merging his financial expertise with a comprehensive approach to organisational leadership.
Register of Interests
Register of Commissioners' Interests 2024-25