Councillor Sharon Thompson

Sharon Thompson has been a Councillor since 2014. She served as Victims Champion for the city from 2014-2015, before becoming the local authority’s first Ambassador for addressing Homelessness and Roughsleeping. In 2016 she became the Cabinet Advisor for Homelessness from 2017-2018 and relinquished the position in May 2018 when she was appointed to Cabinet.

Sharon up until 23 May 2023, was the Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness where she had political leadership responsibility for many areas such as housing (including Homelessness and Private Rented Sector Policy) as well as Commonwealth Games, Sports and Events Development. She has also previously held responsibility for Bereavement Services (which included the functions of registrations of birth, deaths and marriages), Localisation and Parks and Allotments.

In the Summer of 2021, Sharon became the portfolio lead for Vulnerable Children and Families where she had political responsibility for Homelessness, Special Educational Needs & Disability, Children’s Services, Corporate Parenting, and oversight of the Birmingham Children’s Trust.

Keen to promote and improve Birmingham for its citizens, Sharon is a strong advocate for collaborative partnerships, with an authentic and inclusive approach to leadership. She has been a passionate advocate for eradicating homelessness and spearheaded Birmingham’s Homelessness Prevention Strategy 2017+ which is partnership focused in its outcomes.

In her remit as a Councillor, Sharon has also served on St Basils board of directors, Southside BID and sat on the Commonwealth Games 2022 Members Advisory Group.

As Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council, since May 2023, Sharon is now responsible for Business Change, Efficiency and Improvement, Risk Management, Customer Services, Emergency Planning, Strategic Partnerships, Levelling Up, Devolution and WMCA, Employment and Skills and Cost of Living.