Councillor Alison Butler is Deputy Leader of Croydon Council and the borough’s cabinet member for Homes, Regeneration & Planning. Alison has responsibility for Croydon’s housing and planning policy as well as for housing and regeneration developments in the borough. Alison is committed to ensuring all of Croydon’s residents and districts benefit from the investment coming to Croydon and ensuring that all homes are of a decent standard to live in. She has taken a lead across many areas in housing, including a key role in establishing the council’s development company, Brick by Brick, which aims to deliver 50% affordable housing. In 2015 she led the introduction of a borough-wide licensing scheme to raise standards in over 25,000 private rented properties. The council has also salvaged and refurbished more than 130 empty properties in one year through its empty homes campaign, and the award-winning Gateway department Alison oversees has helped over 1,000 families affected by welfare changes to avoid homelessness. Alison is a councillor for Bensham Manor ward and previously ran the constituency office of the late Malcolm Wicks, MP for Croydon North.