Latest civil service & public affairs moves – December 16

UK Government

• Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Imperial War Museum – Air Marshal Edward Stringer re-appointed as RAF Trustee for four years until 31 October 2028.

• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: David Smith MP appointed as the UK's special envoy for freedom of religion or belief. Westminster Foundation for Democracy – Duncan Hames and Iain Wright appointed as independent governors for three years.

• Department of Health and Social Care: UK Caldicott Guardian Council – Dr George Fernie appointed as chair. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – Alina Lourie re-appointed as chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee for three years from 1 April 2025; Dr Mark Chakravarty and Dr Justin Whatling re-appointed as non-executive directors for four years from 1 April 2025; Jackie Fielding re-appointed as non-executive director for three years from 1 April 2025; Prof Bee Wee re-appointed as non-executive director for three years.

• Home Office: National Crime Agency – Baroness Hodge of Barking appointed as UK's anti-corruption champion.

• Ministry of Justice: Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody – Kate Eves and Andrew Harris appointed as members for three years. Prison Service Pay Review Body – Judith Gillespie re-appointed as member from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025; Peter Dawson and Ken Mayhew appointed as members for five years from 3 December until 2 December 2029.

• Non-Ministerial Departments: Ofqual – Dr Susan Tranter appointed as chair of the board for three years in early 2025.

Houses of Parliament

House of Commons

• Backbench Business Committee – Martin Vickers added; Wendy Morton discharged.
• Culture, Media and Sport Committee – Damian Hinds added; Mims Davies discharged.
• Liaison Committee – Meg Hillier appointed as chair.
• Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – Jon Pearce added; Josh Simons discharged.
• Treasury Committee – John Grady added; Lucy Rigby discharged.
• House of Commons Commission – Jesse Norman added; Chris Philp discharged.
• Restoration and Renewal Client Board – Jesse Norman added; Chris Philp discharged.
• Restoration and Renewal Programme Board – Jesse Norman and Lucy Powell added.
• Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament – Peter Dowd, Richard Foord, John Hayes, Jessica Morden, Derek Twigg and Jeremy Wright appointed as members.

Delegations to Parliamentary Assemblies

• UK delegation to the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly – Marsha de Cordova appointed as leader and co-chair; Sarah Bool and Lord Ricketts appointed as vice-chairs; Catherine Atkinson, Lord Bach, Alex Ballinger, Matt Bishop, Baroness Bull, Baroness Crawley, Stella Creasy, Baroness Donaghy, Catherine Fookes, Ashley Fox, Lord Frost, Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town, Mark Hendrick, Uma Kumaran, Katie Lam, Lord Lamont of Lerwick, Noah Law, Lord Liddle, Baroness Ludford, James MacCleary, Frank McNally, Baroness Mobarik, Abtisam Mohamed, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne, Steve Race, Shivani Raja, Connor Rand, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, Peter Swallow, Robin Swann, Lord Teverson and Caroline Voaden appointed as members.
• UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE – Sharon Hodgson appointed as leader; Baroness Blower, Colum Eastwood, Lord Hannett of Everton, Mark Hendrick, Rupa Huq, Mike Martin, Anneliese Midgley, Jon Pearce, Mark Pritchard, Lord Smith of Hindhead, John Whittingdale and Baroness Winterton of Doncaster appointed as members.

Devolved Administrations

Scottish Government

• Community Justice Scotland Board – Catherine Dyer re-appointed as chair for three years from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2027.
• Scottish Ministerial Code – Claire Loftus, Sir John Manzoni and Sir Ernest Ryder appointed as independent advisers.
• Skills Development Scotland – Elizabeth Corcoran, Nazim Hamid and Christine Pollock re-appointed as members of the board from 15 January 2025 until 14 January 2026; Carol Evans re-appointed as member of the board from 22 January 2025 until 21 January 2026.

Welsh Parliament

• Reform Bill Committee – Alun Davies added; Sarah Murphy discharged.

Northern Ireland Executive

• Business Services Organisation – Julie Erskine’s term as chair extended until 30 November 2025; Robert Bannon and Prof Dorothy Whittington's terms as non-executive (lay) members extended until 30 November 2025.
• Education Authority – Mervyn Storey appointed as chair of the board from 1 January 2025.
• South Eastern Regional College – Gráinne McVeigh appointed as member of the governing body for four years from 10 December; Deborah O’Hare, Dr Danny McConnell, Alan McCrum, Darren Stewart and Derek Wilson re-appointed as members of the governing body for four years from 10 December; Majella Corrigan re-appointed as member of the governing body for four years from 1 April 2025.

Local Authorities

• Edinburgh City Council – Cammy Day to stand down as council leader immediately.
• Enfield Council – Ian Davis to stand down as chief executive; Davis will be joining Lambeth Council as its new chief executive.
• Moray Council –  Karen Greaves appointed as chief executive from spring 2025.
• Wrexham County Borough Council –Ian Bancroft to stand down as chief executive on 31 December.

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