Latest civil service & public affairs moves – March 11

UK government

• Department for Business and Trade: Departmental Board – Robert Gillespie appointed as non-executive member from 1 March. Competition and Markets Authority – Dame Patricia Hodgson, Justin Basini, Dharmash Mistry and Frank Dangeard appointed as non-executive directors; Cyrus Mehta appointed as panel member non-executive director.
• Cabinet Office – Dr Nicola Byrne re-appointed as national data guardian for three years from 17 March until 16 March 2027.
• Ministry of Defence: MoD Police Board and MoD Police Committee – Alec Wood appointed as interim chair for six months until 20 June. East Midlands Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee – Barry Smith re-appointed as chair for 12 months from 18 March 2024 until 17 March 2025. London Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee – Victoria Bell and Adam Kurzeja appointed as members for three years until 31 January 2027. Yorkshire and Humber Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee – Derek Cross, Christopher Mason and Ronald Laden appointed as members of the for three years until 31 January 2027.
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – Anne Sherriff appointed as His Majesty’s ambassador to Belgium from September, succeeding Martin Shearman who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.
• Department of Health and Social Care: NHS Pay Review Body – Professor Stephen Bach and Mark Pennifold appointed as members for three years. NHS Resolution – Anu Ralhan appointed as non-executive director for three years.
• Home Office: Independent Family Returns Panel – Dr Anubha Sinha and Simon Torr re-appointed to the panel for three years until September 2026.
• Ministry of Justice: Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services – Sally Cheshire re-appointed as chair from 1 April until 13 May 2026. Parole Board – Faith Geary appointed as interim chief executive from 1 March.
• Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities – Baroness Penn appointed as minister on leave (parliamentary under-secretary of state) on 1 March. Baroness Swinburne appointed as parliamentary under-secretary of state for housing and communities on 1 March. Lord Banner KC appointed to lead government review into planning and delivery of national infrastructure projects, and will be assisted by assisted by Nick Grant. Electoral Commission – Vijay Rangarajan appointed as chief executive from 4 March.
• Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland – Lord Offord of Garvel appointed as parliamentary under-secretary of state solely in the Department for Business and Trade on 1 March. He previously held the role alongside being parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland, but will now focus solely on his position at DBT.
• Department for Transport: Civil Aviation Authority – Sir Stephen Hillier re-appointed as chair for four years from 1 August until 31 July 2028. Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency – Nick Bitel re-appointed as non-executive chair from three years; Helen Aston appointed as non-executive director and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.
• Non-ministerial Departments: Government Legal Department – Richard Cornish appointed as director-general and chief operating officer.

Houses of Parliament

House of Lords

• Donald Cameron raised to the peerage as Lord Cameron of Lochiel, of Achnacarry in the County of Inverness on 4 March and was introduced in the Lords on 5 March.
• Sir Charles Banner KC raised to the peerage as Lord Banner, of Barnt Green in the County of Worcestershire on 6 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 18 March.
• Gerald Shamash raised to the peerage as Lord Shamash, of West Didsbury in the City of Manchester on 6 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 14 March.
• Franck Petitgas raised to the peerage as Lord Petitgas, of Bosham in the County of West Sussex on 7 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 11 March.
• Peter Booth raised to the peerage as Lord Booth, of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland on 7 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 12 March.
• John Fuller raised to the peerage as Lord Fuller, of Gorleston-on-Sea in the County of Norfolk on 8 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 12 March.
• Stuart Marks raised to the peerage as Lord Marks of Hale, of Hale in the County of Greater Manchester on 8 March and will be introduced in the Lords on 11 March.
• Committees: Justice and Home Affairs – Lord Bach added; Lord Berkeley discharged. Preterm Birth – Baroness Blackstone added.
• New All-Party Groups added to 6 March Register: Czechia; Flexible and Family Friendly Working; Devolved Administrations; Scottish Parliament
• Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee – Marie McNair and Evelyn Tweed added; Fulton MacGregor discharged.
• Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee – Gordon MacDonald added; Marie McNair discharged.
• Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee – Jackie Dunbar added; Evelyn Tweed discharged.

Devolved administrations

Welsh Government

• Welsh Language Commissioner’s Advisory Panel – Rona Aldrich, Elin Maher and Gwyn Williams re-appointed as members for three years from 1 April.

Northern Ireland Assembly

• Procedures Committee – John Stewart added; Robbie Butler discharged.
• Public Accounts Committee – Robbie Butler added; John Stewart discharged.

Northern Ireland Executive

• Brian Dooher appointed as chief veterinary officer for Northern Ireland from the end of March.
• Invest NI – John Healy appointed as chair from 1 March.
• Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners – Christopher Jackson re-appointed to the Board for four years from 1 March.

Local Authorities

• Bridgenorth Town Council – Ian Wellings appointed as mayor from April.
• Lewisham Council – Brenda Dacres (Lab) elected mayor of Lewisham with 51.5% of the vote.
• Liverpool City Council – Joanna Killian to stand down as local government improvement commissioner on 17 March.
• West Norfolk Council – Lorraine Gore to retire as chief executive later this year.
• Stirling Council – Carol Beattie to stand down as chief executive in May.
• Stockport Council – chief executive Caroline Simpson announced as preferred candidate as group chief executive of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Transport for Greater Manchester.

Industry

Interest Groups

• Police Care UK – Renata Gomes appointed as chief executive from 11 March.
• Seafarers – Peter Rouch appointed as secretary-general from 1 July.
• StepChange – Lesley Titcomb appointed as chair.

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