WIREDGOV

Barbara Moorhouse has been appointed as the new Director General of Finance for the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA).

Miss Moorhouse has held a number of financial, strategic and commercial appointments within the private sector. She started her career in blue chip organisations, taking up her first group finance director appointment in 1997. In recent years she has been Chief Finance Officer in international technology companies - Kewill Systems plc and Scala Business Solutions NV. In addition, she has been a non-executive director with the Child Support Agency since February 2003 and is a member of the Financial Reporting Review Panel.

Alex Allan, the DCA's Permanent Secretary, welcomed the appointment:

"This is a top drawer appointment for the Department, and Barbara will be building on the considerable achievements of her predecessor Simon Ball.

"She has an outstanding track record in improving financial performance and providing strategic guidance at board level. She will lead our relationship with the Treasury and others in Whitehall, and help us to focus on delivering high quality public services and achieving value for money."

Miss Moorhouse will be a member of the DCA Board, with responsibility for the Department's funding - 3.3 billion in the current financial year, and for all financial issues. She will take up her new position on 7 March.

Barbara Moorhouse said:

"The quality of public services has a major impact on the daily lives of many people. Finding the right combination of public and private sector practices and skills can make a major contribution to improving the cost-effective delivery of these services. I am looking forward to working within Whitehall during this period of change".

Notes to Editors

Miss Moorhouse, 46, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and an Associate Member of the Association of Corporate Tresurers. She is a non-executive director for the Child Support Agency and chairs the CSA Audit Committee. In August 2004 she was appointed to the Financial Reporting Review Panel - part of the Financial Reporting Council. She served on the CIMA Governing Council between 1996 and 2002.

She began her career as company accountant with the TI Group plc, and following moves to Northern Foods and Courtaulds, she joined South West Water plc - heading up a new directorate addressing regulation and customer issues. Her first public listed company finance director role was in 1997 with the construction company Mogan Sindall plc.

Barbara's two most recent appointments have been as Chief Finance Officer with international technology companies. In March 2000, she was appointed finance director of Kewill Systems plc. In 2003, she moved to Scala Business Solutions NV - a software company with extensive international operations. She was part of the management team that sold the company to Epicor Software Corporation in 2004.

Simon Ball, the outgoing DCA Finance Director General, left to take up the position of Group Finance Director of 3i Group plc.

www.dca.gov.uk