LORD MACDONALD ANNOUNCES THE NEW MEMBERSHIP OF THE BETTER REGULATION TASK FORCE

29 Apr 2002 05:41 PM

People with experience of charities, the health service, food retailing, financial services, banking and the utilities are among the new members of the Better Regulation Task Force, announced today by Lord Macdonald, Minister for the Cabinet Office. These appointments complement the backgrounds of re-appointed Task Force members in small and big business; the trade union movement; consumer organisations; enforcement bodies; and the field of economics.

Of the 15 appointments, 9 are members whose previous tenure expired on 31 March 2002 and 6 are new. All the members have been appointed for two years and are unpaid.

The Task Force, established in September 1997, is an independent body advising Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement accord with the principles of good regulation. Since its establishment it has produced 20 substantive reports, making well over 300 recommendations to government. Only 9 of these have been rejected.

Making the announcement, Lord Macdonald said:

"These high calibre appointments are a sign of this Government's continued commitment to the regulatory reform agenda. I look forward to the Task Force building on the excellent work undertaken and successes achieved over the last 4-1/2 years. I am sure that, under the stewardship of the new Chair, David Arculus, the Task Force will go from strength to strength."

David Arculus added:

"I am particularly pleased that the Task Force members - both those re-appointed and those appointed for the first time - come from such a wide variety of backgrounds. They will bring an outstanding breadth of experience and expertise to the work of the Task Force. I look forward to working with them all".

At present, the Task Force is carrying out reviews of employment law; local delivery of central policy; higher education; and science and technology. David Arculus is consulting stakeholders about the Task Force's next work programme and will make an announcement in the summer.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. The Better Regulation Task Force was established in 1997. It is an independent body that advises Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement accord with the 5 principles of good regulation: Transparency, Accountability, Proportionality, Consistency, and Targeting.

2. The appointment of the Task Force Members was made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice and was subject to independent scrutiny.

3. Nominations for the posts were sought from a wide range of sources including business representative bodies, trade federations, the TUC, public and voluntary sector organisations; and women's and ethnic minority business groups and the Public Appointments Unit.

4. David Arculus was appointed Chair of the Task Force on 13 March 2002 and took up his post on 1 April 2002. His appointment is for 3 years and is unpaid. David is non- executive Chairman of Severn Trent plc and of Earls Court & Olympia and a non-executive director of Barclays plc, Geest plc and Oxford University Press. Until last year he was Chairman of leading consumer magazine publishers, the IPC Group Ltd.

5. The Task Force members appointed for the first time are:

Michael Gibbons

Michael Gibbons was Director of UK Communications at PowerGen until February 2002 and has a background in the energy sector and experience of related regulated utilities.

Kevin Hawkins

Kevin Hawkins is Director of Communications for Safeway Stores plc and a Director of the British Retail Consortium.

Sukhvinder Stubbs

Sukhvinder Stubbs is Director of the Barrow Cadbury Trust, a grant making foundation that seeks to encourage a just, peaceful and democratic society. She is also a Board Director of Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Agency, and was formerly Chair of the European Network Against Racism and Chief Executive of the Runnymede Trust

Tim Sweeney

Tim Sweeney holds a number of non-executive and voluntary posts. His background is in banking and, until, 2001, he was Director General of the British Bankers' Association.

Rex Symons CBE

Rex Symons is Chairman of Bournemouth Primary Care NHS Trust, Bournemouth Transport Ltd and Dorset Travel Ltd. He is a member of the Council of Southampton University and was, until earlier this year, a member of the Health and Safety Commission.

Barbara Thomas

Barbara Thomas is Executive Chair of Private Equity Investor plc, Deputy Chair of Friends' Provident plc, Non-Executive Chair of Axon Group plc and a Non-Executive Director of Capital Radio plc and Allders plc. She has a background in company law and financial services.

6. The re-appointed Task Force members are:

Matti Alderson

Matti Alderson is a Director of FireHorses Ltd, a management consultancy specialising in regulatory policy and strategy in the UK and Europe. She is also a Commissioner of the Press Complaints Commission. Matti was previously Director General of the Advertising Standards Authority.

Stephen Falder

Stephen Falder is Marketing Director of HMG Paints Ltd, a medium-sized manufacturer of industrial surface coatings. He is a CBI Regional Councillor and a member of the CBI SME Council.

Teresa Graham OBE

Teresa Graham is a Partner in Baker Tilly, Chartered Accountants, specialising in providing business advice to ambitious, growing SMEs. She is also a non-executive Member of the Steering Board of the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service and Chair of their Audit Committee.

Deirdre Hutton CBE

Deirdre Hutton is Chair of the National Consumer Council. She is also Vice-Chair of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and a Non-Executive Director of the Financial Services Authority. Deirdre was recently appointed Chair of the Steering Group for the Food Chain Centre.

Simon Petch

Simon Petch is General Secretary of Connect, the trade union for professionals in the communications sector.

Dr Ian Peters

Ian Peters is Director of External Affairs and Marketing at the Engineering Employers' Federation. Ian was previously Deputy Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce and Deputy Director and Head of SME Policy at the CBI. Ian is a member of the advisory boards of Middlesex University Business School and Durham University Foundation for SME Development.

Dr Penelope Rowlatt

Penelope Rowlatt is a freelance economist trading under the name of Alexander Economics. She was previously a director of Europe Economics, a director of the National Economic Research Associates and senior economic adviser at the Department of Energy.

Janet Russell

Janet Russell is Director of Environment and Transportation at Kirklees Metropolitan Council. She is also the Local Government Association representative on the Health and Safety Executive/Local Authority liaison committee and a local government adviser on public protection.

Simon Ward

Simon Ward is a self-employed advisor to the hospitality sector. He is also a non-executive director of the Leisure and Lifestyle Division of the accountants Robson Rhodes. Simon is a Director of the Consumer Policy Institute and of Greater London Enterprise. Until last year, he was Group Strategic Affairs Director for Whitbread.

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