DEPARTMENT FOR
BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM News Release (2008/036)
issued by The Government News Network on 14 February 2008
Consumer Affairs
Minister Gareth Thomas has today announced three new appointments,
and one reappointment, to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) Board.
The new members are:
* James Hart
* Anthony Lea
* Dr Philip Marsden
Lord Blackwell has been reappointed for a further two-year term.
Gareth Thomas said:
"I am pleased to announce these appointments. The new
members have a wide range of experience and will make a strong
contribution to the leadership and work of the OFT in the years to come."
Chair of the OFT, Philip Collins, said:
"I am delighted that the Department of Business Enterprise
and Regulatory Reform have made these appointments. The new
non-executive members come from a diverse range of backgrounds and
their experience will bring fresh insight to our Board discussions
as we continue to deliver beneficial outcomes for consumers and
drive the competitiveness and productivity of the UK economy."
Biographical details of the successful candidates:
* James Hart has been appointed for a three-year term from 1
April 2008. He has spent most of his career in the police service,
starting in the Surrey and Metropolitan forces and rising to
become Head of the Diplomatic Protection Group, and latterly
Commissioner of City of London Police. He now holds a small number
of non-executive appointments and advisory positions.
* Anthony Lea has been appointed for a four-year term from 1
April 2008. He is an economics graduate who has spent most of his
career within what is now the Anglo American group, latterly as
Finance Director which included responsibility for legal affairs
and competition law compliance. He was a non-executive director of
various companies in the group including AngloGold Ashanti, De
Beers and Englehard Corporation and Terra Industries. He is
currently Chairman of the World Mining Trust plc and a non-
Executive Director of the British Standards Group.
* Dr Philip Marsden has been appointed for a four-and-half-year
term from 1 October 2008. He is a Canadian and English lawyer who
has practised in Toronto, Tokyo and London, who has also worked as
an official in the Canadian Competition Bureau. He has a
particular interest in competition and consumer policy and is
currently the Director and Senior Research Fellow at the British
Institute of International and Comparative Law in London, with
responsibility for its Competition Law Forum.
* Lord Blackwell has been reappointed for a further two years
from when his current five year term expires on 31 March 2008. He
is non-executive Chairman of Interserve plc and a non-executive
Director of Standard Life plc and SEGRO plc. He is also an adviser
to KPMG Corporate Finance, and Chairman of the Centre for Policy
Studies. From 1995 to 1997 he was Head of the Prime
Minister's Policy Unit in 10 Downing Street, following which
he was Director of Group Development, NatWest Group, from 1997-2000.
Notes to editors
1. The OFT is a non-ministerial government department, set up
under the Fair Trading Act of 1973. It became a corporate body in
April 2003 with a Chairman and a Board.
2. The OFT is the UK's integrated consumer and competition
authority, with responsibilities covering the whole economy. Its
work consists of analysing and studying markets, enforcing
competition and consumer law, undertaking advocacy and working
with partners to deliver relevant education programmes to
businesses and consumers. The OFT also has statutory functions in
relation to consumer credit licensing and merger control.
3. The OFT Board consists of a chairman and no fewer than four
other members appointed by the Secretary of State for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The Secretary of State must
consult the chairman before appointing any other member. Subject
to the relevant statutory provisions, the chairman and other
members hold office and vacate office in accordance with the terms
of their appointments, which are determined by the Secretary of
State. Appointments are for a term not exceeding five years. More
information about the OFT is available on their website at http://www.oft.gov.uk/default.htm
4. The recruitment process for the new members followed the Code
of Practice, issued by the Office of the Commissioner for Public
Appointments in England and Wales (OCPA), and guidance issued by
the Cabinet Office with an independent assessor involved.
5. Three of the appointments are effective from 1 April 2008, and
one from 1 October 2008, for terms of between two and
four-and-half years. These posts are part-time, with an annual
remuneration of £22,500.
6. All appointments are made on merit and political activity
plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance
with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement
for any political activity to be made public. None of the
appointments has declared any political activity.
7. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
helps UK business succeed in an increasingly competitive world. It
promotes business growth and a strong enterprise economy, leads
the better regulation agenda and champions free and fair markets.
It is the shareholder in a number of Government-owned assets and
it works to secure, clean and competitively priced energy supplies