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Wednesday, 3 October 2023

Honours committees: current members

Honours committees are comprised of independent and official members. The chair is always an independent member and there is always a majority of independent members who are appointed via a public appointments process. Official members are the Permanent Secretaries of the departments within whose remit the committee’s specialism falls. A representative from No. 10 is invited to attend each committee meeting.

Main committee

Each of the specialist honours committees agrees a list of recommendations, which are then submitted to Main Committee. The membership of Main Committee consists of:

Head of the Home Civil Service (chair)
Chair of Arts and Media Committee: Sir Vernon Ellis
Chair of Community, Voluntary and Local Services Committee: TBC
Chair of the Economy Committee: Sir John Parker
Chair of Education Committee: Sir Michael Barber
Chair of Health Committee: Sir Ian Carruthers OBE
Chair of Science and Technology Committee: The Lord Krebs
Chair of Sport Committee: The Lord Coe of Ranmore KBE
Chair of State Committee: Dame Mary Marsh DBE
The Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Chief of Defence Staff
Another Permanent Secretary

Arts and Media

Sir Vernon Ellis - Chair, British Council (independent chair)

Independent members

Dame Jenny Abramsky DBE – former Director of Radio and Music, BBC
Dame Liz Forgan DBE - Chair of the Arts Council of England and of the Scott Trust
Ben Okri OBE – novelist and poet
Luke Rittner – Chief executive, Royal Academy of Dance
Sir Peter Stothard – Editor, The Times Literary Supplement

Official members

Jonathan Stephens – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Sir Peter Housden – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Executive

Community, Voluntary and Local Services

Dame Clare Tickell (independent chair) - Chief Executive, Action for Children

Independent members

Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE DL – Chair, NHS Manchester
Sue Charteris – former Director of Shared Intelligence; member of the England Committee, Big Lottery Fund; and former Chief Executive of Merton
Dilwar Hussain – Head, Policy Research Centre
Dr. Angus Kennedy OBE – Chief Executive, Community Regeneration Partnership
John Knight CBE JP – Board Member, Charity Commission
Brian O’Doherty – Head of Housing with Newcastle City Council
The Lord Shipley – Leader, Newcastle City Council
Mary Thomas – Non-Executive Director, Calderstones NHS Trust
Sir Nicholas Young – Chief Executive, British Red Cross

Official members

Sir Bob Kerslake – Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government
Ursula Brennan – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Sir Peter Housden – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Executive
Helen Kirkpatrick CB – Acting Permanent Secretary, Home Office
Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education

The Economy

Sir John Parker (independent chair) – Chairman, National Grid Plc. And Anglo-American Plc

Independent members

Dame Helen Alexander DBE – former President, CBI
Dr Colette Bowe – Chair, Office of Communications
Peter Chappelow – Chairman, Portfolio
The Rt Hon Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde – Member, House of Lords Appointment Commission
Rosemarie Harris – famer and County Councillor, Powys County Council
Christopher Hyman CBE – Chief Executive, Serco Plc
Sir Richard Lambert – former Director General, CBI
Sir Rob Margetts CBE – Chairman, Legal and General Plc
David Thomas CBE DL – former Chief Executive, Whitbread Plc

Official members

Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Jonathan Stephens – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Sir Nicholas MacPherson – Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury
Sir Peter Housden – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Executive

Education

Sir Michael Barber – Head, McKinsey’s Global Education Practice (independent chair)

Independent members

Professor the Baroness Afshar OBE – Professor, Politics and Women’s Studies, University of York
Graham Badman CBE – former Managing Director,Children, Schools and Education Directorate, Kent County Council
Sheila Gupta – Director of Human Resources, University of Edinburgh
Professor Sir Deian Hopkin – former Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive, London South Bank University
Marion Matchett CBE – former Chief Executive, Education and Training Inspectorate, Northern Ireland
Peter Williams CBE – former Chief Executive, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Official members

Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service

Health

Sir Ian Carruthers OBE – Chief Executive, South West Strategic Health Authority (independent chair)

Independent members

Dame Christine Beasley DBE – Chief Nursing Officer for England
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz FRS – Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge
Dame Ruth Carnall DBE - Chief Executive, NHS London
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore – Chair, Liverpool Health Partners, University of Liverpool
Dame Janet Husband – former Chair, Royal College of Radiologists Council
Professor The Lord Kakkar – Professor of Surgery, UCL
Professor Sir Netar Mallick – Medical Director, Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards and Professor Emeritus in Renal Medicine, University of Manchester
Sir Nicholas Partridge OBE - Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust

Official members

Dame Sally Davies DBE – Chief Medical Officer (England)
Una O’Brien CB – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health
Dame Gillian Morgan – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Assembly Government

Parliamentary and Political Service

Independent members

Dianne Bevan – Chief Operating Officer, National Assembly
The Rt Hon the Lord Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO
The Rt Hon the Baroness Hayman GBE
Dame Mary Keegan DBE
The Rt Hon Peter Riddell CBE

Official members

The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP - Liberal Democrat Chief Whip
The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP – Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury and Chief Whip
The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP - Labour Chief Whip

Science and Technology

The Lord Krebs – Principal, Jesus College, Oxford (independent chair)

Independent members

Professor Sir Tony Atkinson FBA – Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College
Professor Dame Janet Finch DBE DL – former Vice Chancellor, Keele University
Dame Julia King DBE – Vice-Chancellor, Aston University
Dame Nancy Rothwell DBE FRS DL – President and Vice Chancellor, University of Manchester

Official members

Professor Sir John Beddington CMG, FRS – Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
John Alty CB – Acting DG Knowledge and Innovation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Sport

The Lord Coe of Ranmore KBE – Chairman, London Organising Committee for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (independent chair)

Independent members

Baroness Grey Thompson DBE – former Paralympic athlete
Tim Lamb – Chief Executive, Sport and Reaction Alliance
Sir Ian McGeechan OBE – Director of Rugby, Bath
Tim Phillips – former Chairman, All England Lawn Tennis Club
Tessa Sanderson-White CBE – former Olympic athlete
Graham Taylor OBE – former England Football Manager

Official members

Jonathan Stephens – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service

State

Dame Mary Marsh DBE – Director, Clore Social Leadership Programme (independent chair)

Independent members

Dame Suzi Leather DBE DL – Chair, Charity Commission
Elizabeth McKeikan – Non-Executive Director, JD Wetherspoon Plc. and former Civil Service Commissioner
Dr. Diana Walford CBE – former Principal, Mansfield College, Oxford

Permanent Secretary members

Sir Bob Kerslake – Head of the Home Civil Service
Sir Paul Jenkins KCB QC - Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, Treasury Solicitor's Department

Additional links

Birthday Honours List 2012

The Queen's Birthday Honours List for 2012 has been published

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