House of Lords Appointments Commission Announces New Peers
Her Majesty The Queen has confirmed her intention to create new Life Peers
on the recommendation of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. Today,
the Commission published details of its recommendations for 15 new non
party–political members of the House of Lords and the way it assessed the
3166 nominations it received under the new arrangements launched last
September.
The Chairman of the Commission, Dennis Stevenson said:
“We are delighted with the high quality of the nominations we received
and this called for rigorous assessment against our criteria. We are
confident that the 15 people we have recommended to the Prime Minister and
Her Majesty will bring considerable experience and authority to the House,
adding to the range of expertise available in a number of areas including
science, social policy, housing, employment, education, business and
international affairs.
They are:
Victor Adebolwale
Richard Best
Amir Bhatia
John Browne
Michael Chan
Paul Condon
Ilora Finlay
Susan Greenfield
David Hannay
Valerie Howarth
Elspeth Howe
Robert May
Claus Moser
Herman Ouseley
Stewart Sutherland
We will continue to look for outstanding people with the ability to
become effective members of the House of Lords and to encourage people in
all parts of the United Kingdom to think seriously about coming forward. We
are particularly pleased to have made a good start in attracting
nominations from those who are currently under–represented in the
Lords.
Today, in the spirit of openness, we have published how we went about
our task - seeking to break away from the past when much of the process was
conducted behind closed doors. Clearly, details about individuals must
remain confidential.”
Copies of our report are freely available, including on our website, and as
always we welcome feedback on this.
Notes for Editors
The House of Lords Appointments Commission, an independent body, was set up
by the Prime Minister in May 2000 to make recommendations on the
appointment of non-party political peers. The Commission will also vet all
nominations for membership of the House of Lords, including those from the
political parties, to ensure the highest standards of propriety.
The Chairman of the Commission is Lord Stevenson of Coddenham CBE. In
addition there are three independent members; Dame Deirdre Hine DBE, Mrs
Felicity Huston and Mrs Angela Sarkis CBE. Three members have also been
nominated by the main political parties; The Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell,
The Rt Hon Baroness Dean of Thornton–le–Fylde and Lord Dholakia.
Full details on the House of Lords Appointments Commission, the nomination
process and the report it has published today are available on the
Commission's website www.houseoflordsappointmentscommission.gov.uk
Details are also available from:
House of Lords Appointments Commission,
35 Great Smith Street,
London SW1P 3BQ.
e-mail lordsappointments@gtnet.gov.uk
Tel: 020 7276 2315
Fax 020 7276 2109;
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Details of the 15 new peers are enclosed. These are also available on the
Commission's website.
Mr Victor Adebowale (37) is Chief Executive of Centre Point - the
country's leading youth social exclusion charity - and is known for his
work with the most disadvantaged young people in the areas of training,
employment, and homelessness. He is a member of the Government's New
Deal Task Force and the Social Exclusion Unit's Policy Action.
Mr Richard Best (55) is Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, one of
the United Kingdom's leading charitable organisations supporting the
development of policy and solutions to address social problems,
particularly those of poverty and urban regeneration. Before he joined the
Foundation, he was Director of the National Federation of Housing
Associations. He has been a Rural Commissioner, also served as Secretary to
HRH The Duke of
Edinburgh's Inquiry in to British Housing, and he was Chairman of the
UK National Council for the UN
Conference on Human Settlements (the City Summit).
Mr Amir Bhatia (69) OBE is a successful
businessman who is actively involved in a wide range of voluntary and
charitable work. Until recently, he has been a Trustee of Oxfam, the Community
Development Foundation and a member of the National Lottery Charities
Board. He is the co-founder of the Ethnic Minority Foundation, which
promotes and supports voluntary effort in ethnic minority communities
across the UK. He is also involved in health and education in London as a
Trustee of St Christopher's Hospice; a Member of the London East
Training and Enterprise Council. He is Chairman of SITPRO (Simpler Trades
Procedures Board).
Sir John Browne (53) is Group Chief Executive of BP Amoco plc and one of
the UK's leading businessmen in the international energy industry. In
other areas of business, he is a non-executive director of the Intel
Corporation and Goldman Sachs. He is a Trustee of the British Museum and a
Vice-president and member of the Board of the Prince of Wales Business
Leaders Forum. Amongst other awards, he has received the Prince Philip Gold
Medal of the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Management
Gold Medal.
Professor Michael Chan (61) was awarded the MBE for services to the Chinese
community and since 1996 has been chairman of the Chinese in Britain Forum.
Between 1986-90, he was a member of the Home Secretary's Standing
Advisory Council on Race Relations and until 1995 was a part-time
Commissioner with the CRE. Professor Chan is a paediatrician and between
1994-97 was director of the NHS Ethnic Health Unit and is currently
visiting Professor in Ethnic Health at the University of Liverpool.
Sir Paul Condon (54) was Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police between
1993-2000. He was Assistant Commissioner in 1988 and Chief Constable of
Kent between 1989-1993. Sir Paul is currently Director of the
Anti–Corruption Unit of the International Cricket Council. He received the
Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service in 1989 and was knighted
for his services to policing in 1994.
Professor Ilora Finlay (52) is a world expert in palliative medicine and is
Vice Dean of the School of Medicine, University of Wales College of
Medicine. Since 1987, she has developed palliative care in Wales and
contributed to strategic developments in this field of medicine in the UK
and internationally. Her clinical work is with the Velindre Cancer Centre,
Cardiff and with Marie Curie Cancer Care. She is President-Elect of the
Medical Women's Federation. Between 1993–97, Professor Finlay served on
the Expert Advisory Group on Cancers and subsequently as a member of the
National Cancer Forum.
Professor Susan Greenfield (50) is Director of the Royal Institution of
Great Britain, a post she holds jointly with her chair in pharmacology at
the University of Oxford. As one of the most prominent scientists in the
UK, she is known for her particular interest in the physical basis of the
mind. Her latest book "The Private Life of the Brain" was
published in June 2000 and in July that year she presented her major BBC2
series on the brain and the mind. In 1998, she received the Royal
Society's Michael Faraday Medal for her contribution to the public
understanding of science. She was also appointed as the first woman
Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
Sir David Hannay (65) is a former diplomat and held two of the UK’s most
important overseas posts – firstly as a Permanent Representative to the
European Union and then as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
He served in Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service between 1959 and 1995 on
various postings that included the Middle East, Central Asia, North America
where he was No 2 in the Embassy at Washington. Since retiring from the
Diplomatic Service, Sir David has been the British Special Representative
for Cyprus; he has also been an adviser to the Executive Committee of the
World Federation of UN Associations. Sir David is a member of the Council
of Britain in Europe and the Advisory Board of the Centre for European
Reform. He is Pro-chancellor of the University of Birmingham and a
non-executive director of Chime Communications and of Aegis.
Valerie Howarth (60) is Chief Executive of ChiLdline and has built it up
from a small charitable project to a national body that has helped over one
million children. As a former Director of Social Services with the London
Borough of Brent, she was involved with child care and women's refuges
and subsequently set up the King's Cross Homeless Project and the
London Homeless Forum. Linked to her work in establishing ChiLdline, she
co-founded the Telephone Helplines Association to ensure high standards for
users. Since 1995, she has been Vice-chairman of John Grooms - working with
people with disabilities. She was awarded the OBE in 1999. In February
2000, she was appointed as a member of the Food Standards Agency and in
April 2001 was appointed as a member of the new National Care Standards
Commission.
Lady (Elspeth) Howe of Aberavon (69) has made a strong contribution to
public life in a number of areas, most notably equal opportunities,
education and broadcasting standards. In the areas of employment and equal
opportunity, she has served as Deputy-chairman of the Equal Opportunities
Commission (1975-79); as President of the Federation of Recruitment and
Employment Services (1980-1994); as a member of the Board of Business in
the Community (1990-98) and as a member of the Department of
Employment's Woking Group on Women's Issues (1992-97). Lady Howe
also has an interest in criminal justice, most particularly juvenile crime
and served as chairman of an Inner London Juvenile Court for 20 years. She
has been chairman of the BOC Foundation for the Environment since 1990 and
between 1993 -99 she chaired the Broadcasting Standards Commission.
Sir Robert May (65) was born in Australia. At the University of Sydney he
studied engineering but ended up as first Professor in Theoretical Physics
at the age of 33. He is currently the President of the Royal Society (the
UK National Academy of Science) and holds a professorship in Zoology
jointly with the University of Oxford and Imperial College. Between 1995
and 2000 he was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government and Head of the
Government Office of Science and Technology. During his period as Chief
Scientific Adviser, his most important contribution was his 'Guidelines
on Science Advice in Policy Making' with its emphasis on wide
consultation and openness. Sir Robert is an Executive Trustee of the
Nuffield Foundation and a Founder Trustee of the Gates Trust. He is a
former Chairman of the trustees of the Natural History Museum and a Trustee
of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, and of the WWF(UK).
Born in Berlin, Sir Claus Moser (78) came to England in 1936. He has made
contributions to the social sciences, education and the arts. A former
Professor of Statistics at the LSE, Sir Claus was Head of the Government
Statistical Service. He was also a director of N M Rothschild & Sons,
and of The Economist and was Warden of Wadham College, Oxford. In 1990, his
Presidential Address to the British Association for the Advancement of
Science led to the establishment of the National Education Commission.
Since 1997, he has been Chairman of the Basic Skills Agency and the
Committee on Adult Literacy, which reported in 1999. He is Chancellor of
Keele University and the Open University of Israel. Sir Claus was a Board
member and Chairman of the Royal Opera House and a Trustee of Glyndebourne;
and is now on the Advisory Council of the LSO, Chairman of the Oxford
Playhouse and of Askonas Holt, the music management agency. In the
charitable world, he serves on the Paul Hamlyn and Rayne Foundations. Sir
Claus was awarded the CBE in 1965 and knighted in 1973.
Sir Herman Ouseley (56) has had a number of senior public service posts
within local government in London, including Chief Executive of the London
Borough of Lambeth, Director of Education of ILEA and Principal Race
Relations Adviser to the GLC. Between 1993-2000, Sir Herman Ouseley was
Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of the Commission for Racial
Equality establishing it as a valuable source of advice, guidance and
information on race relations in Britain. He is regarded as an outstanding
Chairman and Chief Executive who established the national and international
credibility of the CRE in tackling complex and diverse race relations
issues. In 1997 he was knighted for his services to local government and
race relations. He is currently the Managing Director of Different
Realities Partnerships which works with a range of organisations on
diversity issues.
Sir Stewart Sutherland (60) is a leading figure in the field of education.
He has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh since 1994 and
is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of London. He is a member of
the Higher Education Funding Council. Sir Stewart was her Majesty's
Inspector of Schools and founder of OFSTED between 1992-1994. In wider
public life, Sir Stewart was Chairman of the Committee on Appeal Courts
Procedure (Scotland) which reported in 1996 and Chairman of the Royal
Commission on the Long Term Care of the Elderly, which reported in 1999. He
is President of the Alzheimers and Dementia Society, Scotland and is also a
Trustee of the Iona Abbey Trust, the Airey Neave Trust and the Ernest
Cassell Trust. He has been Chairman of the Royal Institute of Philosophy
since 1989.
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