The Secretary of State has reappointed John Baillie and Catharine Seddon as Commissioners of the Gambling Commission
John Baillie and Catharine Seddon have been reappointed by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as Commissioners of the Gambling Commission for a one year period from 11 April 2021 to 10 April 2022.
John Baillie is a chartered accountant and former partner of KPMG in Scotland and London. He is a former chair of Audit Scotland and of the Scottish local authority watchdog, the Accounts Commission for Scotland. He was also a member of the reporting panel of the Competition and Markets Authority for nine years. John has held various roles in Scottish universities, including visiting professor of accountancy at the University of Edinburgh, and the Johnstone Smith Chair of Accountancy at the University of Glasgow.
Catharine Seddon has 20 years experience as an award-winning documentary film maker for the BBC and running her own production company, and 13 years of NED experience with national regulators in four different government departments. She has served five years with the Gambling Commission where she is currently the Senior Independent Director. As a Commissioner, she sits on the fourth National Lottery Competition Committee, on the Remuneration Committee, and on the Commission’s change programme, RESET. Catharine has also held non-executive and committee roles with the Human Tissue Authority, the Legal Services Board, the HFEA and the Pensions Regulator Catherine also sits on tribunals in mental health and employment and as a lay assessor on civil cases in the county courts and she is a presiding magistrate. She has recently been appointed to the Health Service Products Appeal Tribunal. She is also a trustee for CPotential, a special needs charity.
These roles are remunerated at £295 per day. These reappointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments, the process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. John Baillie and Catharine Seddon have not declared any activity.