UK Statistics Authority chair appointment
Sir David Norgrove has been confirmed as the government’s preferred candidate for Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Minister for the Cabinet Office Ben Gummer has today announced Sir David Norgrove as the government’s preferred candidate for the role of Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.
Ben Gummer has invited the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee to hold a pre-appointment hearing, which will take place on 24 January 2017.
The recommendation follows a fair and open recruitment exercise carried out in line with the principles of the Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies, published by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The current Chair, Sir Andrew Dilnot, has held the post since 2012 and will step down at the end of March.
Further information
The UK Statistics Authority was established on 1 April 2008 by the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, with a statutory objective to promote and safeguard the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good.
Sir David Norgrove is Deputy Chair of the Family Justice Board, having chaired it from its inception in 2012 until 2016. He is an external member and Deputy Chair of Oxford University Council. He has been a trustee and Deputy Chair of the British Museum, and chaired the Low Pay Commission from 2009 to 2016, the Pensions Regulator from its inception in 2005 until 2010, Risk First from 2012 to 2015 and Amnesty International Charitable Trust from 2008 to 2014. He chaired a Government review of the family justice system in 2010 and 2011.
David began his career as an economist at the Treasury and worked in a Chicago bank before becoming Private Secretary to the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. He spent 16 years with Marks & Spencer and became a member of the Board there. David was knighted in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to the low paid and to family justice.
Pre-appointment scrutiny hearings enable select committees to take evidence from the government’s preferred candidate for certain key public appointments prior to the final appointment decision. Hearings are in public and the select committee will publish a report setting out their views on the candidate’s suitability for the post.