Our governance
The main decision-making and management committees at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
APHA Steering Board
The executive board meets monthly and is responsible for:
- the day-to-day running of APHA
- implementing improvements
- monitoring delivery against targets
- authorising and managing the agency’s change programme
Members
The steering board is chaired by Elizabeth Buchanan, the lead Non-Executive Director.
The members of the steering board are:
- Richard Lewis, Chief Executive
- Lizzie Peers, Non-Executive Director
- Pippa Greenwood, Non-Executive Director
- Laurie Benson, Non-Executive Director
- Anthony Fooks, APHA Director of Animal and Plant Science
- Jason Field, APHA Director for National Biosecurity Centre, Weybridge
- Nicola Hirst, APHA Director of Animal and Plant Delivery Services
- Liz Byrne, APHA Director of Change
- Richard Knight, APHA Transformation Director
- Irene Cristofaro, APHA Veterinary Director
- Kevin Ingram, Defra Finance Director for APHA
- Anna Jenkins, Defra HR Director for APHA
- Christine Middlemiss, Defra Chief Veterinary Officer (UK)
- Nicola Spence, Defra Chief Plant Health Officer
- Anjali Juneja, Defra Director of Animal and Plant Health and Welfare
APHA Audit and Risk Assurance Committee
The committee meets 4 times a year with more meetings if required. It’s responsible for:
- supporting the executive board in managing risk
- assessing the agency’s performance
- reviewing the agency’s financial management
- reporting the results of the internal and external audits to the Steering Board
It’s chaired by Lizzie Peers, Non-Executive Director. Other members are:
- David Horne, Independent Member
- Laurie Benson, Non-Executive Director
Regular attendees at the meeting are:
- Richard Lewis, APHA Chief Executive
- Kevin Ingram, Defra Finance Director for APHA
- Russ Baldwin, APHA Head of Finance and Business Partnering
- Natalie Towers, Defra group Chief Internal Auditor, Government Internal Audit Agency
- Defra Risk and Assurance Manager for APHA
- National Audit Office
APHA Executive Board
The board meets monthly and is responsible for:
- the day-to-day running of APHA
- implementing improvements
- monitoring delivery against targets
- authorising and managing the agency’s change programme
It is chaired by Richard Lewis, APHA Chief Executive.
The members of the executive board are:
- Anthony Fooks, APHA Director of Animal and Plant Science
- Jason Field, APHA Director for National Biosecurity Centre, Weybridge
- Nicola Hirst, APHA Director of Animal and Plant Delivery Services
- Liz Byrne, APHA Director of Change
- Richard Knight, APHA Transformation Director
- Irene Cristofaro, APHA Veterinary Director
- Kevin Ingram, Defra Finance Director for APHA
- Anna Jenkins, Defra HR Director for APHA
APHA Science Advisory Board
The board meets 4 times a year. It supports the APHA Executive Board and Accounting Officer in their responsibilities for the oversight and assurance of APHA scientific work.
Members include external scientists and experts working on veterinary and
government science and research.
Joint Health and Safety Governance Board
The board meets monthly and it’s responsible for ensuring APHA continually seeks to raise health and safety standards. It oversees the:
- implementation of the joint APHA and Defra health and safety strategies
- delivery of APHA health, safety and wellbeing plans
- maintenance and management of the Weybridge site infrastructure
It is co-chaired by Anthony Fooks and Kath Jones, Director Defra group Property.
Members include senior managers representing different areas of APHA and Defra group Property.