Corporate report

List of board members’ interests: March 2020

Updated 6 November 2020

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

This list covers executive and non-executive members of the Department for Education’s Board as of March 2020. Ministers’ interests are published by the Cabinet Office.

Entries reflect members’ current positions and are based on a member’s discretionary judgement of what might form a potential conflict of interest, based on the below guidance from the code of conduct for board members of public bodies.

“4. Conflicts of Interests

4.1 When accepting an appointment to the public body you should consider if any conflicts of interest arise from your private interests or by virtue of any other roles you hold. You should consider, with advice from the appointing department how these should best be managed and agree these with the organisation.

4.2 You must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between your public duties and your private interests, financial or otherwise.

4.3 You must comply with the rules of the body on handling conflicts of interests. As a minimum, these will require you to declare publicly, usually in the body’s register of interests, any private financial or non-financial interests of your own, or of close family members, which may, or may be perceived to, conflict with your public duties. The rules will also require you to remove yourself from the discussion or determination of matters in which you have a financial interest. In matters in which you have a non-financial interest, you should not participate in the discussion or determination of a matter where the interest might suggest a danger of bias.

4.4 It is your responsibility to ensure that you are familiar with the body’s rules on handling conflicts of interests, that you comply with these rules and that your entry in the body’s public register of members’ interests is accurate and up-to-date.”

The list covers:

• remunerated directorships
• other remunerated employment, office, profession and other activity
• significant shareholdings/interests in public or private companies
• miscellaneous and unremunerated interests
• disclosure of family members’ interests

Executive members

Jonathan Slater

Public sector/charity positions of influence

• governor/trustee, Institute for Government

Disclosure of family members’ interests

• son is a civil servant
• stepdaughter is a civil servant
• stepdaughter was previously education policy officer for Royal Society of Biology
• wife is chair, board of trustees and member, education governing body for The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy, operating as Young Epilepsy
• wife is chair of a working group on transforming care for children for NHS England
• wife is member, Committee on Standards in Public Life
• wife is a trustee, Academies Enterprise Trust

Indra Morris

No interests declared

Mike Green

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• governor Nottingham College
• trustee Talent Foundry
• non-exec board member NEP

Jonathan Clear

Disclosure of family members’ interests

• partner works at the Royal Veterinary College as a lecturer in veterinary diagnostic imaging

Non-executive members

Richard Pennycook

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• member of the Coop

Directorships

• chairman, the British Retail Consortium
• chair of Fenwick Ltd
• chair of Howdens Joinery PLC
• The Hut Group (private company)

Ian Ferguson

Significant shareholdings/interests in public or private companies

• minority shareholding in Metaswitch Networks Ltd

Disclosure of family members’ interests

• partner is headteacher, Edmonton County School
• partner is member, Audit and Risk Committee, Office of the Children’s Commissioner
• partner is member of DfE Exclusions Review
• partner is member of DfE Serious Case Review Board

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• member, All Souls Group
• member, Education Advisory Group, Royal Shakespeare Company
• member, Skills Commission
• member, AELP Strategic Forum

Ruby McGregor-Smith

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• member, House of Lords
• member, University of Bath Council
• member, Race Disparity Advisory Group
• trustee, Cumberland Lodge, Educational Charity
• business ambassador, UKTI
• president, British Chamber of Commerce
• member (formerly Chair), Women’s Business Council (reporting to the Minister for Women and Equalities) (interest ceased 27 July 2019)
• chair of the Office for Tackling Injustices (OfTI)
• non-executive chairperson, Q3 Services Group (private sector facilities management provider of services

Directorships

• non-executive Director, PageGroup plc (formerly Michael Page International plc) (recruitment company) (interest ceased 23 May 2017)
• independent non-executive director, Balzalgette Tunnel Limited trading as Tideway
• non-executive chair, Airport Operator Association (AOA)

Remunerated employment, office, profession etc

• employee MCGS Consulting Limited
• senior adviser, Mace Group Ltd (consultancy and construction)
• LLP consultant, Alphasights Limited (services given on an ad hoc basis)
• occasional speaker, London Speaker Bureau (specialist agency for keynote and after-dinner speakers)
• speaking engagement, 13 February 2020, keynote speech on Diversity and Inclusion, Osborne Clarke, London
• speaking engagement, 17 September 2019, Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) Leaders Forum (arranged through London Speaker Bureau).
• speaking engagement, 21 May 2019, GSMA, London (trade body that represents interests of mobile network operators worldwide) (arranged through London Speaker Bureau).
• speaking engagement, 25 April 2019, Nat West, London (arranged through Teneo Limited Speaking engagement)
• speaking engagement, 25 September 2019, AON Service Corporation: Closing the BAME pay gap (arranged through London Speaker Bureau)
• speaking engagement, 7 November 2019, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD), Manchester (arranged through London Speaker Bureau).
• visit to Israel and the West Bank, 28 July to 2 August 2019, as part of fact finding delegation of current and prospective parliamentarians - travel and accommodation costs were met by Conservative Friends of Israel Ltd
• one property in Windsor owned jointly with husband from which rental income is received
• two properties in Cotswolds owned jointly with husband from which rental income is received

Shareholding

• 0.16% shares of Mitie Group plc (outsourcing company) (interest ceased 17 August 2017)

Toby Peyton-Jones

Directorship

• board member, Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

Shares

• Siemens shares

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• advisory board member, Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB)
• trustee, The Edge Foundation
• board member, CBI Employment and Skills Board
• fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD)
• honorary fellow, IES
• companion, Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
• conference speaking

Remunerated employment

• industry ambassador, Siemens plc, Skills and Future of Work
• industry advisor, EU Skills

Disclosure of family members’ interests

• Simon Peyton-Jones, Microsoft, is active in making the case for improving computer programming skills in school teacher agenda

Irene Lucas

Directorships

• chair, Hays Travel Limited
• director, Irene Lucas Consulting
• chair management board, Education and Skills Funding Agency

Shares

• joint owner, Hays Travel Limited

Public sector/charity positions of influence

• chair of trustees, Hays Travel Foundation

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• Deputy Lieutenant

Nick Timothy

Remunerated employment, office, profession etc

• columnist, Daily Telegraph

Public sector/charity positions of influence

• non-executive director, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee

Miscellaneous and unremunerated interests

• visiting professor, Sheffield University