Policy paper

Government Lead Non-Executive’s annual report 2020 to 2021

Published 31 March 2022

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Introduction

It is with great pleasure that I deliver my second report as Government Lead Non-Executive after what has been a very challenging year.

The Network has seen a number of changes in both membership and the way we have worked this year. Our challenges have included supporting departments addressing the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving the EU, delivering a one-year Spending Review and commencing an ambitious programme of Civil Service Reform.

Alongside this we have continued to think about how we can support our departments and also focus on cross cutting areas. The departmental non-executives have operated effectively providing a strong independent scrutiny role through a largely virtual arrangement and I look forward to convening as a physical Network in the near future.

We started our year with the impacts of the pandemic at the foremost and as a Network we have been hugely impressed with the way departments have continued to deliver for citizens. On behalf of the Network I would like to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of officials who have kept essential services running and continued to deliver the business of the government.

But as a Network we also recognise where opportunities were not always fully grasped and will continue to work with departments in our “scrutiny, challenge and support” role.

A key area I have focused on has been the emerging work and priorities around Modernisation and Reform of the Civil Service and the Outcome Delivery Plans. We have also retained our Talent objective and I have focused on innovation as part of this, including the adoption of secondments with the private sector that can help support improved capability and wider experience for civil servants.

We have also focused particularly on performance management issues. I have met regularly with departmental Lead non-executive board members, both individually and as a collective, ensuring their views are reflected back to ministers, the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service. The Network continues to drive open and honest conversations about the challenges that face all departments and our role in how we support each to achieve the stretching targets set.

Lord (John) Nash

Government Lead Non-Executive

Key Facts

Breakdown of Departmental Board meetings 2020/21

Foreword

The challenges faced over the last twelve months have been unprecedented for this and many governments worldwide. In leading the response from the centre, we know that meeting the challenge of Covid-19, exiting the EU and continuing to deliver for citizens depends on a truly collaborative and coordinated effort across all the departments of government and their arms length bodies.

The network of departmental non-executives provide vital scrutiny and challenge to that effort. Our non-executives contribute their expertise and help to a multitude of areas including planning, delivery and performance management. The importance of this support during Spending Review planning has been invaluable and will be even more so as we enter the next round of Spending Review thinking in 2021.

Our non-executives are a quiet powerhouse, lending their support, enthusiasm and experience to officials and ministers alike, with a clear commitment to helping the government work better. I have regular discussions with Lord Nash and the non-executives across the network and value their insight and advice. The benefits realised from introducing the non-executives network can be clearly seen across many aspects of central departments’ work. During 2020-21 this has supported departmental continuity and delivery of business as usual in a largely virtual working environment, without loss of quality and supporting the resilience of both the Civil Service and ministers.

Non-executives come from a variety of backgrounds, and I welcome Lord Nash’s commitment to continuing work to build on that diversity, echoing a wider Civil Service aim. The diversity of thought and experience that non executives bring to their roles helps us to break down siloed thinking and plays an important part in holding the government to account and delivering the best outcomes for citizens.

I would like to thank Lord Nash for this report and look forward to working with him and his Network during 2021-22 to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Alex Chisholm, Chief Operating Officer of the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary

Cabinet Office

Chapter 1: Review of the Departmental Board Programme in 2020-21

Who we are

This year marks the ten year anniversary of the introduction of the departmental board model. The model brings together non-executives, ministers and civil servants at departmental boards, chaired by the Secretary of State. Non-executives also make a significant contribution outside of the boardroom. Non-executive directors were brought into government to provide scrutiny, support and challenge. They exercise this role through influence and advice, supporting as well as challenging the executive.

They advise on performance (including agreeing key performance indicators), operational issues (including the operational / delivery implications of policy proposals), and on the effective management of the department. They also provide support, guidance and challenge on the progress and implementation of the single departmental plan, and in relation to recruiting, appraising and ensuring appropriate succession planning of senior executives. Non-Executives chair committees responsible for audit and risk assurance, and nominations, as part of departmental governance. Outside the boardroom they are taking on extra roles both within departments and across government. Examples include:

• Supporting the annual appraisal process of Permanent Secretaries;
• Providing informal advice and support to officials and ministers;
• Taking part in appointment exercises within departments and in their wider departmental family organisations; and
• Supporting the scoping of projects and acting as a trusted sounding-board for early ideas.

The departmental case studies, set out in Annex 1, provide examples of these types of roles in action.

Board Meetings

Frequency

In 2020-21, 88 departmental board meetings were held across 16 central government ministerial departments and 3 Territorial Offices ^{[footnote 1]}. This represents an average of 5 meetings per department, which remains above the required minimum of 4 meetings per department per year.

The response to Covid-19 has meant departments have operated meetings differently during 2020/21, including establishing Covid-19 response specific meetings structures. The majority of meetings have been held in virtual environments or where just good governance has been essential in ensuring good outcomes.

There has always been a variety in the frequency of board meetings across departments, and, as Figure 1 illustrates, the majority have met at least four times.

Figure 1 : Number of Departmental board meetings held in 2020-21

MOD, MOJ, one non-ministerial department (HMRC), and 3 Territorial offices (Scotland Office, Wales Office, Northern Ireland Office).

Attendance

Overall attendance at board meetings, this year at 93%, remains high and represents an increase of 6% compared to 2019-20. Figure 2 illustrates all of the constituent groups of board membership, and indicates a relatively consistent level of engagement in each category. Whereas official participation remained the same as the previous year, Secretaries of State, junior ministers and non-executives participation has increased. All levels of attendance compare favourably to the 2013-14 baseline.

Figure 2 : Attendance at Departmental Board meetings

Turnover

As shown in Figure 3 there has been a lower turnover of both Secretaries of State and junior ministers this year compared to the previous one. Non-executive and Officials turnover during 2020/21 has stood at around 30%.

Figure 3 : Turnover of Departmental Board Members

Non-executive board members

As at 31st March 2021, there were 83 non-executive board members across 19 central departments (15 ministerial departments, HMRC and three Territorial Offices). A list of appointees is provided in Annex 2 (up-to-date details are on the departmental website).

Non-executives are appointed on merit by the department’s Secretary of State, with roles advertised on the Cabinet Office’s Centre for Public Appointments website. Non-executives on central government departmental boards are recruited primarily from the commercial sector and generally have experience of managing large and complex organisations.

In the last year 6 non-executives have been appointed directly by the relevant Department Secretary of State.

Skills

In the last year, talented people have joined our non-executives network with experience from highly varied organisations, such as: Mastercard, Alzheimer Society, Deliveroo, British Heart Foundation, Burberry, Rolls Royce, Mitie, Virgin Media and Centrica. A number of non-executives are leading practitioners in senior corporate roles such as Directors, Chief Executive Officers, Partners and HR Directors.

Departments have continued to make strong appointments in areas of identified skills gaps such as: digital, technology, trade, finance, data, change management and talent management. For example, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy appointed a new lead non-executive 14 director who is a former Executive Vice-Chair at Mastercard; Global Chair of the 30% Club and Member of the UK Government’s AI Council.

We remain committed to ensuring that those who are appointed continue to offer the best outcomes for government and citizens through their directly-relevant skills and experience.

Diversity

Inclusive and diverse public boards are more effective, better able to understand their customers and stakeholders, and benefit from fresh perspectives, new ideas, vigorous challenge and broad experience.

I will continue to promote diversity when departments are considering new non-executive appointments, but the terms of service of such appointees (generally 3 years) means that the impacts will be several years in the realising. As at 31 March 2021:

• ethnic minorities appointees made up 8% of non-executive directors
• women made up 42% of non-executive board members (and made up 41% of all non-executives appointed in the period April 2020-March 2021).

These figures are higher than in FTSE 250 companies where in 2020 female non-executive board members made up 37.6% of non-executive board members^{[footnote 2]} . I am particularly pleased to report that 38% of lead non executive Director appointments are now filled by women.

With regard to wider diversity, the Parker Review^{[footnote 3]} has recommended a target for ethnic diversity in FTSE 100 boardrooms with at least one director of non-white ethnicity.

I am personally committed to, and concerned about, this issue and will be seeking to ensure that Secretaries of States, Ministers, senior officials and lead non-executive board members continue to work to ensure that recruitment processes encourage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds.

Role of the Government Lead Non-Executive

Since August 2021 I have met regularly with Secretaries of State, Permanent Secretaries, non-executives and others. In total, I undertook 65 meetings and numerous informal conversations with ministers.

The lead non-executives met virtually 12 times over the year, the Audit and Risk Chairs met twice and all non executives were invited to an All Network telekit during May 2020. The Network considered a variety of issues and heard from a wide range of speakers, including ministers, the Cabinet Secretary and the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer. Subjects considered included: Civil Service Modernisation and Reform, Outcome Delivery Plans, Skills and Curriculum planning, Efficiency and Reform agenda, Arm Length Bodies Governance and Functional Standards.

In other activities, many non-executives have supported the work of their departments in addition to their board member role. Further additional work led by non-executives during 2020/21 has included:

• Support and advice to the cross-departmental ministerial task force looking at housing benefit spend to improve the supply and quality of low-cost housing and provide future opportunities for home ownership;
• Providing strategic advice and challenges to the Cultural Recovery Fund to help arts, cultural and heritage organisations survive, and when possible, reopen as part of Covid-19 recovery;
• Providing additional scrutiny on major investment decisions, by offering further commercial and delivery expertise, as resources continued to be reallocated and projects reprioritized to support operational response and ensure critical transport and freight kept operating;
• Acting as a critical friend to winter planning programmes focused on increasing stocks of critical goods and finding alternative product ranges, alongside route planning and coping with local transport disruption to ensure people could get to work.

I led a focused review on initial Civil Service Reform proposals and, as part of this, welcomed a collaborative working opportunity with the Commission for Smart Government. The findings of the review were presented as twelve recommendations to the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster. I am pleased to say that all were adopted for inclusion within the evolving Civil Service Reform thinking. The area of Civil Service Reform is critical to the future success of delivery and the Network will continue to identify this as a priority area over the next few years.

I have also taken on work with regard to public bodies reform and the lead non-executives will follow this work and contribute their understanding and experience where appropriate, as it evolves.

I am also pleased that in response to a recommendation within the Dunlop Review of UK Government Capability we worked quickly to identify a named departmental non-executive who will lead on holding their department to account, ensuring that wider consideration of issues of Devolution and the Union form part of those issues brought to their Departmental Board. 16

The above provide a few examples of where non-executives are stepping beyond their departmental portfolios and increasing their contribution to the wider landscape of government.

I chair the Permanent Secretaries Remuneration Committee, which makes recommendations to the Prime Minister about the remuneration of the most senior civil servants. As part of supporting the work of the Cabinet Secretary, I have agreed changes to the process which will engage lead non-executives further and more regularly. I believe this will add a beneficial layer of openness and transparency to the conversations about how well the Civil Service is performing.

I would like to thank all the departmental non-executive directors for their hard work and delivery of our core role and for stepping up in a very different year for government and the civil service. As a network, we have risen to the challenge and contributed effectively across many different remits in our departments.

Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of those non-executives who retired as their terms of office came to an end, and to welcome 35 new non-executives to the network.

I am proud to lead such a committed Network and assure both Ministers and officials that we stand ready to continue supporting you over the coming year.

Chapter 2: Priorities for the Non-Executive Directors network

Introduction

One of my priorities is to bring together and coordinate the efforts of the network of non-executives, to ensure their contribution is as effective as possible. For 2020-21 this saw a focus on areas where non-executives are particularly well placed to add value, and support the priorities of both the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, and the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer. I also focused on areas that will remain enduring priorities for the length of my term.

1) Talent

The Talent Action Group (TAG) consists of a group of non-executive directors with an interest and expertise in talent and wider people and leadership issues. The group has been in place since 2015 with the aim to encourage good talent management within departments, sharing good practices, promoting the value of non-executive directors in talent development, while at the same time supporting talent policy leads in Civil Service Human Resources with challenge and insight on key talent policies.

Until December 2020, this group was chaired by Mervyn Walker (Lead non-executive director, HMRC). Sue Langley (Lead non-executive director, Home Office) took over as chair in January 2021. With an increased focus on wider people and leadership issues across Human Resources, the group is considering how best to add value to a wider range of Civil Service People policies beyond talent.

During the period of April 2020 to March 2021, TAG met virtually in October 2020 to discuss the Civil Service modernisation and reform agenda, and reflect on progress regarding talent management in the Civil Service. TAG members furthermore contributed to the delivery of two themed workshops as part of the Civil Service High Potential Development Scheme. They contributed with their experience of working with departmental boards, including their reflections having led and participated in such boards. Both workshops were well received.

Additionally, through engagement with Whitehall Industry Group, a number of non-executive directors participated in a virtual Roundtable where non-executives and Trustees from across a wide range of sectors addressed contemporary thinking on a Board’s role in Talent Management. Finally, the revised guidance to non-executive directors involved with talent management was published for internal Civil Service use. Additionally, non executives have continued to support departmental talent management activities in addition to being represented on departmental boards. These activities include participating in recruitment panels, talent assessments for Directors and Directors General and partnering with senior leaders to provide advice and guidance. Lead non executives continue to play a key role in the appraisal of their Permanent Secretaries by preparing feedback reports that inform the overall assessment of their individual performance. The Permanent Secretary’s line manager uses the report to support their own appraisal discussion with the Permanent Secretary.

Talent continues to be an important cross-cutting people agenda where non-executive directors can add significant value. With a look to the future, it is likely that more policy areas across Human Resources will benefit from non-executive directors insights through the expected re-positioning of the TAG.

Non-executive Directors have also brought their expertise to bear in supporting a number of important strategic initiatives focused on long term capability building across the Civil Service. This has included:

• Michael Jary’s (Lead non-executive Director, MHCLG) role as co-chair of the steering group for the establishment of the new Government Consulting Hub;
• Sue Langley’s role as co-chair of the steering group overseeing the establishment of new ‘civilian reserve’ (a recommendation of the recent Integrated Review); and
• Lord Nash’s sponsorship of the new secondment and interchange programme.

2) Outcome Delivery Plans (ODPs)

ODPs are the basis of the Government’s planning and performance framework. They were first introduced for the 2021/22 planning year and will set out a department’s objectives and key enabling activities, how it will use its resources to achieve the desired outcomes, and how its performance can be measured. They replace the former Single Departmental Plan process. During 2020-21 the Lead Non-Executives considered the ODP proposals which envisage:

• Setting out the activities, programmes and projects each department will deliver over the course of the coming year (or longer, where funding beyond this year has been agreed), and which contribute to a department’s provisionally agreed priority outcomes.
• Setting out a theory of change for each priority outcome, which explains how interventions will ultimately impact the delivery of the outcome. ODPs will be structured around priority outcomes and include four mandatory strategic enablers:
  • Workforce, Skills, and Location;
  • Innovation, Technology, and Data;
  • Delivery, Evaluation, and Collaboration; and
  • Sustainability.

Non-executive directors were closely involved with the development of Departments’ SDP’s and I am keen that they similarly support the embedding and delivery of ODPs (particularly linked to the Public Value Framework). Non-executive directors have a clear role to provide challenge to ministers and senior officials, particularly on the prioritisation of resources and capability. The successful bedding-in of ODPs is a priority area for non-executives over the coming financial year.

3) Government Reform

A small working group of Lead non-executive directors looked at the early proposals for government reform and offered recommendations to the Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster. This formative work was valued by the minister and was an important influence on the development of the Declaration on Government Reform. I am keen that non-executives support this critical agenda across departments and play a crucial role in holding ministers and officials accountable for implementation. This will remain a significant priority for the network over the remainder of my current term.

Other areas where non-executives have contributed during 2020-21

Annex 1 details the case studies of the work undertaken by department non-executive directors during the year. Figure 4 identifies some of the subjects non-executives have focused on within their work with departments during the year.

Figure 4: Areas of support provided by non-executive directors

Chapter 3: 2021-22: The Year Ahead

The next period faces a number of significant challenges, not least supporting the delivery of Civil Service Reform which will remain a key priority for the non-executive network. The implementation of the new Outcome Delivery Plans and embedding of Functional Standards will be important to the continuing successful delivery of government. I am also keen that the network does not lose sight of the need to continue to promote capability and skills growth across civil servants.

I will continue to place an emphasis on how boards demonstrate their effectiveness, both to ensure they continue to make significant contributions to government, but also to draw out examples of best practice. Departmental Boards are key to the successful delivery of departments work and remain a critical part of department structures, providing essential continuity during periods of change.

As part of the wider modernising journey being driven through the Civil Service, I believe it is timely and will be looking to concentrate non-executives energy to wider cross-governmental challenges and opportunities. Over the next year the Network will focus on:

• Driving increased diversity and inclusiveness of the non-executive network (particularly where vacancies arise) to ensure appointees remain of a high calibre and add value to the work of departments;
• Supporting the process of the delivery of the Spending Review settlements, ensuring proposals are realistic in terms of prioritisation, planning and deliverability;
• Supporting the implementation of Civil Service Reform as part of enabling and empowering a modern Civil Service; and
• Supporting the work on ALB Reform through our relationship with ALB non-executives.

Annex 1: Department Case Studies from Lead Non-Executives

Lending strategic support and expertise through a challenging period

Gisela Stuart, Lead Non-Executive, Cabinet Office

During 2020-21 there was a high level of engagement from Non Executives across the Cabinet Office. Following the appointment of four new Non Executives (including myself) in May 2020, the department launched a zero based review (ZBR) to scrutinise priorities and efficiencies in every directorate. Each Non Executive participated during this six month project, supporting Ministers and Senior Officials in their discussions with business units to identify potential savings and reprioritisation.

Board meetings took place roughly every 6-8 weeks over the year and focused on the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s priorities: the response to the pandemic; delivering Brexit; strengthening the union; and, modernisation and reform, both cross-government and at a departmental level.

The Audit and Risk Committee continued their forensic scrutiny under Michael Ashley’s leadership (with Lord Hogan Howe and Anand Aithal as members), and we have established the Nominations Committee (which I chair with Karen Blackett and Anand Aithal as members) though we will be looking at the remit of the latter committee during this summer’s Board Effectiveness Evaluation to ensure it is adding true value to the department.

At an Executive level Non Executives advise on a number of corporate committees, including the newly established Approvals Board (myself and Anand Aithal); the Performance and Risk Committee (first Baroness Finn, now Michael Ashley); the People and Operations Committee (Lord Hogan-Howe) and the cross-government People Committee (Baroness Finn until her departure, now Henry de Zoete). Anand was also very active on the now defunct Investment and Portfolio Committee.

Beyond committee work, the Non Executives have dedicated their time and expertise to a number of activities across the department. In addition to ZBR work we have all participated in, Lord Hogan Howe has spent much of the year advising on border preparedness around EU Exit, attending XO meetings and making multiple trips to Dover. He has also engaged with the UK Security Vetting (UKSV) team, travelling to their office in York to understand more of their work. Henry de Zoete has been involved in the evolving digital strategy and worked at an executive level to support the development of lateral-flow testing last winter. Anand Aithal has worked on the Shared Services Strategy and advised on spend control reform within the department, and Karen Blackett is supporting the People and Places team to develop our workforce and location strategies. Michael Ashley chaired a review of the Government Property Agency and before her departure in late February Baroness Finn was focused on functional reform. As Lead Non Executive for the department I have taken on the Union lead within the department working closely with the Union Directorate and the UK Constitution Group, have also attended weekly CDL-led delivery meetings to drive performance and have taken part in a 25 number of interviewing panels for the department and wider government public appointments.

It has been a pivotal year for the government and the country as we have battled a pandemic while establishing new relationships with Europe and the world. In addition to supporting these priorities, within the department Non Executives have undertaken a range of foundational, granular work to set the stage for a new decade. As a Board, most of us have now been working together for at least a year and, despite the challenges of lockdown and social restrictions, relationships have been forged and substantive work has been delivered. The significant work that went into the ZBR and the 2020 Spending Review (SR20) has paid off as we now have a cohort of Non Executives with a working level knowledge of this complex department. We are actively involved and individual NEDs are supporting a wide range of work and projects to delivery during 2021-22.

Lending strategic support and expertise through a challenging period

Charles Alexander, Lead Non-Executive, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

As well as their contributions in the Departmental Board and Audit & Risk Committee, non-executive Board Members continued to provide additional guidance and advice to DCMS officials and ministers. Hemant Patel was a leading member of the Culture Recovery Board, a meeting of senior leaders from across the business and cultural worlds, formed to provide rigour, expertise and assurance to the Government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). The board met a significant number of times in 2020 and Hemant played a leading role, including at investment sub-committee meetings. He utilised his wealth of financial expertise to provide challenge, assurance and structure to the programme of work.

Non-executives also continued to support the department internally. An example of this is Baroness Laura Wyld, who provided advice and challenge to the department in developing and implementing its Diversity and Inclusion strategy to support the commitment to become the most diverse and inclusive Government department by 2025. Throughout regular interactions with officials, non-executives have supported and challenged management on the department’s strategic direction, its approach to the significant strategic challenges the year presented, including EU exit, Covid-19 response and the Spending Review.

There have been a number of changes to the DCMS non-executive team in the last few months of 2020-21. I left the department in April and I would like to thank the non-executives who I have worked with in my time as Lead non-executive. I know the new team will ensure that the non-executive expertise is continued to be deployed to provide the vital challenge and advice required to support DCMS at this important time for the department and country.

Supporting the department across all priorities, by providing advice and oversight on governance and delivery.

Richard Pennycook, Lead Non-Executive, Department for Education

The reporting year has been dominated by Covid-19, which has brought with it challenges across the Department and its Arms-Length Bodies. Throughout the year my non-executive colleagues Ian Fergurson, Ruby McGregor-Smith, Nick Timothy, Irene Lucas, Toby Peyton-Jones and myself have worked closely with the DfE. As a Board we have discussed and advised on key issues including:

• Covid-19 response, focusing on the reopening of schools and the Education Recovery programme;
• Endorsing an interim risk appetite statement to provide a framework for officials when making decisions during the pandemic;
• Safeguarding vulnerable children and young people. The Board advocated a well-funded strategic approach to build on the outcomes of the Children’s Social Care and SEND review once published; and
• Setting objectives and priorities for the Department’s Spending Review (SR) response. Outside of formal Committee time non-executive board members have provided insight, challenge, and advice to the Department in some of its most critical areas of work. This has included:
• Ruby McGregor-Smith chairing a series of contract and grant focussed Star Chamber sessions. These were held with each Director General to scrutinise commercial plans for future spending and identify saving opportunities. Several cross-cutting issues were identified that will be addressed to improve the long-term health of commercial activity within the Department.
• Toby Peyton-Jones has played a critical role in supporting the reform of the post-16 skills agenda. Toby chaired a stakeholder group to advise on the content of the Skills for Jobs white paper. This stakeholder group acted as a sounding board for officials and provided feedback on the narrative for skills reform as it developed.

I am interim Chair of the recently established Skills Reform Board at the DfE. The Skills Reform Board provides governance and oversight for the delivery of commitments within the white paper. I will continue to act as chair until a public appointment is made to take this work forward.

I also co-chair the DfE Business Engagement Forum with the Education Secretary. This is a group of CEOs of major British employers that convene to drive forward work with DfE Directors and share views and insights to support policy development. The forum has brought a new, previously unseen level of connectivity between business and the Department. The views of this group have helped the DfE progress against the skills reform delivery aims, including employer focused work to understand their priorities around ‘Pathways into the world of work’ and ‘Skills supply and demand forecasting’.

My non-executive colleagues continue to work across the Department’s ALB family. ALBs are public bodies that operate with various degrees of independence to deliver services, funding or regulation advice. Irene chairs the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Board and Toby serves on the Board of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE). Ian and I convened the network of Chairs and Audit Chairs from across the Department’s ALBs throughout this year, providing a line of sight to and from the Department and sharing best practice.

My team of non-executive directors have supported several panels to make significant public appointments, including Ofqual Chief Regulator, Office for Students Chair, Chair of Ofsted and the Further Education Commissioner. Additionally, non-executives have joined the appointment panels for members of the Student Loan Company and the IFATE board. Going forward I look forward to working with the Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary to support the work to implement both education recovery and the post-16 skills agenda. These will be central to the country’s economic growth both immediately post Covid-19 and over the next 5 years.

Providing support and challenge on outcomes delivery

Henry Dimbleby, Lead Non-Executive, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)

Throughout the year, Defra non-executive directors have supported the department to ensure it has the strongest possible focus on delivering its outcomes. This includes regularly reviewing performance, finance and risk information. A number of our non-executive directors have been directly involved in work to improve how this information is reported. During the 2021/22 Defra group business planning round some non-executive directors played key roles by providing strategic direction and challenging funding and priorities. The lead non-executive directors provided advice and challenge in developing our new Outcome Delivery Plan. In addition, non-executive directors individually have been focused on advising and supervising the delivery and operational implications of major Defra projects and on the effectiveness of priority policy proposals. Two of these are the Weybridge project and International Climate and Biodiversity.

Some of the non-executive directors have supported Defra Ministers to scrutinise and assess the way forward with the Scientific Capability for Animal Health programme including over the level of ambition and costs associated with the project, which will rebuild the critical animal health facility at Weybridge. Others, as part of the International Climate and Biodiversity Advisory Group, working alongside international facing arm-length bodies non-executive directors, have provided advice and challenge on the International Nature Strategy, G7, COP26 and Convention on Biological Diversity including on advising on how domestic leadership at home can support our government’s international ambitions.

Supporting the departmental delivery planning

Dominic Johnson CBE, Lead Non-Executive, Department for International Trade

The Department for International Trade was created to exploit the significant opportunities resulting from the UK leaving the EU on 1st January 2021. Over the past year, the Departmental Board and its non-executive Board Members (NEBMs) have been heavily invested in ensuring that we were able to deliver on this historic moment. The main mechanism for ensuring the Department can deliver is the structure we have devised around the ODP. This clear plan is the best way to both monitor actual outcomes, assess risks and deal with issues as they arise. Ahead of the ODP being finalised, each NEBM was allocated a Director General to shadow and assist in preparing their component of the ODP.

In my own allocated area – Export Services, this required integrating a series of new approaches and structures to ensure that the Group could respond to the new metrics set. This was detailed work and involved a review of existing services, organisational structures and reporting lines. Through being fully engaged in this process it allowed me to be far more aware of the various issues and risks around the ODP and also helped shape strong working relationships with senior civil servants, who have been highly collaborative throughout. The other NEBMs are also involved in their respective areas and have all been fully brought into the discussions around the overall strategy, how we measure success and what are the delivery markers as we go through the year.

Every quarter each NEBM will meet with their respective Director General to be updated on progress and offer support and challenge. The Lead NEBM will meet the Secretary of State and Permanent Secretary to review quarterly progress and discuss prioritisation, and the Board as a whole will receive and discuss quarterly reports on progress. The Audit & Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) will also play an important role in monitoring the ODP, by ensuring that there is sight of how the plan is being executed deeper into the organisation.

I want to thank Sir Stephen O’Brien, Dr Dambisa Moyo, Douglas Carswell, Noël Harwerth, and the former Lead Non-Executive, Andrew Hood, for helping, through this approach, to put the Department on an excellent footing for 2021-22. I look forward to working closely with the entire Non-Executive team across the full spectrum of the Department’s efforts to support British businesses and the UK economy, through an export-led recovery.

Supporting the department through unprecedented challenging times

Ian King, Lead Non-Executive, Department for Transport

The current DfT Governance Framework dictates strong engagement from the non-executive directors, which was especially valuable to DfT through 20-21 when dealing with concurrent operational challenges of Covid-19 and the EU Exit. Representation (myself plus one other non-executive director) on the twice weekly Investment, Projects and Delivery Committee (IPDC) at the height of the interventions period gave additional scrutiny on major investment decisions, by offering further commercial and delivery expertise, as resources continued to be reallocated and projects reprioritized to support operational response and interventions required, to ensure critical transport and freight kept operating.

Similarly, through membership of the Nominations Committee, non-executive directors provided oversight of succession planning and recruitment of our executive and non-executive senior leaders both in DfT (c) and in our delivery bodies.

Although the Department’s Non-Executive Directors have remained much the same as last year from the 1st April 2021, two new Non-Executives, Dame Sarah Storey and Ranjit Baxi, will join the DfT Board where their collective regional experience and passions with respect to improving travel for the user and sustainability, are aligned with the Departments purpose and priorities going forward.

Providing crucial support to department’s response to Covid-19

Kate Lampard, Lead Non-Executive, Department of Health & Social Care

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the greatest challenge to our health and care system in living memory, placing extraordinary demands on the Department of Health and Social Care. The non-executive directors have supported the Department to meet these challenges through their involvement in different workstreams, membership of various oversight committees, and deep dive sessions on particular aspects of the Department’s work. The non-executive directors have provided crucial support and challenge to the department’s response to Covid-19 as members of the formal Covid-19 Oversight Board and challenge sessions on, for example, Test and Trace; PPE; vaccine deployment; risks; and health inequalities. This is hugely valued by the Department with teams increasingly seeking the input of the non-executive directors to support their work.

Supporting the department on the response to Covid-19 has placed new demands on the non-executive directors but they continue to increase their oversight and scrutiny of the department’s performance on key priorities, the NHS Long-Term Plan, and manifesto commitments, as well as departmental risks. This is achieved by our non-executive directors becoming formal members of the department’s Performance and Risk Committee and Ministerial Programme Boards for the department’s key manifesto commitments. Gerry Murphy has also taken on the important role of leading on talent management across the department, joining the Nominations and Governance Committee to champion good talent development and planning.

Supporting departmental priorities across the board

Nick Markham, Lead Non-Executive, Department for Work and Pensions

During the last financial year, DWP, like other central departments, was faced with the unprecedented challenge of operating during a pandemic outbreak. Despite this, I am proud to highlight below some of the work the non-executive directors team contributed towards meeting DWP’s goals and supporting its priorities. This year we agreed carefully divided portfolios matched to our skillsets and the following sets out the contributions made.

As Lead I focused on support and advice to the cross-departmental ministerial task force that is exploring ways of putting DWP’s £30bn housing benefit spend to better use to improve the supply and quality of low-cost housing and provide future opportunities for home ownership.

David Holt engaged with the process introducing operational changes to assure DWPs activities, as part of mitigating the risks associated with the increased demand from the pandemic outbreak. This saw implementation of two changes to provide greater oversight and assurance to the Board:

• The Government Internal Audit Agency worked collaboratively with DWP and moved towards greater ‘real time’ working, sitting alongside those making decisions around easements and assessing the associated revised governance that had been put in place; and
• The department Audit & Risk Committee met monthly up to November 2020 to consider assurance around the revised governance arrangements, as well as the impact of easements on critical processes (e.g. timeliness of payments) and fraud and error levels being actively managed.

Rachel Wolf led a ‘Lessons Learned’ review on the response to the pandemic with the recommendations being implemented following discussion by ministers, senior officials, and the NEDs. In addition, Ashley Machin conducted a ‘phase 1’ review of the DWP IT systems to understand the gaps and mitigate risks. This has resulted in the achievement of consensus on the current position of the department, and on the proposed priorities for improvement. The second phase of the review is helping the Department create an easily understood roadmap of IT transformation for consideration within the SR process.

Eleanor Shawcross contributed her expertise through independent challenge to the development of the DWP SR20 bid, offering advice and technical recommendations to officials and ministers. This supported the development of and submission of a single, well-supported proposal to HMT.

Providing support and expertise to help establish the new department

Dame Helena Morrissey, Lead Non-Executive, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Alongside the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) last September, a completely new group of non-executive directors was appointed, with specific expertise in Finance (Beverley Tew), Human Resources (Ann Cormack), Audit and Risk (John Coffey) and Strategy (all NEDs). We joined either side of the merger itself, complementing a new senior team. Together, we have been working to build a new organisation, not merely the sum of the legacy departments. The goals for the FCDO are clear: to build on the UK’s long history of diplomacy and international development and to reinforce the UK’s position as a force for good in the world.

The starting point was to formulate a new governance framework to ensure alignment with both the FCDO’s strong level of ambition and the required oversight of risks. The non-executive directors drew upon our private sector experience along with input from a wide range of stakeholders to devise a structure that gives a clear line of sight from the top of the organisation over the main areas of work. This framework is working well; it is being kept under review as the department evolves.

The non-executive directors have been involved in all areas of the transformation. Given the considerable pressures resulting from the pandemic (including of course the impact of restricted travel on country-based staff) and the temporary reduction in the UK’s Official Development Assistance budget to 0.5% of national income, the expression “changing an engine mid-flight” is pertinent. Eight months into the merger, 97% of staff are now working in single teams, across 42 Directorates and 57 posts.

The Directors General have led their departments in successful achievement of more than 50 key milestones in the first months of the Transformation Programme, set up to manage the merger. Such milestones included merging of teams according to plan, the Programme Operating Framework, the Delivery framework, and Country Plans integrating cross-government interests. All the non-executive directors have been impressed by the efforts and results achieved by the FCDO throughout this time of change and the commitment of its people, who have continued to deliver in challenging circumstances. Inevitably, network resilience and staff wellbeing are two ongoing themes pervading our work.

While the transformation is not fully complete, considerable progress has now been made towards the creation of one culture, including our HR and finance system and budget, risk appetite and oversight framework and set of HR policies and processes. I chair the Staff Advisory Board (SAB), which represents many different and diverse groups around the world. The SAB is highly engaged in co-creating many of the new department’s policies and processes and reporting back on pressure points as the organisation continues to deliver the highest quality work across the globe amidst many well-documented challenges. It is an inclusive forum and process, with the recommendations from the SAB impacting the formulation of policy in a number of areas, especially as they affect staff.

Specific projects involving or led by the non-executive directors include: a review of consultancy spend (with the aim of improving outcomes and control over the spend); the implementation of the new all-encompassing finance and HR system; a focus on cyber and data security; key appointments including at arms-length-bodies; and, many of the aspects involved in building a single culture along with harmonised terms and conditions.

Helping the department navigate through challenging times and support the delivery of its objectives.

Jayne-Anne Ghadia, Lead Non-Executive, HM Revenue and Customs

In a year of extraordinary challenge for everyone across the UK, HMRC has played a key role in the Government’s economic response to the pandemic.

The Board supported HMRC to respond dynamically and flexibly in delivering critical support for individuals and businesses, alongside supporting the delivery of EU Transition and core business functions. The Board focused on ensuring that customer welfare was a key priority for HMRC and supported a clear - but sensitive - communication strategy, at the same time as recognising the pressure that colleagues were under to deliver this high-priority work. Throughout, focus and attention has been on the engagement and wellbeing of the workforce and encouraging the shift in culture seen during the pandemic. As we move forward, we expect HMRC to capitalise on the benefits of this for both our colleagues and customers in our approach to business and customer service.

The Board remains committed to maintaining its oversight role and embedding these successes through challenging and coaching HMRC to capture lessons learned to enable improvements across the whole of the Civil Service. We are pleased to say that we have seen some excellent examples, which we expect to be replicated more widely. In particular, HMRC has seen an increase in the use of digital services, and we have suggested further opportunities for rapid digital adoption going forward.

As we move out of crisis into recovery, we shall continue in our active role challenging, coaching and supporting HMRC to deliver its best for our customers.

Providing support and challenge in response to Covid-19

Lord (Jonathan) Hill, Lead Non-Executive, HM Treasury

Once again this year, the Treasury has been at the forefront of the Government’s response to the pandemic. While having to work remotely, officials have designed and delivered the largest package of financial support in our peacetime history.

Our immediate priorities are to help oversee the opening up of the economy and, closer to home, the return to working in the office. The other institutional issue on which we are focused is preparing the Department for the move to our new base in Darlington as speedily and smoothly as we can, including offering new opportunities for people in the region to work at the Treasury. The non-executive directors aim to be an important source of support and external expertise for managing that task.

Our team of non-executive directors has remained the same this year, although with the ending of the terms of office of our two longest serving members, we will shortly be renewing our membership. To ensure continuity, we have extended the term of Tim Score and Richard Meddings’ appointments for a few months to cover the period of the clearance and publication of the Department’s accounts.

The non-executive directors work primarily through the Department’s Treasury Board Sub Committee (TB(SC)), which has held additional meetings this year to support the Department during its Covid-19 response.

As well as its regular review of the Department’s Quarterly Performance and Risk Report, TB(SC) also convenes broader, thematic discussions - for example on the role that the Treasury should be playing in environmental issues and developing the green economy. In addition, it carries out a rolling programme of oversight of the Department’s Arms Length Bodies. As part of that work, this year we have met the Office of Budget Responsibility, the Debt Management Office and UKGI.

Supporting the strategic and delivery of departmental priorities

Sue Langley OBE, Lead Non-Executive, Home Office

There have been multiple changes to the Non-Executive team this year as John Studzinski, Nicholas Shott and Mark Florman left the department with our sincere thanks for their contributions.

Michael Fuller, Jan Gower, John Paton, Tim Robinson and Phil Swallow were subsequently appointed as Non-Executive Directors, bolstering the department’s access to PPM, digital, transformation and operational delivery skills and experience.

Dedicated portfolios, aligned to our individual specialisms and areas of expertise, have helped target our efforts on key delivery priorities. In addition to our roles as members of the Board and relevant sub-committees, we have supported Ministers and officials on a wide range of activities, including:

• the One Home Office Transformation Programme;
• priority programmes, such as the Police Uplift Programme, Future Border and Immigration System and ESMCP;
• assuring the Department’s winter readiness preparations, Covid recovery and EU Transition;
• the implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review recommendations; and
• a range of ad hoc reviews and assurance activity.

One Home Office has a number of work strands including organisational design (the Blueprint Programme), productivity and efficiency, and culture and ways of working which the non-executive directors are supporting through both formal committee and consultant-based activity.

To initiate Blueprint, a group of the non-executive directors were asked to consider how the HO objectives/manifesto commitments could be met through a potential new structure that increases efficiency, simplifies, reduces risk and enhances delivery. Drawing on our private sector and Home Office experience, we reviewed a range of background information and collated a set of observations and potential actions/principles which we presented as a thought-piece at the Board away day.

This was endorsed and subsequently formed the basis of the department’s restructure which is better aligning leadership to support delivery of priorities through three new vertical ‘missions’ set up to deliver end to end services and five horizontal ‘capabilities’, centers of excellence delivering high-quality and efficient services.

Providing support and continuity to deliver on departmental priorities

Michael Jary, Lead Non-Executive, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

I am proud that during the year the department played a critical role in Covid-19 response while continuing to deliver on its core policy and programme objectives. MHCLG’s Non-Executive Directors made an important contribution to the governance of the department and to advising and supporting on the prioritisation of resources during a constantly shifting external environment.

The continuity of the non-executive directors team proved to be particularly valuable during a year of changing demands, with Britain’s transition from the European Union and the instrumental role MHCLG has played in the response to Covid-19; working with local government, Local Resilience Forums (LRFs), business leaders and the housing sector to support our communities. The Department adopted a new operating model to give greater agility and rapidity of response while ensuring essential departmental business continuity. Each non-executive director was assigned their own workstream and provided support and challenge to the Director General.

Dame Mary Ney led on a shared learning exercise to examine lessons learned in Leicestershire during the Covid-19 pandemic, and attended as a member of the Building Safety Portfolio Board.

Pam Chesters continues to Chair the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and attended as a member of the Planning Reform Programme Board.

I acted as the commercial lead in the delivery of the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme and as a member of the advisory panel in a review of Homes England by its new chair. I also participated in the interview and shortlisting panels for the recruitment of additional NEDs to the department.

The non-executive directors have also provided support and challenge throughout the creation of the Department’s new Outcome Delivery Plan, outlining MHCLG’s priorities, objectives and resource allocation for the future.

We are also delighted to have recently appointed two additional non-executive directors; Dame Alison Nimmo and Jeff Dodds. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to MHCLG and their input will be welcomed in the busy year ahead for the Department.

Leading on departments’ workforce improvements.

Brian McBride, Lead Non-Executive, Ministry of Defence

A review in 2019 by Air Chief Marshal Wigston found that Defence still had a long way to go if it is to become a truly diverse and inclusive organisation. One year on from that review in July 2020, the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, asked Departmental non-executive director Danuta Gray to assess what progress was being made. Danuta’s experience on the Defence Board and as Chair of the People Committee, alongside her experience at the most senior levels in the private sector, meant that she was ideally placed to cast an informed and independent eye over progress. Furthermore, her direct access to the SoS as a trusted non-executive director meant that the findings of her review would be credible and acted upon at the highest level.

Danuta’s findings showed that there have been some significant improvements. More people from ethnic minority backgrounds are joining Defence. Diversity task forces have been set up. Policies to tackle intolerance have been tightened. But her report also showed some areas where Defence still needs to do better. There are some attitudes which remain stubbornly out of step with the values and standards expected of a modern employer.

The value of having a non-executive director undertake the review was clearly evident in that not only did it provide an independent opinion of the original work and findings, but also meant an objective assessment of progress, identifying areas for improvement and ensuring that they continue to remain the focus of ministerial and senior official’s attention.

Providing expertise and support during a challenging period

Mark Rawlinson, Lead Non-Executive, Ministry of Justice

A year of unprecedented challenge and rapid transition for the MoJ - challenge in terms of Covid-19 and leaving the EU; and transition with three Permanent Secretaries in less than six months. Against that turbulent backdrop, the non-executive directors provided continuity and an experienced sounding board.

The Department and non-executive directors were acutely aware of the concurrent risks posed by Covid-19 and the EU/UK negotiations which led to the establishment of a Winter Planning programme where Shirley Cooper played the role of “critical friend”. The scope of this programme included increasing stocks of critical goods and finding alternative product ranges. Different transport routes were considered for medicines and plans were put in place to cope with local transport disruption to ensure people could get to work.

Paul Smith, Chair of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, has led an enhanced focus on risk and assurance across the Department, with improved communications with Agency and ALB audit committees. He worked with the Devolution team and ensured that the Union strategy, and the need for the whole department to play its part in strengthening the Union, has visibility at Board level as well as being the sponsor for a cross-departmental security governance review.

Shirley continued supporting the Commercial Function and the digital/ technology agenda and, cross-government, at the Government Commercial Oversight Committee (which sets the strategic direction for commercial capability and practices and is currently reviewing the MoJ Commercial Blueprint).

Nick Campsie chairs the Probation Challenge Panel which oversees the department’s progress in implementing the new model of probation delivery which will operate from June 2021.

As well as regularly discussing current issues with the Permanent Secretary I have, as the Lead non-executive director, been particularly involved in the review of the Court Reform programme and will chair a related Challenge Panel during this year.

More generally the non-executive directors have been involved in the development of the 2021/22 ODP as well as a review of the Departmental cost base.

Providing expertise in a challenging and complex environment

Leslie Philpott, Lead Non-Executive, Northern Ireland Office

I took up the appointment as the Northern Ireland Office lead non-executive director in October 2020 and very quickly became aware of the challenging and complex environment in which the department operates, which constantly tests its capabilities. I have been impressed with the way that the department has risen to all challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, and continued to deliver business priorities.

During the year, the Board made significant progress on its objectives, delivering on New Decade New Approach Agreement commitments, supporting the Northern Ireland Protocol negotiations and progressing measures to support Northern Ireland’s economic development. The risks associated with areas such as the Protocol, economic impacts of the pandemic and delivering on commitments around legacy issues should not be under-estimated, and the Board’s robust approach to risk management has been important in responding to these challenges.

A key focus for the Board this year, that should go a long way to keeping the department on track going forward, was the development of a long-term outcomes based strategic plan. This plan will enable the Department to be more proactive, anticipate future challenges, allocate resources appropriately and enable the measurement of how work is making a difference in Northern Ireland.

Throughout the development of this Plan and the delivery of objectives for 2020-21, the non-executive team has used its skills, and networks to support the Board and promote the work of the department across Whitehall.

Particularly, I have been able to help ensure that the nuances and complexities facing the department have been understood and factored into considerations on designing a flexible “not one size fits all approach” to the new ODP process and wider work underway to deliver a Smarter Government approach.

Places for Growth

Martin Dorchester

The UK Government’s Places for Growth Programme aims to relocate Civil Service roles, including Senior Civil Service roles, outside of London. This will ensure that policy making better reflects the needs of all parts of the UK, and allow the Civil Service to better represent all of the people it serves. It will also allow stakeholders across Scotland to have easier access to representatives of the UK Government, so that businesses and citizens across Scotland can better understand and benefit from UK Government policies and programmes.

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has also been instrumental in setting up the UK Government’s flagship Headquarters in Scotland, at Queen Elizabeth House, in Edinburgh. These officials will continue to be part of their departmental policy teams, but will also work to a co-ordinated UK Government in Scotland Plan.

Stuart Patrick , Joint Lead Non-Executives, Scotland Office

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Joint Management Board and Non-Executive Directors, supported the work of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland to drive these projects forward over the last reporting year. The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Joint Management Board received regular updates and reports on the progress of Queen Elizabeth House, and the Places for Growth Programme, and the non-Executive directors provided advice on how to continue to maximise the opportunities of these projects during the response to Covid-19.

The non-executive directors also attended the Programme Board which oversaw the implementation and project delivery of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland IT Transition Project and the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland move to Queen Elizabeth House, including advising on the governance and financial elements of these projects. Regular reports were submitted by the Programme Board to the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and Joint Management Board.

Providing continuity and lending support across priorities

Alison White, Lead Non-Executive, Wales Office

During the whole of the past year, the Board discharged its business remotely as a consequence of the global pandemic. For much of this time, pandemic response was almost all, or the majority of, the Department’s work. The Board was therefore required to hone its purpose and demonstrate its flexibility as it met regularly to consider and shape the Department’s response. Non-executives continued to provide a wider perspective, governance expertise and advice about improvements in resourcing, communications and stakeholder management to ensure the interests of Wales are being properly taken into account in policy and legislation work across government departments.

The involvement of non-executives continued to drive improvement in departmental approaches to risk management and divisional planning, continuing the programme of reviewing sub-departmental risk registers and providing advice about quantification and mitigation of risks, and supporting the process of compiling divisional plans. The work that has been done will undoubtedly enhance the Board’s ability to measure achievement of key outcomes and targets which have been set out in the soon-to-be published ODP and Wales Nation Plan.

Annex 2: List of Central Government Non-Executive Board Members (as at 31 March 2021)

Dept	Lead Non-Executive	Non-Executive Directors
BEIS	Ann Cairns	Nigel Boardman
CO	Gisela Stuart	Anand Aithal	Michael Ashley	Karen Blackett	Lord Hogan Howe	Henry De Zoete
DCMS	Charles Alexander	Sherry Coutu	Hemant Patel	Baroness Wyld
DfE	Richard Pennycook	Ian Ferguson	Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith	Irene Lucas	Toby Peyton-Jones	Nick Timothy
Defra	Henry Dimbleby	Elizabeth Buchanan	Lizzie Noel	Colin Day	Ben Goldsmith
DIT	Andrew Hood	Dr Dambisa Moyo	Sir Stephen O’Brien	Douglas Carswell	Noel Harwerth	Dominic Johnson
DfT	Ian King	Tracey Westall	Richard Keys	Tony Poulter
DWP	Nick Markham	David Holt	David Bennett	Ashley Machin	Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth	Eleanor Shawcross-Wolfson
DHSC	Kate Lampard	Gerry Murphy	Gina Coladangelo	Doug Gurr
FCDO	Baroness Helena Morrissey	Beverly Tew	Ann Cormack	John Coffey
HMRC	Jane Anne-Ghadia	Michael Hearty	Patricia Gallan	Juliette Scott	Dr. Alice Maynard	Paul Morton
HMT	Lord Jonathan Hill	Richard Meddings	Gay Huey Evans	Tim Score
HO	Sue Langley	James Cooper	Suzy Levy	John Paton	Tim Robinson	Michael Fuller	Jan Gower	Phil Swallow
MHCLG	Michael Jary	Pamela Chesters	Mary Ney
MoD	Brian McBride	Simon Henry	Danuta Gray	Robin Marshall
MoJ	Mark Rawlinson	Shirley Cooper	Nick Campsie	Paul Smith
Northern Ireland Office	Leslie Philpott	Louise Wilson
OSSS	Vacant	Ross Finnie	Martin Dorchester	Stuart Patrick	Joyce Cullen
OSSW	Alison White

1. The 16 Departments are: BEIS, CO, MHCLG, DCMS, Defra, DFE, DFT, DHSC, DIT, DWP, FCDO, HMT, HO, ↩

2. Vinnicombe, S; Battista, V; Doldor, E; Tessaro, M - p.6 (2020) “The Female FTSE Board Report”, Cranfield University ↩

3. Parker, John Sir - Report into the Ethnic Diversity of UK Boards (Beyond one by ’21) ↩