Honours committees

Honours committees are made up of senior civil servants (‘official members’) and people who are independent of government (‘independent members’). All honours committees have a majority of members who are independent.

Each honours committee has an independent chairperson. A representative from 10 Downing Street is invited to attend all committee meetings.

Honours committees review honours nominations for people involved in specific activities (like arts and media or sport) which are then sent to the Main Honours Committee.

Main committee

Members:

• Sir Tom Scholar KCB - Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury (Chair)
• The Cabinet Secretary
• Chair of Arts and Media Committee: John Booth
• Chair of Community and Voluntary Services Committee: The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB
• Chair of Economy Committee: Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia DBE FRSE
• Chair of Education Committee: Sir Daniel Moynihan
• Chair of Health Committee: Dame Jane Dacre DBE
• Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: The Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE
• Chair of Public Services Committee: Professor Dame Barbara Monroe DBE
• Chair of Science and Technology Committee: Stephen Kelly
• Chair of Sport Committee: The Rt Hon Sir Hugh Robertson KCMG DL
• Chair of State Committee: Mark Addison CB
• The Permanent Under Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• The Chief of the Defence Staff

Arts and Media

John Booth - Chair National Gallery and Prince’s Trust (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

• Sir Peter Bazalgette - Chair, ITV
• Sir Nicholas Kenyon CBE - Managing Director, Barbican Centre
• Kanya King CBE - CEO, MOBO Organisation Ltd
• Caroline Michel - Chair, Hay Literary Festival
• Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE - Freelance Arts Professional
• Alice Rawsthorn OBE - Design critic and author
• Samir Shah CBE - CEO, Juniper

Official members:

• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• John-Paul Marks CB - Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

Community and Voluntary Service

Chair: The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

• Rabbi Dr Harvey Belovski - Senior Rabbi, Golders Green Synagogue; Chief Strategist and Rabbinic Head, University Jewish Chaplaincy
• Harris Bokhari OBE - Co-founder of the Naz Legacy Foundation and Ambassador of British Asian Trust
• Carly Jones MBE - Autism Advocate
• Ros Kerslake CBE - Chief Executive, National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund
• Adeeba Malik CBE - Deputy Chief Executive, QED UK
• Waheed Saleem - Managing Director, Waldoc Ltd
• Ben Summerskill OBE – Chair, Silver Line and Director, Criminal Justice Alliance

Official members:

• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Jeremy Pocklington CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Dr Andrew Goodall CBE - Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

The Economy

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia DBE FRSE - Chair, Snoop (Independent chair)

Independent members:

• Sir Douglas Flint CBE – Chairman, Standard Life Aberdeen
• Dame Vivian Hunt DBE - Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
• Professor Heather McGregor CBE - Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University

• Dr Gerard Lyons - Chief Economic Strategist, Netwealth

• 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

• Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Charles Roxburgh - Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury
• John-Paul Marks CB - Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

Education

Sir Daniel Moynihan – Chief Executive, Harris Federation (independent chair)

Independent members:

• Professor Sir David Eastwood DL - Vice Chancellor, University of Birmingham
• Dame Sally Coates DBE - Director of Secondary Education, United Learning
• Sir Hamid Patel CBE - Chief Executive, Star Academies
• Dame Alison Peacock DBE DL - Chief Executive, Chartered College of Teaching
• Professor Steven West CBE DL - Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England
• Sir Hamid Patel CBE - Chief Executive, Star Academies

Official members:

• Jayne Brady MBE - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service
• Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education

Health

Professor Dame Jane Dacre DBE - Professor of Medical Education, University College London and President, Medical Protection Society (independent chair)

Independent members:

• Sir David Behan CBE – Chair, Health Education England
• Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz – Chair, Cancer Research UK and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Cambridge
• Dr Henrietta Hughes OBE - lately National Guardian for the NHS
• The Baroness Harding of Winscombe - Chair of NHS Improvement
• Professor Karen Middleton CBE - Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Professor Iqbal Singh CBE - Chair, Centre of Excellence and Safety for Older People
• 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

• Professor Sir Chris Whitty KCB - Chief Medical Officer (England)
• Shona Dunn – Second Permanent Secretary
• Judith Paget CBE - Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government

Parliamentary and Political Service

The Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE - Member, House of Lords (Independent chair)

Independent members:

• Dr Sue Griffiths - Managing Director, Social Development Direct
• The Rt Hon The Lord Haselhurst
• Dame Denise Platt – Member, General Medical Council and Member, Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Sir Paul Silk KCB – Lately President, Study of Parliament Group
• 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

• The Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP - Government Chief Whip
• The Rt. Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP

Public Service

Dame Barbara Monroe DBE - Trustee, Marie Curie and Special Commissioner, Royal Hospital Chelsea (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

• Emir Feisal JP, Trustee, the Henry Smith Charity
• Alistair Finlay OBE, Faculty Director of Operations, Queen’s University Belfast
• Maggy Pigott CBE - Lately Joint CEO, Judicial Studies Board
• Riaz Ravat BEM DL - Board Member Leicester and Rutland Community Foundation
• The Venerable Canon David Stanton - Archdeacon and Canon of Westminster Abbey

Official Members:

• Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
• Matthew Rycroft CBE – Permanent Secretary, Home Office
• Jeremy Pocklington CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
• Antonia Romeo - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
• Dr Andrew Goodall CBE – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

Science and Technology

Stephen Kelly - Chair, Tech Nation (independent chair)

Independent members:

• Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell DBE DL – Psychologist and Past President, University of Bath
• Professor Sir Keith Burnett, CBE, FRS – Chair, Nuffield Foundation and Chair of the Academic Council, Schmidt Science Fellowship, University of Oxford.
• Naomi Climer CBE FREng- Vice President, Royal Academy of Engineering
• Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE – CEO, UK Research and Innovation
• Professor Andrew Scott - Professor of Economics, London Business School
• Professor Lionel Tarassenko CBE FREng - President, Reuben College, University of Oxford
• 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

• Sir Patrick Vallance KCB - Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
• Professor Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser, BEIS
• Dr Alistair Carson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Sport

The Rt Hon Sir Hugh Robertson KCMG DL - Chair of the British Olympic Association

Independent members:

• Pippa Britton – Vice Chair, Sport Wales
• Tom Clarke - Former Sports Journalist
• Donna Fraser OBE - Vice President, UK Athletics
• Liz Nicholl CBE – President, World Netball and lately Chief Executive, UK Sport

Official members:

• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Jayne Brady MBE - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service

State

Chair - Mark Addison CB – Lately Public Appointments Assessor; lately Civil Service Commissioner; and Chair, Dorset County Hospital (independent chair)

Independent members:

• Sarah Anderson CBE - Chief Executive, The Listening Place.
• Isabel Doverty MA, M.Sc, MCIPD - Civil Service Commissioner
• Sir David Hempleman-Adams - Chair, Global Resins limited, Founder and Director of Hempleman Investment Company
• Jenny Rowe CB - Former CEO, Supreme Court
• Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE - Chief, Secret Intelligence Service 2004-09

Official members:

• Tamara Finkelstein CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Sir Tom Scholar KCB - Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury

Diversity Committee

A group of independent committee members oversee the honours system’s work to embed diversity and equality. It meets twice a year to assess the statistical trends and to maintain momentum behind continuing improvements, and outreach activity.

The Diversity Committee’s purpose is to:

• work to ensure the honours system is properly reflective of UK society;
• support targeted regional and sectoral outreach and publicity of the honours system;
• identify policy improvements or interventions regarding improving diversity in the honours system and make recommendations to the HD Committee;
• recommend courses of action to the independent honours committees, honours secretaries and the Honours and Appointments Secretariat to improve diversity;
• support the work of the independent committees by ensuring they are sighted on best practice in this area, remain mindful of and committed to diversity targets, and undertake discussions and the evaluation of candidates in an open and even handed way; and
• support pipeline-building activities across all honours committees.

Chair - The Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB

Independent members:

• Naomi Climer CBE FREng - Vice President, Royal Academy of Engineering
• Emir Feisal JP, Trustee, the Henry Smith Charity
• Donna Fraser OBE - Vice President, UK Athletics
• Rupert Gavin (Chair, Arts & Media) - Chair, Historic Royal Palaces
• Dr Sue Griffiths - Managing Director, Social Development Direct
• Professor Heather McGregor CBE - Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University
• Dame Denise Platt DBE – Member, General Medical Council and Member, Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Jenny Rowe CB - Former CEO, Supreme Court
• Prof Iqbal Singh OBE - Chair, Centre of Excellence and Safety for Older People (CESOP)
• Ben Summerskill OBE – Chair, Silver Line and Director, Criminal Justice Alliance
• Sir Hamid Patel CBE - Chief Executive, Star Academies

Vacancies

From time to time, the Cabinet Office invites applications to fill vacancies on the committees.