Latest civil service & public affairs moves – 22 September

UK government 

• Prime Minister's Office – Nic Dakin appointed as government whip (vice-chamberlain of HM Household) on 16 September. Lilian Greenwood re-appointed as a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Transport and appointed as government whip (junior lord of the Treasury) on 16 September. Claire Hughes appointed as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Wales Office and as an assistant government whip on 16 September. Gen Kitchen appointed as government whip (junior lord of the Treasury) on 16 September. 
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Charity Commission for England and Wales –Ann Phillips re-appointed as board member until 28 February 2027; Pippa Britton re-appointed as board member from 26 September until 25 September 2028. Treasure Valuation Committee – Prof Roger Bland re-appointed as chair for five years; Dr Megan Gooch and Lucinda Orr as trustees for five years. 
• Ministry of Defence: Independent Medical Expert Group – Nicola Fear appointed as chair for three years from 19 September until 18 September 2028. 
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – Su-Lin Garbett-Shiels appointed as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Peru from January 2026, succeeding Gavin Cook who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. 
• Department of Health and Social Care: Commission on Human Medicines – Prof Richard FitzGerald appointed as commissioner for four years. Independent Reconfiguration Panel – Prof Gordon Carlson , Kate Denham, Dr Rob Ghosh and Christine Morgan appointed as members for four years from 1 October. 
• Home Office: Police Remuneration Review Body and National Crime Agency Remuneration Review Body – Dr Rebecca Driver, Frances Hill, Pamela Kelly and Stephen White appointed as members. Science and Technology Ethics Advisory Committee – The name of the Biometrics and Forensics Ethics Group has been changed to the Science and Technology Ethics Advisory Committee. 
• Ministry of Justice: HM Prison and Probation Service – James McEwen appointed as chief executive from 13 October. 
• HM Treasury – Catherine Howard appointed as the chancellor’s infrastructure and planning adviser until the Autumn Budget. 
• Department for Work and Pensions: Social Security Advisory Committee – Dr Stephen Brien re-appointed as Chair for three years from 15 September. 
• Non-Ministerial Departments: Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation – Kurt Hintz and Andrea Rigamonti appointed as board members for three years from 1 October; Conor Ryan appointed as board ,member for three years from 1 November; Jill Duffy appointed as board member for three years from 1 January 2026. 

Houses of Parliament

House of Commons 

Committees 

• House of Commons Commission – Alan Campbell added; Lucy Powell discharged. 
• Members Estimate – Alan Campbell added; Lucy Powell discharged. 
• Public Accounts Commission – Alan Campbell added; Lucy Powell discharged. 
• Restoration and Renewal Client Board – Alan Campbell added; Lucy Powell discharged. 
• Restoration and Renewal Programme Board – Alan Campbell and John Lamont added; Lucy Powell discharged. 
• Environmental Audit – Roz Savage added; Pippa Heylings discharged. 
• Modernisation – John Lamont added; Joy Morrissey discharged. 
• Procedure – John Lamont added; Joy Morrissey discharged. 

Political parties 

Reform UK 

• Danny Kruger defected from the Conservative Party on 15 September. 

Devolved administrations

Scottish Government 

• Lanarkshire NHS Board – Donald Reid and James Muir re-appointed as members for four years from 1 October until 30 September 2029. 

Welsh Parliament 

• Caerphilly by-election will take place on 23 October. The statement of persons nominated will be published on 29 September (4pm). Candidates announced so far: Gareth Potter (Conservative); Llŷr Powell (Reform UK); Richard Tunnicliffe (Labour); Lindsay Whittle (Plaid Cymru) 
• Local Government and Housing Committee – Joel James added. 

Northern Ireland Assembly 

• Infrastructure Committee – Peter Martin appointed as chair; Deborah Erskine discharged (currently on maternity leave). 
• Justice Committee – Paul Frew appointed as chair; Joanne Bunting discharged. 
• Public Accounts Committee – Diane Forsythe appointed as deputy chair; Cheryl Brownlee moved to member. 

Northern Ireland Executive 

• Joanne Bunting appointed as junior minister in The Executive Office on 15 September, replacing Pam Cameron. 
• Human Tissue Authority – Nicole Lappin appointed as Northern Ireland non-executive board member from 12 September until 11 September 2028. 
• Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency – Sinead Burns appointed as non-executive (lay) member until 31 August 2029. 
• Northern Regional College – Colm McKenna appointed as interim chair of the governing body for 12 months. 

Local authorities

Councils 

• Broxtowe Borough Council – Zulfiqar Darr appointed as interim chief executive. 
• Caerphilly County Borough Council – Sean Morgan resigned from the Labour Party and therefore stood down as council leader. 
• East Cambridgeshire District Council – John Hill to stand down as chief executive from December. 
• Herefordshire Council – Paul Walker to stand down as chief executive from March 2026. 
• Lincolnshire County Council – Debbie Barnes to retire as chief executive in 2026.
• South Ayrshire Council – Stephen Penman appointed as chief executive later this year; Cleland Sneddon continues as interim chief executive until Penman takes up the post. 

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