Latest civil service & public affairs moves – 8 September

For the biggest moves in the ongoing reshuffle which began on Friday, 5 September, see our story here

UK government

• Prime minister's Office: 1 September reshuffle –  Darren Jones appointed minister of state (chief secretary to the prime minister) at the Cabinet Office, jointly with the Prime Minister’s Office. Baroness Shafik appointed chief economic advisor. Daniel York-Smith appointed principal private secretary, replacing Nin Pandit who will lead a new delivery team. Tim Allan appointed executive director of communications, replacing James Lyons. Stephanie Driver remains director of communications. Stuart Ingham appointed director of strategic interventions and senior counsel to PM. Vidhya Alakeson will take charge of policy and delivery in the interim, replacing Liz Lloyd. Lord Lieutenancies – Peter Oliver appointed as His Majesty’s lord-lieutenant of the County of Merseyside from 15 December, following the retirement of Mark Blundell.
• Cabinet Office: 1 September reshuffle –  Darren Jones appointed minister of state (chief secretary to the Prime minister) at the Cabinet Office, jointly with the Prime Minister’s Office, on 1 September. Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists – Claire Bassett chosen as the preferred candidate to be appointed the new registrar of consultant lobbyists.
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Sports England – Vaughan Lindsay, Sarah Massey and Tom Gribbin appointed as non-executive board members.
• Ministry of Defence – Air chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton began his appointment today as chief of the defence staff, replacing Admiral Sir Tony Radakin.
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: National Park Authorities – The following have been appointed board members for four years, ending 30 June 2029: Broads Authority: Gail Harris, Heather Hilburn, Curig Johnston and Tim Munday; Dartmoor NPA: Julia Galbenu; Lake District NPA: Mark Hatton; New Forest NPA: Ella Mason, Adarsh Parekh and James Wylor-Owen; Northumberland NPA: Jared Bowers, Mohammed Dhalech, Gillian Hall and Ian Kille; Peak District: Hannah Corran and Amanda Martin; South Downs NPA: Lara Sonola-Omitowoju and Soraya Abdel-Hadi (Soraya’s term will begin in 2026 and run to 30 June 2030); Yorkshire Dales NPA: Daniel Holmes and Saira Ali; National Landscape Conservation Boards. The following have been appointed board members for three years, ending 30 June 2028: Chilterns National Landscape: Baljit Dhillon, Catherine Moncrieff, Jennifer Morgan, Matthew Stanton, Nicola Thomas and Juliet Vickery; Cotswolds National Landscape: Andrea Graham, Jon Grantham, Nick Martell-Bundock, Hannah McDonnell and Anisa Saleh.
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation – Dr David Prout appointed chair from 22 September, with Simon Blanchflower acting as chair until then. Valerie Owen and Simon Blanchflower also reappointed to the board.
• Ministry of Justice: Victims’ Commissioner – Claire Waxman appointed as the new victim’s commissioner from 1 January 2026, replacing Baroness Newlove.
• Northern Ireland Office: Civil Service Commissioners for Northern Ireland – David MacAnulty and Donald Leeson appointed as civil service commissioners for Northern Ireland from 1 October 2025.
• HM Treasury –  John Van Reenen appointed as an adviser on economic growth to the chancellor in September for 12 months. Reshuffle –  James Murray appointed chief secretary to the Treasury on 1 September, replacing Darren Jones. Daniel Tomlinson appointed exchequer secretary to the Treasury on 1 September, replacing James Murray. NS&I (National Savings and Investments) – Luke Jensen appointed as interim chair, replacing Lord Gerard Lemos.
• Non-ministerial departments: Ofwat –  Chris Walters began his term as interim chief executive, and Helen Campbell began her term as interim executive director, delivery on 1 September.

Houses of Parliament

House of Lords

• Lord Aberdare (Crossbench) retired from the Lords on 31 August.
• The Bishop of Bristol (Non-affiliated) retired from the Lords on 1 September.

Parties

Green Party of England and Wales

• Zack Polanski elected leader and Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward elected co-deputy leaders on 2 September.

Devolved administrations

Scottish Parliament

• Rhoda Grant appointed to replace Paul O’Kane as a member of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee; and appointed as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee.
• Davy Russell appointed to replace Foysol Choudhury as a member of the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee.
• Michael Marra appointed to replace Paul O’Kane as a member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee; and appointed as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Public Audit Committee.
• Carol Mochan appointed to replace Mark Griffin as a member of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.
• Ariane Burgess appointed to replace Mark Ruskell as a member of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.
• Foysol Choudhury appointed to replace Daniel Johnson as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.
• Mark Griffin appointed to replace Carol Mochan as the Scottish Labour Party substitute on the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.
• Mark Ruskell appointed to replace Ariane Burgess as the Scottish Green Party substitute on the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.

Scottish Government

• Tom Taylor appointed as non-executive director and chair of the Scottish Government Audit and Assurance Committee.

Welsh Government

• Helen Gwenllian, John Hogg and Fiona Day appointed members to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority. Helen and John will serve as members from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2029, and Fiona will serve from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2030.
• Sally Holland appointed chair of an independent assessment of all maternity and neonatal services in Wales.

Northern Ireland Executive

• Council for Catholic Maintained Schools – Andrew Brown, Kevin Donaghy, Maureen Eccles, James Beatty and Cathal O’Doherty appointed.
• Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission – His Honour Judge Mark McGarrity appointed.
• Warrenpoint Harbour Authority – Austin Smyth appointed as a non-executive board member from 1 September for four years.

Note on the ongoing ministerial reshuffle: At the time of writing, the reshuffle had not yet finished and government was updating on the changes here.

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