Latest civil service & public affairs moves – 9 June

UK government

• Prime Minister's Office The Reverend – Leah Beverley Vasey-Saunders appointed as Bishop of Doncaster, succeeding The Right Reverend Sophie Jelley following her translation to the See of Coventry. The King has approved the nomination of The Venerable Moira Anne Elizabeth Astin, Archdeacon of Reigate, in the Diocese of Southwark, to the Suffragan See of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter.
• Department for Business and Trade: Post Office Limited – Nigel Railton re-appointed as chair until May 2028, following a year as interim chair. Companies House Luisa Fulci appointed as director of transformation and business change.
• Cabinet Office: Cabinet Office Board – John Fallon appointed as lead non-executive board member for three years until April 2028; Lisa Tremble appointed as non-executive board member for three years until April 2028. Security Vetting Appeals Panel – Sir James Goss appointed as an additional deputy chair for four years until April 2029. Equality and Human Rights Commission – Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson is the government's preferred candidate for chair.
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Advisory Council on National Records and Archives – James Bamberg appointed as a board member for four years from 10 March to 9 March 2029. The Royal Parks – Sir Loyd Grossman’s third term extended for a further 9 months, from 1 June 2025 to 28 February 2026.
• Ministry of Defence: Royal Hospital – Chelsea David Adshead appointed as specially appointed commissioner, heritage expert for three years until 31 March 2028
• Department for Education: Office for Students – Neil Swift appointed as non-executive board member for six months. Skills England – Anthony Impey, Fiona Kendrick, Zoe Lewis and Sara Todd appointed as non-executive board members for two years; Fiona Aldridge, Fazal Dad, Sian Elliott, Nichola Hay, Brian Holliday, Andy Westwood and Helen Woodward Davies appointed as non-executive board members for three years.
• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Natural England – Peter Unwin appointed as deputy chair until 31 December
• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office – Helena Owen appointed as His Majesty’s ambassador to the Republic of Chad from August, succeeding Ross Matthews who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Bilal Zahid appointed as His Majesty’s ambassador to the Slovak Republic from September, succeeding Nigel Baker who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment. Martine Sobey appointed as British high commissioner to the Kingdom of Lesotho from September 2025, succeeding Harry MacDonald who will be transferring to another Diplomatic Service appointment.
• Department of Health and Social Care: Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation – Professor Wei Shen Lim appointed as chair from October 2025
• Ministry of Justice: Criminal Cases Review Commission – Dame Vera Baird has been appointed as the interim chair from 9 June until 8 December 2026. Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority Board – Julian Blazeby appointed as non-executive chair for three years.
• Attorney General’s Office – Michael Padfield appointed as director and deputy head.

Houses of Parliament

House of Commons

• Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments – Helena Dollimore added; Rachel Blake discharged Women and Equalities Committee – Rebecca Paul added; Shivani Raja discharged.

House of Lords

• Simon Hart (Con) raised to the peerage as Lord Hart of Tenby on 28 May and was introduced in the Lords on 2 June.
• Eleanor Shawcross-Wolfson (Con) raised to the peerage as Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson on 28 May and was introduced in the Lords on 3 June.
• Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Con) was introduced in the Lords on 2 June.

Devolved administrations

Scottish Parliament

• Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election result – Davy Russell won the seat for Scottish Labour with a majority of 602 and a swing of 7.4 per cent from SNP to Labour on 1 June. The turnout was 44.2%.
• Scottish Government Fatal Accident Inquiry review – Retired Sheriff Principal Ian Abercrombie appointed as chair

Northern Ireland Executive

• Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee – Richard Baker appointed as employer representative member until 30 April 2029
• Northern Ireland Social Care Council – Bria Mongan appointed as non-executive (registrant) member until 18 May 2029; Carol Diffin appointed as the non-executive (stakeholder) member until 18 May 2029; Denise Hunt appointed as non-executive (lay) member until 18 May 2029.
• South Eastern Regional College – Paul Finnegan appointed as member to the governing body for four years
• National Museums NI Board – William McMullan reappointed as trustee from 1 July 2025 until 30 June 2029
• Royal Pharmaceutical Society – chief pharmaceutical officer Professor Cathy Harrison designated as a fellow
• Independent Monitoring Board – Luqman Saeed and Eithne Craig appointed as members from 1 June 2025
• Board of Sport Northern Ireland – Denise McElrea and Wendy Elliott reappointed as members from 1 August 2025 to 31 July 2029.

Local Authorities

Councils

• Leicestershire County Council – John Sinnott to stand down as chief executive later this year Warrington Borough Council – Professor Steven Broomhead to retire as chief executive at the end of June
• Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council – Aiden Dunn appointed as chief executive from 3 June.

Combined Authorities

• West Midlands Combined Authority – chief executive Laura Shoaf to step down on 17 June. deputy chief executive Ed Cox appointed as interim chief executive.

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