51/02
29 May 2002
NON-EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS TO THE COURT OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND
The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Laurel Powers-Freeling to the Court of the Bank of England.
The Queen has also been pleased to approve the reappointment of Bridget Blow, Sir Howard Davies, Sir Ian Gibson and Kathleen O'Donovan.
All non-executives serve in a personal capacity, but bring particular experience to the Court's deliberations.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. All appointments have been made in accordance with the guidance issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. They will run from 1 June 2002 until 31 May 2005.
2. The Bank of England Act 1998 gives the non-executive Directors an explicit role in overseeing and reporting on the Bank's performance. The Act created a sub-committee of Directors with statutory responsibilities for keeping the Bank's performance under review. All of the non-executive Directors are members of this Committee, and one of their number is appointed by the Chancellor to Chair it. The current chair is Sir David Cooksey.
4. Laurel Powers-Freeling is Chief Executive of Marks and Spencer Financial Services, and an Executive Director of Marks and Spencer PLC.
5. The membership of the Court at present is: Sir Edward George, David Clementi, Mervyn King, Roy Bailie, Bridget Blow, Sir John Bond, Sir David Cooksey, Sir Howard Davies, Sir Ian Gibson, Graham Hall, Dr DeAnne Julius, Dame Sheila McKechnie, Mary Francis, Sir Brian Moffat, William Morris, John Neill, Kathleen O'Donovan, Sir Neville Simms and James Stretton.
6. The expiry date of Sir Neville Simm's term of appointment is 31 May 2002. He is being replaced by Laurel Powers-Freeling.
7. The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. It is governed by a Court (Board) of Directors, which oversees the operation of the Bank as a publicly-owned corporation, except the Bank's monetary policy decision-making, which is the responsibility of a separately-appointed Monetary Policy Committee.
Laurel Powers-Freeling joined the Court of the Bank of England as a non-executive Director on 1 June 2002. This appointment is for a three-year renewable term, with remuneration of £5,000 per year.
The Bank of England Act 1998 gives the non-executive Directors an explicit role in overseeing and reporting on the Bank's performance. The Act created a sub-committee of Directors with statutory responsibilities for keeping the Bank's performance under review. All of the non-executive Directors are members of this Committee, and one of their number is appointed by the Chancellor to chair it. The current chair is Sir David Cooksey, who has held this post since 1 June 2001.
The Act also places great emphasis on accountability and transparency, in the context both of the monetary policy process and of the Bank's operations and finances. The Court is responsible for the Bank's published accounts and members of Court may be called to give evidence about the Bank before Parliamentary Committees.
Mrs Powers-Freeling has been Chief Executive of Marks and Spencer Financial Services, and an Executive Director of Marks and Spencer PLC, since November 2001. Before then she was Managing Director for Wealth Management at Lloyds TSB. She holds no other Ministerial or Crown appointments, and has not been involved in any political activity during the last five years.
8. Advertisements for these appointments appeared in the Guardian (27 February, 2 March and 6 March), Financial Times (28 February and 7 March) The Economist (1 March) and The Observer (3 March).
9. Media enquiries should be addressed to Simon Moyse in the Treasury press office on 020 7270 4420.
10. Further details can be found on the Bank of England's website.