THE BANK OF ENGLAND’S COURT OF DIRECTORS

The Queen has approved the appointment of Sir John Parker, chairman of National Grid Transco plc and RMC Group plc, as senior non-executive director designate of the Court of the Bank of England.

Sir John will join the Court in June and will take over from Sir David Cooksey as senior non-executive director when he steps down in February 2005.

The Queen has also approved the appointment of the following people to the Court of Directors:

Amelia Fawcett CBE, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley International,
Sir Andrew Likierman, Professor at the London Business School and formerly Managing Director, Financial Management, Reporting and Audit Directorate, HM Treasury,
Geoffrey Wilkinson, Chief Executive of the South West Regional Development Agency and former Managing Director of Laird Group.

Sir John Parker, Sir Andrew Likierman and Ms Amelia Fawcett will join the Court on 1 June 2004, replacing Sir Ian Gibson, DeAnne Julius and Sir John Bond, who are stepping down.

Mr Wilkinson will join the Court in February 2005, replacing Sir David Cooksey. At the same time, Sir John Parker will replace Sir David as the senior non-executive (also known as chairman of the sub-committee of non-executive directors, NedCo).

Sir David’s Cooksey’s present term of office ends on 31 May 2004. The Queen has approved an extension of his appointment until February 2005, when he will step down and Sir John Parker will become the senior non-executive.

Sir Graham Hall, until recently head of the Yorkshire Forward Regional Development Agency, and Mary Francis, head of the Association of British Insurers, have been reappointed for a second three year term from June 2004.

Welcoming the appointments, Chancellor Gordon Brown said:

“Sir John Parker is one of Britain’s most respected and effective Board chairmen, and I am delighted he is bringing his considerable skills and experience to one of the nation’s most important institutions. I am confident that he and the other new appointees will further strengthen the effectiveness of the Bank.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. All appointments have been made in accordance with the guidance issued by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

2. The extension of Sir David Cooksey’s appointment has been approved by both the Commissioner for Public Appointments and by the Queen.

3. All non-executive directors to the Court of the Bank of England are appointed in a personal capacity and do not serve as representatives of particular interests or associations. They currently receive a remuneration of £5,000 per year with the chair of NedCo receiving £7,500 per year.

4. The membership of the Court at present is: Mervyn King, Sir Andrew Large, Rachel Lomax, Bridget Blow, Sir John Bond, Sir David Cooksey, Callum McCarthy, Mary Francis, Sir Ian Gibson, Sir Graham Hall, Dr DeAnne Julius, Brendan Barber, Sir Brian Moffat, Sir William Morris, Peter Jay, Dr David Potter, Heather Rabbatts, Kathleen O’Donovan and Laurel Powers-Freeling. Further details can be found on the Bank of England website .

5. The outgoing non-executive directors are Sir John Bond, DeAnne Julius, and Sir Ian Gibson.

6. The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. It is governed by a board of directors known as the Court of Directors, which oversees the operations of the Bank, except its monetary policy decision-making, which is the responsibility of the separately appointed Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

7. The Court of Directors has a key role in reviewing the procedures of the Monetary Policy Committee and managing the affairs of the Bank of England, other than the formulation of monetary policy.

8. The chair of NedCo plays a leading role in the proceedings of the Court. The chair works alongside the Bank’s top officials and particularly, the Governor, on governance and management issues.

9. 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 (NedCo) with statutory responsibilities for reviewing the Bank's performance in relation to its objectives and strategy, and monitoring the extent to which the Bank's financial management objectives are met. NedCo is also responsible for reviewing the procedures of the MPC. All of the non-executive directors are members of this committee, and one of their number, is designated by the Chancellor to chair it. The current chair is Sir David Cooksey who will be succeeded by Sir John Parker.

10. None of the appointees have conducted any recorded political activity within the last five years.

11. Advertisements for these positions appeared in The Sunday Times (9 February) and The Times (12 February).

12. Media enquiries should be addressed to Simon Moyse at HM Treasury press office, tel. 020 7270 5238.

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Press Notices January to June 2004 index