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Appointments to the House of Lords Appointments Commission

30 October 2008
CAB/103/08 

Tom Watson, Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office has today announced in Parliament that the Prime Minister has appointed Baroness Jane Campbell DBE, Professor Dame Joan Higgins and Dr John Low CBE, as Independent Members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

They have been appointed following an open competition run in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. The appointments are effective from 30 October 2008 and are for single non-renewable terms of five years.

Notes to editors

Baroness Jane Campbell DBE

Jane Campbell progressed through a number of local government equal opportunities roles, principally focusing on disability issues before being appointed as an Independent Consultant on Direct Payments (1994-96). She then co-led the National Centre for Independent Living before becoming the founding Chair of the Social Care Institute of Excellence (2001-2005). She also served as a Commissioner to the Disability Rights Commission before it was subsumed into the Equalities & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last year. She is now a Commissioner at the EHRC and chairs its Disability Commission. She was appointed as a cross bench peer in 2007.

Professor Dame Joan Higgins

Joan Higgins' academic career in social and health policy at Southampton and then Manchester, sits alongside significant healthcare advisory work and part-time appointments. She was Chair of the Christie Hospital NHS Trust (2002-2007), a leading cancer centre. Since 2007, she has been Chair of the NHS Litigation Authority, which defends the NHS against claims of clinical (and other) negligence. She is also a member of the Queen's Counsel Selection Panel for the Ministry of Justice.

Dr John Low CBE

John Low has a mix of public and private sector experience, notably as Chief Executive of the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) (1999-2007), before taking over as Chief Executive of the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) later that year. He has been Chairman of ACEVO since 2003. His early career was in research and in science-based roles in the private sector. He became a Director in charge of R&D for a Swiss technology business, Sortex in 1988, and left in 1999 to join RNID, firstly as a Director before being promoted to Chief Executive.

Further Information

The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an Advisory Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) sponsored by the Cabinet Office. The Chair and Members are appointed by the Prime Minister. The Commission was established in May 2000, as part of the transitional arrangements for reform of the House of Lords and has two core functions:

• to recommend individuals for appointments as non-party political life peers; and,
• to vet most nominations for life peers, including those nominated by the UK political parties, to ensure the highest standards of propriety

As well as the three externally recruited Independent Members and an externally recruited Independent Chairman, the Commission includes representatives of the three major parties in the House of Lords. The composition of the Commission from 30 October 2008 will be:

• Lord (Michael) Jay of Ewelme GCMG (Chairman)
• Baroness Jane Campbell DBE
• Rt Hon Baroness (Brenda) Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde
• Lord (Navnit) Dholakia OBE DL
• Professor Dame Joan Higgins
• Rt Hon Lord (Douglas) Hurd of Westwell CH CBE
• Dr John Low CBE

The Chairman, if not in receipt of a salary from public funds, receives remuneration of £8,000 per annum. Members, if not in receipt of a salary from public funds, receive remuneration of £3,000 per annum. All Members are reimbursed for actual expenses incurred.

The appointments of Baroness Jane Campbell, Professor Dame Joan Higgins and Dr John Low were made fully in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice. All three have declared no political activity within the past five years.

Additional information about the Commission and its work is available on its website at: www.lordsappointments.gov.uk

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