NEWS

The Prime Minister announced today that Sir Hayden Phillips had delivered his report to the Government and the Cabinet Secretary Sir Andrew Turnbull for making the honours system more transparent, more reflective of society and more trusted, in order to sustain confidence in it.

Finding no evidence of broad public opinion in favour of abolishing honours, Sir Hayden Phillips focuses on practical recommendations designed to increase public understanding of the Honours system and fairness within the system itself.

The three most significant recommendations for change in the report are:

1. Building local networks to stimulate public involvement and generate nominations that reflect the whole of society today.
2. Independence. The specialist committees which advise on honours nominations should be Chaired by people independent of Government and the Civil Service, with non-Civil Service experts forming a majority of committee members.
3. Awards offered to State Servants. Those in the Civil Service, Diplomatic Service and the military, should receive 20 per cent of awards (down from 27 per cent currently) within the next three to five years.

Sir Hayden Phillips said:

“My report deals with the important issues of fairness and confidence in the processes of the honours system. A trusted honours system is our way in the United Kingdom of saying thank you publicly to those who have gone the extra mile in their service or who stand head and shoulders above others in their distinction. My recommendations aim to ensure the honours system evolves in a fair and open way, reflecting diversity in society and ensuring diversity on honours committees

“My report contains thirty-one recommendations many of which are about the process of the system and making it more user friendly. I think this is the key to a more open and trusted system. In addition to being more open, many wish the system to look more open. As such I make a small recommendation that those who wish, should be able on an everyday basis to wear a small badge to signal that they have received an Honour. ”

Sir Andrew Turnbull said:

“I am most grateful to Hayden Phillips for his very helpful report. It will need to be considered alongside the report from the Public Administration Select Committee which was published earlier this week. The Government will make a statement on the way forward later in the year.”

Copies of the full report are available on www.cabinet-office.gov.uk. Hard copies may be ordered from the Ceremonial Secretariat of the Cabinet Office – please call 020 7276 2777.

Comments on the report should be sent to Ceremonial Secretariat, Ground Floor, 35 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BQ, 020 7276 2777, email: ceremonial@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. Structure of the Phillips review
The full list of thirty-one recommendations is contained in the report and broken into three categories: transparency, independence and governance, and diversity and nominations. There are a further eight annexes containing statistical breakdowns, information on honours specialist committees, generic examples of citations, and information on the awards systems of other countries.

2. Context of the Phillips review
The Phillips Review is the first public review of the Honours system by someone who has been closely involved in running the system. The Phillips Review is a separate report to “A Matter of Honour: Reforming the Honours System” (HC212) by the Public Administration Select Committee which was published on 7 July. The Government will consider both reports and make a statement on the way forward later this year.

3. The terms of reference for the Phillips review were:
To review and make recommendations on the process for the award of Honours in what is currently the Prime Minister's List, the Diplomatic Service and Overseas List and the Defence Service's List in order to:

• make it possible for the full and diverse range of society to be increasingly reflected in successive honours lists, while maintaining the principle that awards are made solely on merit;
• introduce a greater transparency in the honours process, while maintaining strict confidentiality about those who are candidates;
• introduce a greater element of independence (of the Government and the civil service) into the recommendation for the award of honours;

and to make other recommendations relevant to ensuring that the honours system is held in high public esteem.

4. How the Honours lists work

There are three honours Lists:
a) The Prime Minister’s List,
b) The Diplomatic Service and Overseas List and
c) The Defence Services List

Pages 15, 16, and 17 of the report include full diagrams detailing the honours nomination system, assessment process, and approval procedure.

The lists are issued twice yearly (at New Year and on The Queen’s Birthday) and recognise two strands of contribution: ‘service’ (public, community and voluntary) and distinction. There are approximately 25 investiture ceremonies a year arranged at Buckingham Palace, Holyrood House or in Cardiff. Honours are presented by The Queen or, on her behalf, the Prince of Wales.

The honours covered by the review are the main ones featured in the New Year and Queens birthday Honours lists (see Annex One of report for full explanation):

• The companion of Honour (CH)
• The Order of the Bath (GCB, KCB, DCB, CB)
• The Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG, KCMG, DCMG, CMG)
• The Order of the British Empire (GBE, KBE, DBE, CBE, OBE, MBE)
• Knights Bachelor

There are criteria for the award of honours, and the level of award given:

a) Knighthood and above: Pre-eminent contribution in any field, usually but not exclusively at national level, or in a capacity which will be recognised by peer groups as inspirational and significant nationally, and which demonstrates sustained commitment and/or public service

b) CBE: A prominent national role of a lesser degree, or a conspicuous leading role in regional affairs or the public service; or making a highly distinguished, innovative contribution to his or her area of activity

c) OBE: A distinguished regional or county-wide role in any field, including public service and distinguished practitioners (in the arts field, authors and actors, for example) known nationally

d) MBE: Service in and to the community of a responsible kind (including, for example, as a committed and effective leader of a local voluntary organisation; community worker; inspiring public service practitioner; local councillor etc) which is outstanding in its field; or very local hands-on service (as school crossing warden, fund raiser, parish councillor etc) which stands out as an example to others. In both cases awards would often illuminate areas of dedicated service which merit public recognition.

5. Key Statistics
Across the three honours lists since 1993 the percentage of awards going to women has risen from 27 per cent to 37 per cent. Please refer to page 41 of the report.

Across the three honours lists the proportion of honours received by members of black and ethnic minority communities is between four and six per cent.

Across the three honours lists the percentage of awards going to state servants is 27 per cent. Looking specifically at the Prime Minister’s Honours lists, the percentage going to civil servants is 15 per cent. This compares to 38 per cent in 1955

Approximately 2 per cent of people recommended for an award refuse the award.

The Ceremonial Secretariat of the Cabinet Office receives about 6,000 new nominations annually from members of the public. Nominations from members of the public account for forty five percent of all those awarded honours.

6. Honours Committees
There are nine Honours Selection committees (eight specialist sub-committees and the Main Committee). Fifty-three people fill 89 seats on these committees Of these, 41 are male and 12 are female and one is from an ethnic minority.

Current specialist committees
Agriculture, Commerce and Industry (ACI)
Local Services
Maecenas (art, architecture, dance, drama ,humanities, literature and music)
Media
Medicine
Science and Technology
Sport
State (civil servants)

Reconfigured committees recommended by Phillips (see Annex 7 of report)
Arts (including Media)
Sport
Health (including Medicine)
Education (including Scholarship)
Science and Technology
The Economy
Community, Voluntary, Local Service
State

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