15 September 2000
NEW TEAM OF TOP PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERTS APPOINTED TO DRIVE FORWARD IMPROVEMENTS IN PUBLIC SERVICES
The membership of a new, expanded team of top private and public sector experts to help departments and agencies find fresh, practical ways to improve the performance and delivery of public services was announced today by the Chief Secretary, Andrew Smith.
The Public Services Productivity Panel, which originally became fully operational in 1999 under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, was such a success that it has been decided to renew and expand it. Panel members are freely giving up their time to work with him to improve the quality of public services for everyone. The new Panel's first meeting was held yesterday at No 11 Downing Street.
The Government's 2000 spending review pledged a massive increase of £43 billion in funding for public services, but also set demanding targets for improved service delivery through new Public Service Agreements. A key role of the Panel is to help the government deliver and preferably outperform the PSA targets.
Andrew Smith commented:
"The Government is determined to make the very best use of the added investment it is providing for Britain's key public services.
"I am very grateful for all the hard work and imaginative ideas that the original Panel members contributed to help improve performance across the public sector. I am also very pleased to be able to announce the new membership of an expanded Panel to build on this work. I believe that we will be able to draw on the wealth of experience of the new Panel to drive forward further improvements."
The members of the Panel are:
Andrew Smith (Chair), Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Lynton Barker, Head of Management Consultancy Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Keith Burgess, Former Global Managing Partner, Andersen Consulting
Caroline Burton, Board member, London Pension Fund Authority and Investment Panel member for various pension funds
Sir Ian Byatt, Former Director General, OFWAT
Pat Carter, Direct investor in US & European healthcare and technology businesses
Fiona Driscoll, Director/Marketing, Defence Evaluation Research Agency
Michael Frye, Chairman, Lynara (Management) Ltd
Andrew Foster, Controller, Audit Commission
Sir Michael Lyons, Chief Executive, Birmingham City Council
John Miskelly, Chairman of JM and Director of Blueprint Group Ltd
Greg Parston, Chief Executive, Office for Public Management
Lord Simon, Advisor to the Cabinet Office
Lord Sainsbury, Minister of State, DTI
Clare Spottiswoode, Former Associate Partner of PA Consulting Group
John Smith, Director of Finance, BBC
David Varney, Chief Executive, BG Group
Professor Sir Adrian Webb, Vice Chancellor, University of Glamorgan
The Government intends to supplement the skills and experience of the Panel by appointing a person with a trade union background as soon as possible.
The Panel will be developing a new work programme, in consultation with public services, over the next month. Details of the programme will be announced at that time.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The formation of the Public Services Productivity Panel was announced by the Chancellor in the Pre-Budget report in November 1998. The aim is to "bring in outside experts, senior business people and public sector managers to advise the Government on ways of improving the productivity and efficiency of government departments and public sector bodies".
The original members of the Panel were:
Andrew Smith Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Chair of the Panel)
Andrew Foster Controller, Audit Commission
Byron Grote Executive Vice President, BP Amoco (Vice Chair)
John Dowdy McKinsey
John Makinson Group Finance Director, Pearson PLC
Dame Sheila Masters KPMG John Mayo Finance Director, Marconi
Lord Sainsbury Minister for Science and Innovation, DTI
Lord Simon of Highbury
Clare Spottiswoode Associate Partner, PA Consulting
In its first work programme the Panel carried out a wide range of projects in partnership with a range of government departments and public bodies. This work programme culminated in the publication of the Panel's first joint report, Public Services Productivity: Meeting the Challenge, in August 2000.
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The decision to renew the Panel for a minimum of a further two years was announced by the Chancellor in the 2000 Budget. It was also decided to enlarge and expand the range of experience of the Panel.
Appointments to the renewed Panel have been made in full compliance with the principles laid down by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
The new Panel members are:
Lynton Barker: Lynton is Managing Partner of Price Waterhouse Coopers consulting practice in the UK where he has worked since 1983. He was in charge of PWC's public sector consultancy practice. He specialises in public sector policy and management and has spent a large part of his career assisting the public services improve its performance.
Keith Burgess: Keith has just retired from Andersen Consulting after 29 years consulting experience working with both the public and private sectors. He held the position of Global Managing Partner, Business Process Management & Enterprises, one of the top four positions in the firm reporting directly to the world-wide CEO. He holds no other public appointments.
Caroline Burton: Caroline was Executive Director in charge of investments for Guardian Royal Exchange plc. In this role she was responsible for several successful restructurings within GRE before leaving the firm last year. She is now a Board/Panel member of several pension funds.
Sir Ian Byatt: Sir Ian was the inaugural Director-General of the Office of Water Services, a position he held for more than 10 years until he retired in July 2000. In his career, he has also held senior positions in four government departments. He holds a range of voluntary positions and has recently been appointed to chair a taskforce to review procurement arrangements in the local Government sector.
Patrick Carter: Patrick founded Westminster Health Care plc, a leading health care provider which grew to 12,000 employees. He is now managing a series of investments in US and European healthcare/technology businesses, as well as being a member of the Strategy Board for Correctional Services.
Fiona Driscoll: Fiona is Director/Marketing of the Defence Evaluation Research Agency. She is a Non-Executive Director of the TOTE, Fleming Managed Growth plc, Thomson Intermedia plc and the Institute of Leadership. She is also the Chairman of the Alumni Council of the Non-Executive Director's Forum and a member of the Home Office Fire Safety Task Force.
Andrew Foster: Andrew is the Controller of the Audit Commission and is a current Panel member. He was previously the Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Performance Management of the NHS and has held senior management roles in local government. He is also a member of the Modernising Government Project Board.
Michael Frye: Michael has been Chairman of B Elliot & Subsidiaries, a technology and manufacturing group. He is currently Chair of Nyne plc, a seed investment company. He has been Chair of the London CBI and is currently Deputy Chair, London First. He holds a range of public appointments, including the Further Education Funding Council and Chairman of the West London Training and Enterprise Council.
Sir Michael Lyons: Sir Michael is the CEO of the Birmingham City Council, a post he has held since 1994, having held a range of local authority CEO positions since 1985. Sir Michael holds a large number of voluntary and other appointments, principally in local government fora.
John Miskelly: John is founder and currently Chairman of JM Management Services Ltd and Director of Blueprint Group Ltd, which are change management, business consultancy and recruitment businesses operating in the City of London. John is also Chair of Stonewall, Deputy Chair of Co-operation Ireland and President of Camerata Ireland. He is a member of the Islington South and Finsbury Labour Party.
Greg Parston: Greg was co-founder of the Office for Public Management in 1989, an independent organisational development consultancy that also operates a charitable research foundation which researches public service delivery issues. He is also Chairman of the Public Management Foundation. He was a member of the Further Education Funding Council Good Governance Working Group until March 2000.
John Smith: John Smith is the Finance Director of the BBC, a post he has held since 1989. For the previous 6 year he had been on the British Railways Board; the last three years as Corporate Finance Manager.
Clare Spottiswoode: Clare is now pursuing a range of business investment opportunities and directorships in the energy sector, having most recently held posts with PA Consulting and was previously the Director General of OFGAS. Clare is an existing Panel member.
David Varney: David is CEO, BG Group plc, having worked in senior positions in the oil and gas sector for nearly 30 years. He is a Member of the Council of the University of Surrey as well as a member of a range of management and industry associations. In November 1999 David was appointed as a member of the Ministerial Performance Review Panel for the New Deal.
Professor Sir Adrian Webb: Sir Adrian is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Glamorgan, a position he has held since 1993. His previous academic background was in social policy and public administration. He has held an array of public and academic-related positions, most recently as a Non-Executive Director of the Pontypridd Rhonda NHS Trust and a Member of the Broadcasting Council for Wales (BCW).
Andrew Smith: Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Lord Simon: Adviser to the Cabinet Office
Lord Sainsbury: Minister of State, DTI