29 September 2006 - Hutton announces re-appointments to the HSC
John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is pleased to announce that Ms Judith Donovan and Elizabeth Snape have been re-appointed to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC).
Following an open appointment exercise Judith Donovan CBE, a Yorkshire businesswomen, and Elizabeth Snape, Head of Policy at the trade union Unison, have been reappointed as Commissioners with the respective roles of integrating and promoting small business and trade union and employee involvement in the development and delivery of the Health and Safety Commission's strategy and programmes. Both posts commence 1 October 2006.
Notes to Editors
Judith Donovan
Appointed 1 October 2000. A Yorkshire businesswoman who founded her own direct marketing company in 1982, was Chairman of Bradford TEC from 1989-97, and the first female President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce from 1992-2001.
She has been Chairman of the Yorkshire Tourist Board since 1 April 2005 and is a director of the Northern Ballet Theatre, and member of the Programme Monitoring Committee for Objective 2 Funding for Yorkshire and the Humber.
She is also a Millennium Commissioner and Chairman of Postwatch for the North of England.
Elizabeth Snape
Appointed 1 November 2003. Elizabeth Snape worked from 1990 to 1994 as Legal Officer with the union NALGO. She then took on Equal Opportunities and European Policy employment with Unison and from 1999 has been Head of Policy at Unison.
Since 2001 Elizabeth has been a member of the TUC general council and served since 1996 as an executive member of the European Public Services Union. Her experience as union safety representative at Unison has given her experience of workers’ health and safety concerns.
Health and Safety Commission
The HSC is an independent body set up under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Its operational arm, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is a separate statutory body. Commissioners adopt the role of non-executive directors of the HSE.
The overall purpose of the HSC and HSE is to ensure that risks to people’s health and safety from work activities are properly controlled. The Commission provides advice and information to Ministers and others on health and safety matters, and proposes new legislation after consultation with interested parties. Commissioners receive a salary of £15,435 per annum and spend between 25 and 30 days a year on Commission business.
All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if any declared) to be made public. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointment Code of Practice.
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