Honours Committee

Honours Committee

Committee overview
Formed	2005 (reorganisation)
Headquarters	70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS
Committee executive	Sir Jonathan Stephens, Chair
Parent department	Cabinet Office

The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honour Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.

History

Main article: Knight

The honours system is an ancient one, particularly in Britain; Æthelstan, King of the English in the 10th century, was knighted by his grandfather, Alfred the Great. Knighthoods were originally conferred as a military honour, often on the battlefield. Later it became customary for only the reigning monarch to bestow the honour. Other honours beyond knighthood were later established, including the Order of the Bath in 1725. In the 20th century, the "Ceremonial Branch" of the government was created in 1937 with the sole purpose of overseeing the honours system. In 2001, the committee became officially known as the Ceremonial Honours and Appointments Secretariat.

Since 1993, members of the public have been eligible to nominate individuals; government agencies may also formally put forward candidates. All citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations can be nominated.

Following his retirement as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office, Sir Hayden Phillips prepared a report in July 2004 to the Cabinet Secretary suggesting a reform of the current honours nomination system. The next year, following recommendations made in Phillips' report, a new system of eight committees was organised, with each committee focussing on a special area. (In 2012, an additional committee was added.) The committees are composed of senior civil servants and independent experts in specific fields. The majority of the honours committees are non-civil servants.

Each subcommittee oversees nominations for its specialised area: Arts and Media; Community, Voluntary and Local Services; Economy; Education; Health; Parliamentary and Political Service; Science and Technology; Sport; and State. The individual committees assess the nominations and pass the nominations to the Main Honours Committee, whose members select the final list of nominations that are passed to the Queen by the Prime Minister.

Following the Cash for Honours scandal, the Main Honours Committee is required to determine that an individual's nomination for an honour has not been influenced by campaign and political contributions. According to the Cabinet Office's 2011 report, "The Main Honours Committee must satisfy itself that a party political donation has not influenced the decision to award an honour in any way; the committee must be confident that the candidate would have been a meritorious recipient of an honour if he or she had not made a political donation."

The Cabinet's Honours Committee nominates civilians only; military honours, such as the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, are sent to the Queen by the Honours and Decorations Committee of the Ministry of Defence. The honours committee also does not make nominations for peerages, which are created directly by the monarch.

Committees

Main committee

• Sir Jonathan Stephens KCB (chair)
• Chair of Arts and Media Committee: Rupert Gavin
• Chair of Community, Voluntary and Local Services Committee: Dame Clare Tickell
• Chair of the Economy Committee: Sir Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher plc
• Chair of Education Committee: Sir Daniel Moynihan
• Chair of Health Committee: Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar
• Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: Michael Spicer, Baron Spicer
• Chair of Science and Technology Committee: Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford
• Chair of Sport Committee: Lord Coe
• Chair of State Committee: Dame Mary Marsh
• The Cabinet Secretary: Sir Jeremy Heywood
• Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Sir Simon Fraser
• The Chief of Defence Staff: General Sir Nick Houghton
• Another Permanent Secretary: (vacant)

Arts and media

• Rupert Gavin – Chair, Historic Royal Palaces (independent chair)
• Julian Fellowes, the Lord Fellowes of West Stafford
• Dame Liz Forgan DBE – journalist
• Julia Peyton Jones OBE – Director, the Serpentine Gallery
• Luke Rittner – Chief Executive, Royal Academy of Dance
• Sir Peter Stothard – Editor, The Times Literary Supplement
• Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

Community, voluntary and local services

• Dame Clare Tickell DBE – Chief Executive, Hanover Housing Association (independent chair)
• Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE DL – Interim Chief Executive, BHA for Equality
• Melanie Bryan OBE – social entrepreneur, Why Not Change?
• Dilwar Hussain – Co-founder, New Horizons in British Islam
• Dr. Angus Kennedy OBE – Chief Executive, Community Regeneration Partnership
• John Knight CBE JP – formerly Director of Policy at Leonard Cheshire Disability and Board Member, Charity Commission
• Dame Barbara Monroe DBE – Chief Executive, St. Christopher’s Hospice
• Brian O'Doherty – Head of Housing, Newcastle City Council
• Noreen Oliver MBE – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BAC O’Connor Centre
• Sir Nicholas Young – former Chief Executive, British Red Cross
• Melanie Dawes CB– Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government
• Richard Heaton CB – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
• Sir Derek Jones KCB – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government
• Mark Sedwill CMG – Permanent Secretary, Home Office
• Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education

Economy

• Sir Ian Cheshire (independent chair) – Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher plc
• Dame Helen Alexander DBE – Chair, UBM plc and Chancellor, University of Southampton
• Dame Colette Bowe DBE – former Chair, Office of Communications (Ofcom)
• Anya Hindmarch MBE – fashion designer and businesswoman
• Brent Hoberman CBE – entrepreneur
• Helen Mahy – Chair, Renewables Infrastructure Group
• Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE – entrepreneur
• Martin Donnelly CMG – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• John Kingham
• Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

Education

• Sir Daniel Moynihan – Chief Executive, Harris Federation (independent chair)
• Dame Rachel de Souza DBE – Chief Executive Officer, Inspiration Trust
• Marion Matchett CBE – Civil Service Commissioner for Northern Ireland
• Peter Williams CBE – former Chief Executive, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
• Dr John Guy OBE – former Principal, Farnborough Sixth Form College and Independent Chair, Surrey Health Clinical Commissioning Group
• Dame Asha Khemka DBE – Principal and Chief Executive, West Nottinghamshire College
• Martin Donnelly CMG – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
• Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service

Health

• Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar – Director, Thrombosis Research Institute (independent chair)
• Dame Christine Beasley DBE – Chief Nursing Officer for England
• Dame Ruth Carnall DBE – Chief Executive, NHS London
• Sir Ian Gilmore – Chair, Liverpool Health Partners, University of Liverpool
• Karen Middleton CBE – Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Dame Janet Husband DBE – former Chair, Royal College of Radiologists Council
• Sir Nicholas Partridge OBE – former Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust
• Sir Simon Wessely John Maddox prize winner – Director, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London
• Dame Sally Davies DBE – Chief Medical Officer (England)
• Dame Una O'Brien DCB – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health
• Andrew Goodall – Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government

Parliamentary and political service

• Michael Spicer, Baron Spicer – Member, House of Lords (independent chair)
• Dianne Bevan – Chief Operating Officer, National Assembly for Wales
• Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO – Member, House of Lords
• Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman GBE – former Speaker of the House of Lords
• Peter Riddell CBE – Director, Institute for Government
• Sir Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane KCB - former Clerk of the House of Commons
• Mark Harper MP – Government Chief Whip
• Dame Rosie Winterton DBE MP – Labour Chief Whip

Science and technology

• Sir John Bell FRS – Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford (independent chair)
• Sir Tony Atkinson FBA – Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College
• Dame Glynis Breakwell DBE DL – Vice Chancellor, University of Bath
• Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE – Vice-Chancellor, Aston University
• Martyn Rose – Director, Martyn Rose Ltd.
• Dame Nancy Rothwell DBE FRS DL – President and Vice Chancellor, University of Manchester
• Sir Mark Walport FRS – Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
• Gareth Davies – Director-General, Knowledge and Innovation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
• Julie Williams CBE – Chief Scientific Adviser, Welsh Government

Sport

• Lord Coe CH KBE – Chairman, CSM (independent chair)
• Giles Clarke CBE – Chair, England and Wales Cricket Board and Director, International Cricket Council
• Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE – former Paralympic athlete
• Hon. Tim Lamb – former Chief Executive, Sport and Reaction Alliance
• Timothy Phillips – former Chairman, All England Lawn Tennis Club
• Graham Taylor OBE – former England Football manager
• Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
• Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service

State

• Dame Mary Marsh DBE – Director, Clore Social Leadership Programme (independent chair)
• Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone JP DL – Member, House of Lords and Chair, Board Practice, Odgers Berndtson
• Dame Suzi Leather DBE DL – former Chair, Charity Commission
• Elizabeth McKeikan – Non-Executive Director, JD Wetherspoon plc. and former Civil Service Commissioner
• Dr. Diana Walford CBE – former Principal, Mansfield College, Oxford
• Dr. Suzy Walton – Deputy Chairman RSA, University of Westminster and Internet Watch Foundation
• Sir Jonathan Stephens KCB – Permanent Secretary, Northern Ireland Office

See also

• Honours Forfeiture Committee

External links

• Gov.uk: Honours Committees