Seven new commissioners have been appointed by the Crown to oversee appointments to the Civil Service.
The commissioner posts are independent of ministers and the Civil Service. They are responsible for maintaining the principle of recruitment to the service on the basis of merit after fair and open competition. They also hear and determine appeals from civil servants under the Civil Service Code.
The new commissioners are:
Richard Ayre – currently freedom of information adjudicator for the Law Society and a board member of the Food Standards Agency
Alexandra Burslem – vice chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University and deputy chair of the Learning and Skills Council
Mary Jo Jacobi – vice president of group external affairs at the Royal Dutch/Shell Group
John MacAuslan – director of administration at the National Gallery since 1994. He previously worked at HM Treasury
Elizabeth McMeikan – previously board HR director for Tesco. Also member of the Insolvency Steering Group
Stella Pantelides – director of Lysis Consulting Services. Previously global HR director at law firm Linklaters and head of HR for ABN Amro Bank in London
Chris Stephens – director of global engineering consultancy WSP. Previously group head of HR for Exel Logistics and head of HR for worldwide games giant Vivendi.
The first Civil Service commissioner, Baroness Usha Prashar, said: “The seven new commissioners will bring new insight and experience to our team. They come from a range of backgrounds – public and private sector, business, human resources and management.
“As commissioners we are committed to the reform of the Civil Service and to maintaining its values of integrity, honesty, impartiality, objectivity and selection on merit.”
The new commissioners begin work in May.
