National Assembly appoints Chairman and Members of the Remuneration Board
22 September 2010
In a further significant step to ensure that there are rigorous and independent mechanisms for deciding what Assembly Members in Wales get paid, the National Assembly Commission today (22 September) announced the appointment of a Chair and Members to the National Assembly Remuneration Board. The Board will have responsibility for setting the pay and allowances for Assembly Members.
The independent Remuneration Board will be responsible for ensuring that Assembly Members have fair and appropriate resources to do their vital job of representing the people of Wales, holding the Welsh Government to account and making laws for Wales. In setting up this new Board, the Assembly Commission and Assembly Members have made clear their determination to end the practice of Assembly Members deciding their own pay and expenses.
The appointments follow the National Assembly for Wales (Remuneration) Measure 2010 being granted royal approval by Her Majesty the Queen in July.
The board in brief:
The Rt Hon George Reid - Chairman
A Scottish politician, journalist and academic. Privy Councillor, former MP, MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and Chair of its Corporate Body. Worked for 15 years in wars and disasters as a director of the International Red Cross|Red Crescent. Current appointments include: Independent Adviser on Scottish Ministerial Code, visiting professor at Glasgow and Stirling Universities and (from October) UK Electoral Commissioner. He recently led strategic reviews of governance in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the National Trust for Scotland.
Board Members
Professor Monojit Chatterji
An academic with significant public policy experience. Has published research in areas including the determinants of public sector pay. Prof Chatterji is currently Chair of the National Joint Council of UK Fire and Emergency Services (the pay negotiating body). He was previously a member of the School Teachers’ Review Body which makes recommendations to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Education and Skills on pay and conditions, and also governance arrangements for school teachers and head teachers in England and Wales. He was also previously a member of the Economists Group, Office of Manpower Economics, considering cross-cutting issues on pay in the public sector.
Stuart Castledine
A chartered accountant who occupied a number of financial and general management roles within Allied Dunbar, Chartered Trust and Bristol & West Building Society before becoming Tesco’s first Financial Services Director. Stuart has, more recently, undertaken a variety of challenging assignments in the public and private sector, helping establish some significant joint ventures and alliances as well as being a successful turnaround director of a number of financial services organisations. He is currently a non-executive director of the Welsh Ambulance Service.
Mary Carter
Mary retired as a Partner of KPMG in September 2008 and is currently a member of the Armed Forces Pay Review Body which makes recommendations to the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defence on military pay, compensatory allowances and charges. She is also a part time consultant to KPMG. She is a lawyer by background and has specialised for over 20 years in advising UK and non UK companies on remuneration and incentives for directors/senior management and related governance and taxation issues.
Sandy Blair CBE
Sandy is the former director of the Welsh Local Government Association, WLGA (retired 2004). He was a local authority chief executive for 16 years before his appointment to the WLGA, and President of SOLACE in 1999/2000.He has held a number of paid public appointments and trusteeships such as non-executive director of the Health and Safety Executive, HSE, chair of the Monmouth Diocesan Board of Finance and roles within the Church in Wales. He has served as a member of the Remuneration Committees for UWIC and HSE.
The National Assembly’s Presiding Officer and chair of Assembly Commission, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, welcomed the appointments: “I am delighted that we have been able to appoint a chairman and board members of such high calibre to this important complement to our legislature. It is a crucial step in our long-standing commitment to ensuring the people of Wales can have absolute trust in the integrity of democracy in Wales.”
The Remuneration Board Chairman, George Reid, said: “At a time when trust in politics is still low, I am delighted to be part of the National Assembly for Wales’ drive to restore faith in the democratic process. As a Board, we will ensure that all Assembly Members have the resources they need to carry out their role, while ensuring that the people of Wales can be confident that public funds are being used to best effect.”