Mary Cunneen and Samantha Durrant have both been re-appointed as non-executive directors of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) board. Mary has been re-appointed for a second term of two and a half years, and Samantha has been re-appointed for a second term of three years.
Mary Cunneen
Mary Cunneen’s re-appointment commenced on 1 April 2022, and was made in accordance with the governance code on public appointments.
Career
Mary Cunneen has been a non-executive director of the DBS board since April 2019. She is chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of people and change management committees. Mary is also board equality champion.
A lawyer by profession, Mary has worked across the private sector, non-government organisations, and government. She started her career as a criminal defence lawyer before becoming director of law and policy at Liberty, director of Anti-Slavery International, human rights advisor to the Foreign Office, and senior lawyer at the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Most recently, Mary was a commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), overseeing substantial change and expansion. A board member and responsible for public confidence in the police complaints process, she led high-profile investigations into police conduct, including deaths in custody, corruption, and serious sexual assaults. She was the IPCC board lead for child sexual abuse, and oversaw development of IPCC strategy and procedures, and numerous investigations into police handling of child sexual abuse cases.
As well as her role at DBS, Mary is also a chair of the National Referral Mechanism multi-agency panels, reviewing Home Office decisions on the status of trafficking and slavery victims.
Samantha Durrant
Samantha Durrant’s re-appointment commenced on 1 April 2022, and was made in accordance with the governance code on public appointments.
Career
Samantha Durrant has been a non-executive director of the DBS board since April 2019. Samantha is a member of the Quality, Finance and Performance Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee and she chairs the Change Management Committee.
Samantha has worked as a senior leader in a broad range of organisations across the public and private sectors. Her executive responsibilities included business change, IT, customer management, legal, governance, and operations. Samantha is also a non-executive director for NHS Sussex Commissioners and the Insolvency Service.
Board members at DBS
Board members are senior figures from outside DBS who bring a mix of expertise and skills from across the public and private sector. They:
- oversee performance
- set the strategic direction for DBS
- support and challenge management on implementing DBS’ strategic direction
- make sure that statutory duties are carried out
DBS board members are appointed following open and fair competition and in line with the governance code on public appointments. The appointments are for an initial period of 3 years, with the possibility of re-appointment.
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