This appointment is for a further term of three years ending on 30 September 2026.

Biography

Leslie Philpott is a Chartered Accountant with a background in public finance and leadership at senior executive levels. He is a former Chief Executive of the Office for Nuclear Regulation and had previously held senior roles in Health and Safety Executive. His portfolio of non-executive experience includes membership of the NEBOSH Board, Mid-Cheshire NHS Trust, Benenden Healthcare Society and Board of the Government Actuary’s Department.

Terms of Appointment

• The position is a part-time appointment for a duration of three years.
• The position attracts a fixed remuneration of £12,500 per annum for a commitment of approximately 20 days per year.
• The position is not pensionable.

Regulation

This appointment is not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Political Activity

Non-Executive Directors to departmental boards are appointed 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 in defined categories to be made public.

Mr Philpott has declared that he has not been politically active in the last five years.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has issued a marine licence to the Virgin Orbit satellite launch project.

Virgin Orbit proposes to conduct a maximum of one launch in 2022 and approximately two launches per year over the next 8 years (January 2023-December 2030).

The licence issued by MMO covers the 2022 launch, the first of its kind in the UK. As there is material to be deposited into the sea that will be loaded in the UK, the activity requires a marine licence from MMO, as required by The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

The decision is a result of close collaboration between MMO and the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and follows public consultations which were carried out earlier this year.

Trudi Wakelin, Director of Licensing, Marine Planning and Global Marine at the Marine Management Organisation said:

As the independent marine manager and regulator for England’s seas, it’s important that we review any potential environmental impacts before issuing marine licences.

On this occasion, we have worked with primary advisers, interested parties and members of the public during the consultation period to ensure any potential impacts were considered and appropriately assessed.

This enabled MMO to issue the marine licence to the Virgin Orbit project, in preparation for their planned launch later this year.

Copies of the Marine Licence application and associated information may be viewed online in the MMO public register. Case reference MLA/2022/00134. Additional information is also available from MMO’s selected cases page for this marine licence..

At the request of the Russian Ministry of Defence, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, spoke with his Russian counterpart, General of the Army Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, this afternoon.

The Chief of the Defence Staff rejected Russia’s allegations that Ukraine is planning actions to escalate the conflict, and he restated the UK’s enduring support for Ukraine.

The military leaders both agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication between the UK and Russia to manage the risk of miscalculation and to facilitate de-escalation.

The conversation followed the Defence Secretary’s call with his Russian counterpart yesterday and a call between the Foreign Ministers of France, the UK, and the USA last night.

Simon James was appointed to the Authority from 25 July 2022.

Simon has more than 30 years’ experience in commercially oriented board-level finance and risk roles. He has held roles within large private sector businesses including world-class consultancy and FCA regulated investment banking (such as PwC, KPMG, and HSBC) plus public sector health environments, including the NHS.

He is currently Chief Financial Officer at the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), the professional body for the automotive sector and Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation. Simon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and has been appointed to the Authority for a term of 3 years.

Caroline Corby was appointed to the Authority from 19 September 2022.

Caroline is currently the Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales and the Chair of the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from previous public sector roles notably in criminal justice and healthcare settings. Caroline has been appointed to the Authority for a term of 3 and 6 months.

The Minister for Safeguarding has also re-appointed Alec Wood and Trevor Reaney as non-executive directors of the Security Industry Authority.

Alec was originally appointed in February 2020 and will now remain a member of the Authority until August 2025. Trevor was initially appointed in November 2018 and following an extension of his term until November 2022, will now continue in his role until November 2024.

Notes for editors:

• The SIA is governed by a Board, which is made up of:
  • Authority members (its Chair and non-executive directors)
  • a Chief Executive and other executive directors
• The Board’s role is to establish and take forward the SIA’s strategic aims and objectives.
• The SIA’s pages on GOV.UK contain further details on the Authority members

Further information:

• The Security Industry Authority is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom, reporting to the Home Secretary under the terms of the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA’s main duties are the compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities and managing the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme.
• For further information about the Security Industry Authority or to sign up for email updates visit www.gov.uk/sia. The SIA is also on Facebook (Security Industry Authority) and Twitter (SIAuk).