Honours Committee

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 Honours 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.^[1]

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.^[2] Other honours beyond knighthood were later established, including the Order of the Bath in 1725.^[3]

During 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.^[4]

Since 1993, members of the public have been eligible to nominate individuals;^[5] government agencies may also formally put forward candidates. All citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations can be nominated. Non-citizens are eligible for honorary awards.^[6]

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.)^[1] The committees are composed of senior civil servants and independent experts in specific fields.^[6] The majority of the honours committees are non-civil servants.^[1]

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.^[7] 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 King by the Prime Minister.^[6]

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."^[8]

The Cabinet's Honours Committee nominates civilians only; military honours, such as the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, are sent to the King by the Honours and Decorations Committee of the Ministry of Defence.^[9] The honours committee also does not make nominations for peerages, which are created directly by the monarch.

• Sir Chris Wormald KCB - Permanent Secretary, DHSC (Chair)^[10]
• The Cabinet Secretary: Simon Case CVO
• Chair of Arts and Media Committee: Sir Rupert Gavin
• Chair of Community, Voluntary and Local Services Committee: The Rt Hon. Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB
• Chair of the Economy Committee: Sir Ian Cheshire
• Chair of Education Committee: Sir Daniel Moynihan
• Chair of Health Committee: The Rt Hon. Lord Kakkar KBE PC
• Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: The Rt Hon. Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE
• Chair of Public Service Committee: Prof. Dame Barbara Monroe DBE
• Chair of Science and Technology Committee: Prof. Sir John Bell GBE CH
• Chair of Sport Committee: The Rt Hon. Sir Hugh Robertson KCMG DL
• Chair of State Committee: Mark Addison CB
• Permanent Under Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Sir Philip Barton KCMG OBE
• The Chief of the Defence Staff: Admiral Sir Tony Radakin KCB ADC

• Sir Rupert Gavin – chair, Historic Royal Palaces (Independent chair)

• Sir Peter Bazalgette - chair, ITV
• Sir Nicholas Kenyon CBE - Managing Director, Barbican Centre
• Kanya King CBE - CEO, MOBO Organisation Ltd
• Caroline Michel - chair, Hay Literary Festival
• Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE FRSA - Freelance Arts Professional
• Alice Rawsthorn OBE - Design critic and author.

• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

• Baroness Casey of Blackstock DBE CB (Chair)

• Harris Bokhari OBE - Co-founder of the Naz Legacy Foundation and Ambassador of British Asian Trust
• Rabbi Dr Harvey Belovski - Rabbi, Golders Green United Synagogue
• Carly Jones MBE - Autism Advocate
• Ros Kerslake OBE - Chief Executive of Heritage Lottery Fund & NHMF
• Adeeba Malik CBE - Deputy Chief Executive, QED UK
• Waheed Saleem - Managing Director, Waldoc Ltd
• Ben Summerskill OBE - Chair of the Silver Line and Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance
• John Booth - Chairman of the Prince's Trust

• Jeremy Pocklington CB - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Dame Shan Morgan DCMG - Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government
• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

• Sir Ian Cheshire - chairman, Barclay's UK (Independent chair)

• Prof. Heather McGregor CBE - Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School
• Baroness Shafik DBE - Director, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Dame Inga Beale DBE- lately CEO, Lloyd's of London
• Sir Douglas Flint CBE - former Group Chairman of HSBC Holdings
• Dame Vivian Hunt DBE - managing partner for the consulting firm McKinsey & Company
• 1 x Vacancy

• Sarah Munby - Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Charles Roxburgh - Second Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury
• Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

• Sir Daniel Moynihan – Chief Executive, Harris Federation (Independent chair)

• Prof. Sir David Eastwood DL - Vice Chancellor, University of Birmingham
• Dr John Guy OBE - former sixth form principal and education consultant
• Dame Asha Khemka DBE DL - British Educator
• Dame Alison Peacock DBE DL - Chief Executive, Chartered College of Teaching
• Prof. Steven West CBE DL - Vice Chancellor, University of the West of England
• 1 x Vacancy

• Vacancy - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service
• Susan Acland-Hood - Permanent Secretary, Department for Education

• The Rt Hon. Lord Kakkar PC – Director, Thrombosis Research Institute (Independent chair)

• Sir David Behan CBE - Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission
• Prof. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz - Vice Chancellor, University of Cambridge
• Prof. Dame Jane Dacre DBE - President of the Royal College of Physicians
• Baroness Harding of Winscombe - Chair of NHS Improvement
• Prof. Karen Middleton CBE - Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Prof. Iqbal Singh OBE - chair, Centre of Excellence and Safety for Older People (CESOP)
• 1 x Vacancy

• Prof. Chris Whitty CB - Chief Medical Officer (England)
• Shona Dunn – Second Permanent Secretary, Home Office
• Dr Andrew Goodall CBE - Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government

• Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE – Member, House of Lords (Independent chair)

• Dr Sue Griffiths - Executive Director, Global Partners Governance
• The Rt Hon. Lord Haselhurst PC
• Lord Lisvane KCB DL - Former Clerk of the House of Commons
• Dame Denise Platt DBE - Member of the General Medical Council and member of the Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Sir Paul Silk KCB - President of Study of Parliament Group
• 1 x Vacancy

• The Rt Hon. Mark Spencer MP - Government Chief Whip
• The Rt Hon. Sir Alan Campbell MP - Opposition Chief Whip

• Dame Barbara Monroe DBE - Chief Executive, St Christopher's Hospice (Chair)

• Emir Feisal JP, Trustee, Magistrates Association
• Alistair Finlay OBE, Faculty Director of Operations, Queen's University Belfast
• Dr Shonaig Macpherson CBE - Former interim Chairman of Interim Business School
• Maggy Pigott CBE - Vice Chair, Open Age
• Riaz Ravat BEM DL - Board Member Leicester and Rutland Community Foundation
• The Ven. Canon David Stanton - Archdeacon and Canon of Westminster Abbey

• Jeremy Pocklington CB, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Mike Driver CB - Interim Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
• Matthew Rycroft CBE, Permanent Secretary, Home Office
• Susan Acland-Hood - Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
• Antonia Romeo - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
• Dame Shan Morgan DCMG – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

• Prof. Sir John Bell GBE FRS – Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford (Independent chair)

• Prof. Dame Glynis Breakwell DBE DL - Vice chancellor, University of Bath
• Naomi Climer CBE - Trustee, Institution of Engineering and Technology
• Prof. Andrew Scott - Professor of Economics, London Business School
• Prof. Sir Keith Burnett, CBE, FRS - British physicist and past Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield
• Prof. Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS - Director and Professor of Plant Development
• 2x Vacancy

• Prof. Sheila Rowan CBE FRS - Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland
• Sir Patrick Vallance FRS - Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
• Prof. Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser, BEIS

• The Rt Hon. Sir Hugh Robertson KCMG DL - Chair of the British Olympic Association (Chair)

• Pippa Britton - chair, Disability Sport Wales
• Tom Clarke - Former Sports Journalist
• Donna Fraser OBE - Vice President of UK Athletics
• Liz Nicholl CBE - Chief Executive, UK Sport

• Sarah Healey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Vacancy - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service

• Mark Addison CB - Public Appointments Assessor and former Civil Service Commissioner (Independent chair)

• Sarah Anderson CBE - Chief Executive, The Listening Place.
• Isabel Doverty - Civil Service Commissioner
• Sir David Hempleman-Adams KCVO OBE KStJ DL - chair, Global Resins limited, Founder and Director of Hempleman Investment Company
• Jenny Rowe CB - Former CEO, Supreme Court
• Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE - chairman, SC Strategy Limited

• Tamara Finkelstein CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Sir Tom Scholar KCB - Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury

A group of independent committee members oversee the honours system's work to embed diversity and equality. It meets twice a year to assess the statistical trends and to maintain momentum behind continuing improvements, and outreach activity.

• Chair - Lady Casey of Blackstock DBE CB

• Naomi Climer - Vice President, Royal Academy of Engineering
• Emir Feisal JP, Trustee, the Henry Smith Charity
• Donna Fraser - Vice President, UK Athletics
• Rupert Gavin (Chair, Arts & Media) - chair, Historic Royal Palaces
• Dr Sue Griffiths - Managing Director, Social Development Direct
• Dame Asha Khemka DBE DL - British Educator
• Prof. Heather McGregor CBE - Executive Dean, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University
• Dame Denise Platt – Member, General Medical Council and Member, Solicitors Regulation Authority
• Jenny Rowe CB - Former CEO, Supreme Court
• Prof. Iqbal Singh - chair, Centre of Excellence and Safety for Older People (CESOP)
• Ben Summerskill OBE – chair, Silver Line and Director, Criminal Justice Alliance

• Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• Permanent Secretary, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

• Honours Forfeiture Committee

• Gov.uk: Honours Committees

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