The Health Professions Council is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Council

Citation

(2009), "The Health Professions Council is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Council", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 39 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2009.01739fab.010

The Health Professions Council is pleased to announce the appointment of its new Council

Article Type: Food facts From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 6.

There will be 19 members who will serve on the new Council alongside the appointed Chair, Anna van der Gaag.

The new appointees are drawn from a variety of backgrounds including education, commerce, the voluntary sector and the professions regulated by the Health Professions Council.

The new Council includes:

Anna van der Gaag (Chair)

Patricia Blackburn

Mary Clark-Glass

Malcolm Cross

John Donaghy

Sheila Drayton

Julia Drown

John Harper

Richard Kennett

Jeff Lucas

Morag Mackellar

Arun Midha

Penelope Renwick

Keith Ross

Deep Sagar

Eileen Thornton

Annie Turner

Joy Tweed

Diane Waller

Neil Willis

Further details including a career history and information about other ministerial appointments held is appended to this release.

HPC Chair, Anna van der Gaag commented: “We have recruited a Council with a strong mix of skills, ability and experience drawn from all parts of the UK. This is a particularly important time for us with our role in public protection continuing to grow as we regulate new professions, continually improve our services and work with the professions to maintain high standards of good professional practice. I am delighted to be working with such a strong restructured Council at this particular time”.

Chief Executive of the HPC, Marc Seale, commented: “I am looking forward to working with the members of the new Council. It is an exciting time for us at the HPC with new professions such as practitioner psychologists, hearing aid dispensers, psychotherapists and counsellors set to join our Register over the coming years”.

“Council Members play a vital role in the strategic direction of the HPC and therefore fulfilling our primary function of protecting the public. It is a rewarding and fulfilling position to hold that has great impact”.

In 2007 a government white paper, entitled Trust, Assurance and Safety – The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century, made a number of proposals regarding the governance arrangements for the nine UK healthcare regulators. One proposal was that the Council's of regulators should be smaller and more “board-like”. The white paper also proposed that all Council members should be independently appointed rather than elected.

In February 2008, the HPC recommended to the Department of Health (DH) that the number of members on the HPC Council should be 20 (including the Chair), and that there should be an equal representation of registrant and lay members. On 3 July 2008, the Council agreed the criteria which will be used to appoint the Chair and members of the restructured Council.

HPC's newly appointed Council will play a key role in setting strategy and policy and ensuring the HPC fulfils its statutory duties. The aim is to create a diverse Council, with a balanced mix of skills and experience reflecting the professions we regulate and public that we serve. The restructured Council will be comprised of a Chair and 19 Council members and will commence on 1 July 2009.