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Non-executive members of the Board appointed

Public Health Minister Hazel Blears welcomed today the establishment of the new national Health Protection Agency (HPA) and announced the appointment of the non-executive members of its Board.

Sir William Stewart, who has been serving as shadow chair of the agency since August 2002, has been appointed as chair. A further eleven non-executive members have also been appointed to the Board, their names and other details are attached below.

The Board will play a major role in guiding the work of the Agency, and will be collectively responsible for the performance and actions of the Agency. These appointments will ensure the effectiveness of the board, and take account of the responsibilities of the agency and the interests of its stakeholders. The remuneration for these appointments is £5, 295 per annum.

Hazel Blears, Minister for Public Health, said

"I very much welcome the creation of the Health Protection Agency, together with the appointment of its chair and non-executive directors. The work of the Agency will be extremely challenging but I am confident that Sir William and the other non-executive directors have the personal qualities and professional experience required to provide strong and effective leadership for the Agency."

The proposal to create a Health Protection Agency with a remit covering biological, chemical and radiological hazardsa as well as infectious disease control and health emergency planning was announced inGetting Ahead of the Curve: A Strategy for Combating Infectious Diseases (Including Other Aspects of Health Protection), which was published in January 2002. The Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, who produced the strategy said:

"The creation of the Agency is one of the most exciting and innovative developments in the field of health protection internationally. In the face of new and continuing threats from infectious diseases and environmental hazards the Agency will provide more effective services for health protection and health emergency planning."

Sir William Stewart said of the appointments:

"I am delighted about the high calibre and quality of the new Non-Executive Directors of the HPA. Working together with a strong executive team, the HPA Board is well set up to achieve the ongoing and escalating challenges of public health protection."

Notes to Editors

1The HPA will have responsibility for a range of health protection functions that were previously performed by:

- the Public Health Laboratory Service;

- the Microbiological Research Authority;

- the National Focus for Chemical Incidents;

- Regional Service Provider Units and the National Poisons Information Service;

- consultants in communicable disease control and other health protection staff; and

- regional health emergency planning advisers and their staff.

2 The Non-executive directors of the HPA are:

The Non-executive directors of the HPA are:

Mr Michael Beaumont: A Chartered Accountant. Head of Finance at the Greater Nottingham Training and Enterprise Council. In the voluntary sector Mr Beaumont holds a number of Chair/Memberships with Samaritans and Newark Housing Association; and is an unpaid Special Trustee and Mental Health Act Manager with Nottingham University NHS Trust. Mr Beaumont holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is politically active with the Conservative party, and has been appointed for 5 years.

Mr Robert Cranston: A Chartered Accountant with a Cambridge University Law degree who manages his own financial consultancy business. Formerly a non-executive director of the Microbiological Research Authority (MRA). Mr Cranston holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 3 years.

Dr Vanessa Mayatt: A self-employed Risk Management Consultant with Mayatt Risk Consulting. Part time Research Fellow at the University of Salford's European Occupational Health and Safety Law Research Centre. Dr Mayatt was recently appointed to the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice. She is also a member of a number of organisations including the British Occupational Hygiene Society. Dr Mayatt holds another Ministerial appointment as a member of Board of the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), which has an attendance allowance of £139 per meeting. She is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 4 years.

Dr Sandy Primrose: A Senior Consultant specialising in Business and Technology Management. He currently sits as non-executive director on a number of boards including the DTI Valid Analytical Measurement Taskforce and Dat-Lab (an early stage company that has developed an electronic laboratory notebook to replace current paper-based systems), and was formerly a non-executive director of the MRA. Dr Primrose holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointment for 4 years.

Dr Paul Darragh: Consultant in Public Health Medicine, Eastern Health and Social Services Board, Northern Ireland. Dr Darragh is also a Member of the Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and a number of its committees. Dr Darragh holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 5 years.

Professor Charles Easmon: Recently retired as Clinical Director with the Department of Health's London Directorate of Health and Social Care, and Visiting Professor at Imperial College. Professor Easmon is also currently a board member of St Christopher Hospice and the Council of King's College London. Professor Easmon holds no other political appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 5 years.

Professor Andrew Hall: Professor of Epidemiology and Reader in Communicable Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Professor Hall sits on a number of Committees including being a temporary adviser to the World Health Organisation, Western Pacific Region for the control of hepatitis B. He is also a member of the Independent Review Committee of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization. Professor Hall holds other Ministerial appointments as a member of the board of the PHLS which has an attendance allowance of £139 per meeting, and the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination, whose members claim travel and subsistence. He is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 5 years.

Dr Robert Hunter: Head of the UK Civil Aviation Authority Aeromedical Centre. Dr Hunter is also currently a member of the faculty of Occupational Medicine. Dr Hunter holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 4 years.

Professor David Latchman: Master of Birkbeck College, Professor of Genetics at Birkbeck College and University College London (UCL). Professor Latchman sits on and the Parkinson's Disease Society Medical Advisory Panel. Professor Latchman holds other Ministerial appointments as a member of the National Biological Standards Board, the London IDEAS Park (theInnovation, Dissemination, Evaluation and Application StrategyGenetics Knowledge Park), and is a member of the Department of Health's Genetics and Insurance Committee, which have attendance allowances of £139 per meeting. He is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 4 years.

Professor Karl Nicholson: Professor and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases with the University of Leicester Medical School where his clinical work includes investigating new and emerging diseases. Professor Nicholson also holds a number of memberships with organisations including the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland, International Society of Infectious Diseases and East Midlands Society of Physicians. Professor Nicholson holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 4 years.

Dr Geoffrey Schild: A retired medical scientist who specialised in virology. In his last post he was Scientific Director, Chief Executive and Accounting Officer with the National Institute of Biological Standards and Control. He has held Chair/member appointments with a number of organisations including the United Nations Programme on AIDS, the European community working the Scientific Steering Committee of Programme EVA, European Vaccines Against AIDS programme, and the European Community Working party on AIDS Research. He was also a member of the World Health Organisation team which was convened to draft international requirements and advisory documents on the manufacture, quality control and standardisation of viral vaccines. Dr Schild holds no other Ministerial appointments, he is not involved in political activity and has been appointed for 3 years.