21 March 2005 - Johnson announces new appointment to the HSC
Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, is pleased to announce that Dr Sayeed Khan has been appointed to the Health and Safety Commission (HSC). He is also pleased to announce that Judith Hackitt and John Longworth have been re-appointed to the Commission for a further three years.
Following an open recruitment exercise, Dr Khan, Chief Medical Adviser at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, has been appointed as Commissioner representing professional bodies.
Dr Khan takes up his post on 1 April 2005. He is an accredited specialist in occupational medicine who worked at Rolls-Royce plc for ten years before joining EEF in October 2002. His application to the Commission was sponsored by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, RoSPA and British Safety Council and was supported by several other organisations including the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, the Society of Occupational Medicine, British Occupational Hygiene Society, Royal Society of Medicine and NHS plus.
On hearing of his appointment, Dr Khan said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join the Health and Safety Commission and am very much looking forward to making a positive contribution working at the forefront of health and safety in the UK.”
Ms Judith Hackitt was appointed to the Commission in April 2002. She is the Director General of the Chemical Industries Association.
Mr John Longworth, also appointed in April 2002, is Group Company Secretary of Asda Wal-Mart.
Notes for editors
Dr Sayeed Khan MB BS, BMedSci, DGM, MRCGP, FFOM, MIOSH, DM
Sayeed’s first job was as a machinist in a small engineering works in South Wales. He then trained and practised as a GP before undertaking further training to qualify in occupational medicine. Sayeed was awarded a Doctor of Medicine from Nottingham University. He is on the BOHRF / FOM Scientific committee, NHSplus evidence based medicine guidelines advisory group, DoH sickness absence certification project advisory board and was a member of the Continuous Improvement Programme Action Group (Securing Health Together). Dr Khan is not engaged in any political activity nor does he hold any other public appointments.
Judith Hackitt
Judith trained as a Chemical Engineer at Imperial College, London. She has been Director of Business and Responsible Care at the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) since 1998 and was appointed Director General of the CIA from 1 April 2002. Judith was previously employed as Group Risk Manager at Elementis PLC with world-wide responsibility for health and safety insurance and litigation. She also served for three years as a non-executive Director of Oxfordshire Health Authority. She holds no other Ministerial appointments nor is engaged in any political activity.
John Longworth
John is currently Group Company Secretary of Asda Wal-Mart. He is responsible for Corporate Legal, Corporate Responsibility and External affairs of the business. He is currently a member of several British Retail Consortium Policy Committees, Chairs the CBI's Distributive Trades Panel and is a member of the DTI Retail Policy Forum. He is also a Director of the British Retail Consortium. He is not engaged in any political activity.
Health and Safety Commission
The HSC is an independent body set up under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Its operational arm, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), is a separate statutory body. Commissioners adopt the role of non-executive directors of the HSE.
The overall purpose of the HSC and HSE is to ensure that risks to people’s health and safety from work activities are properly controlled. The Commission provides advice and information to Ministers and others on health and safety matters, and proposes new legislation after consultation with interested parties. Commissioners receive a salary of £15,000 per annum and spend between 25 and 30 days a year on Commission business.
All appointments are made 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 (if any declared) to be made public. These appointments have been made in accordance with the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointment Code of Practice.
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