Ed Miliband, Minister for the Third Sector at the Cabinet Office, today announced the appointment of Dame Suzi Leather DBE as the next Chair of the Charity Commission.
Suzi Leather takes over her new role from Geraldine Peacock CBE on 1 August 2006. She will step down as chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), a role she has occupied since 2002.
She will also be stepping down from the School Food Trust, where she has been chair since its establishment in 2005. Dame Suzi has a wide range of experience and interests, including the role of regulation in driving up standards of performance and consumer protection.
Previously, Dame Suzi was the founder deputy chair of the UK Food Standards Agency and in recent years has chaired the Exeter and District Community NHS Trust as well as the Health Forum, an inter-agency partnership promoting public health in North and East Devon.
Minister for the Third Sector, Ed Miliband MP, said:
'I am extremely pleased to welcome Dame Suzi Leather as the new Chief Charity Commissioner and am delighted at the immensely valuable experience and expertise she brings to the role. This is a tremendously important and exciting time for the Charity Commission and her appointment is great news for the whole third sector. I look forward to working with her on a range of issues, not least the Charities Bill which we have introduced to the House of Commons and aim to pass in this Parliamentary session. I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Geraldine Peacock for her invaluable contribution at the Commission over the last 3 years and in her role as Chief Commissioner since 2004.'
Dame Suzi Leather said:
'I am delighted to have been appointed to chair the Charity Commission and I look forward to continuing the work done so successfully by Geraldine. Charities are uniquely important to our society and the Commission has a vital role to play in supporting them, both individually and collectively. Ensuring that charities deliver public benefit in exchange for the advantages which comes with charitable status is set to become an increasingly key responsibility of the Commission and the next few years will be particularly significant for the charitable sector and the Commission as it implements the proposed new legislation.'
Current Charity Commission Chair, Geraldine Peacock CBE, said:
'I am pleased to be handing the stewardship of the Charity Commission to the demonstrably safe hands of Dame Suzi Leather. The work accomplished during my tenure as Chairman was a team effort and I would like to use this opportunity to thank the members of that team, from employees to Ministers, for their belief and support'
Charity Commission Chief Executive, Andrew Hind said:
'We are very pleased to have Suzi appointed as our new chair. She brings with her a wealth of experience and this is an excellent appointment. Her record as a leader at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is well known. She also brings wide experience of voluntary sector issues and a track record in innovation and organisational change. I very much look forward to working with her on the challenges and opportunities ahead. I'd also like to thank Geraldine for the invaluable role she has played in bringing the Commission so far forward during her time here.'
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Notes to editors
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales. See http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk for further information or call our contact centre on 0845 300 0218.
Ed Miliband was appointed Minister for the Third Sector, working to Hilary Armstrong, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the Cabinet Office, during the reshuffle on May 5 2006. He will lead a new Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office, which brings together responsibility for third sector work streams from across Government.
