§ The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander)I can today announce the appointment of Professor Richard Susskind as the first Chair of the Advisory Panel on Crown Copyright.
Professor Susskind OBE holds law professorships at Gresham College, London and the Centre for Law, Computers and Technology at Strathclyde University. He is IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England, and independent consultant to professional firms and author.
The panel is a new non-departmental public body recommended by the Cross-Cutting Review of the Knowledge Economy. It is charged with advising Ministers strategically on how to open up opportunities for greater re-use of Government information by the private and voluntary sectors of the economy, and advising the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) about changes and opportunities in the information industry. The panel will also monitor the impact of complaints procedures under the Information Fair Trader Scheme.
The interests of the devolved Administrations will also be represented on the panel.
Further appointments will be announced in the usual way with the issue of a press notice.