§ Shona McIsaacTo ask the Prime Minister when he expects to announce new appointments to the Committee on Standards in Public Life; and if he will make a statement. [131638]
§ The Prime MinisterI am pleased to announce that I have appointed four new members to the committee.
Sir Alistair Graham and Professor Hazel Genn will take up appointment from 1 October 2003 in succession to Ann Abraham, who stood down from the committee on appointment as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England, and Professor Alice Brown, who resigned from the committee on appointment as the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
Patricia Hodgson and Brian Woods-Scawen will take up appointment from 1 January 2004 in succession to Frances Heaton and Sir Anthony Cleaver, who will both step down from the committee at the end of this year, on completion of their second terms of office.
All four appointments are for three years in the first instance, and were made fully in line with the Guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
I am very grateful to Ann Abraham, Alice Brown, Frances Heaton and Sir Anthony for their work on the committee and for the significant contribution they have made to standards in public life.