§ The Minister for Policing, Crime Reduction and Community Safety (Mr. John Denham):Nicholas Hardwick has been appointed by Her Majesty as Chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, which will replace the Police Complaints Authority on 1 April 2004 under the provisions of the Police Reform Act 2002. The Commission will exist in shadow form from 1 April 2003.
The appointment will be for five years in the first instance, and Mr Hardwick is expected to take up post on 1 February 2003.
Nicholas Hardwick has been Chief Executive of the Refugee Council for the past eight years. Prior to this, he was Chief Executive of Centrepoint, the charity and Housing Association, from 1986 to 1995.