Cabinet Office
Three new Civil Service Commissioners have been appointed to the Civil Service Commission, which regulates recruitment into the Civil Service.
Elizabeth Hambley, Tony Poulter OBE, and Dr Neil Wooding CBE have been appointed based on their valuable skills and experience from both public and private sector backgrounds.
The Civil Service Commission is an independent statutory body, which oversees appointments to the Civil Service, ensuring that they are made on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. Commissioners also promote and hear appeals brought under the Civil Service Code.
Following an open competition, the new Civil Service Commissioners have been recommended by the Prime Minister and subsequently approved by HM The King.
Baroness Gisela Stuart, the First Civil Service Commissioner, said:
I am delighted that Tony, Elizabeth and Neil will be joining the Commission. Their extensive experience and expertise from leadership roles in both the public and private sector, will enrich the Commissions work as an independent regulator of recruitment into the Civil Service, and in hearing complaints under the Civil Service Code.
I look forward to working with them as Commissioners, helping to ensure we have an effective Civil Service, appointed on merit, to develop and deliver government services across the country.
The new Commissioners announced today have joined the Commission for a 5 year, non-renewable term. Commissioners work part-time, typically between 4 and 8 days a month.
Notes
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The Civil Service Commission was established as a statutory body in November 2010 under the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Commission is independent of Ministers and the Civil Service. It is responsible for upholding the requirement that recruitment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.
Biographies of the new commissioners:
Elizabeth is a qualified Barrister and previously Director-General for Commercial, Trade and International at the Government Legal Department (2020 - 2023). Her previous roles in the Civil Service include Legal Director at DEFRA, BEIS and DCMS, and Deputy Director roles in the Cabinet Office. Elizabeth has coached charity leaders and their boards in a voluntary capacity.
Tony Poulter is a non-executive board member of the Department for Transport. Tony was previously a Partner at PwC for 25 years. In 2023, he led the Public Body Review of Homes England. His other current roles are: Non-executive board member of Cubico Sustainable Investments and Non-executive director of LCR Property Ltd. Other voluntary roles include external member of the finance committee of Oxford University, and of the finance and audit committees of the National Portrait Gallery.
Dr Neil Rhys Wooding has spent his career as a public servant and worked within senior roles in central, regional and local government as well as the NHS and the third sector. Most recently as an Executive Director in the Cabinet Office and the Chief People Officer in the Ministry of Justice (2018-2021). He is a Companion of the Chartered Institute of People Management and