Judith Hackitt, chair of the Health and Safety Executive, is to become a dame, as one of many public servants celebrated in the 2016 New Year honours list.
Hackitt, who already holds a CBE from 2006, is responsible for regulating workplaces across the UK, covering everything from offshore gas to the nuclear industry, hospitals, schools and construction.
Of the 1,196 people selected for an award this year, 48% are women - up from 45% last year. The successful candidates include 5.7% from ethnic minority backgrounds, and 7.5% are disabled. The 2016 New Year honours list also sees a rise in the number of awards to women at senior level: 38% of those given CBEs or above are women, compared with 31% in the 2015 birthday honours.
There are also damehoods for Glenys Stacey, chief regulator and chief executive of Ofqual, which regulates exams and qualifications in England; and for Heather Rabbatts, non-executive director of the Football Association and former chief executive of Lambeth council.
Nicola Shaw, chief executive of High Speed 1, the Channel tunnel link that was Britain’s first high speed railway, receives a CBE, as does Vivienne Bennett, chief nurse at Public Health England; Julia Killick, governor of London prison HMP Holloway; Gillian McGregor, deputy director of immigration enforcement for Scotland and Northern Ireland at the Home Office; Sandie Keene, former director of adult social services at Leeds city council; Susan Moore, director of corporate change at the Department for Work and Pensions; Sarah Payne, director of the National Offender Management Service in Wales; and Geraldine Strathdee, national clinical director for mental health at NHS England.
Among those being given a knighthood in the 2016 list are Robert Stheeman, chief executive of the Debt Management Office; Alan Yarrow, former Lord Mayor of London and investment banking specialist; David Norgrove, chair of the Low Pay Commission and chair of the Family Justice Board; and retired civil servant Jon Day, former chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee.
Receiving CBEs are Conrad Bird, director of the GREAT Britain Campaign; Paul Fuller, chief fire officer at Bedfordshire fire and rescue service; George Murray, a former senior civil servant at the Department of Justice; Neil O’Connor, director of fire, resilience and emergencies at the Department for Communities and Local Government; and Adrian Smith, deputy director of the National Offender Management Service in the east of England.
Other senior civil servants recognised this year include Robert Devereux, permanent secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, who receives a KCB, and chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs Lin Homer, who receives a DCB. Clare Moriarty, permanent secretary at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and former director general in the Rail Executive at the Department for Transport, becomes a Companion of the Order of the Bath. The award also goes to former DfT director general Steve Gooding, Susan Baldwin of the Department for Education, Paul Cosford of Public Health England and Dr Ruth Hussey of NHS Wales.
About 10% of honours are for work in education: 26 headteachers have been recommended for awards, including a damehood for Susan Jowett, chief executive of the Spencer Academies Trust, and a knighthood for Steve Lancashire, founder of REAch2, the largest primary academy sponsor in the country. David Collins, the first further education commissioner, receives a knighthood.
About 7% are in health, including 10 MBE awards for nurses. A number of public servants are recognised specifically for their contributions to the Ebola crisis, including a knighthood for Dr Michael Jacobs, clinical lead in infectious diseases at the Royal Free London NHS foundation trust. Dr Timothy Brooks, head of the rare and imported pathogens laboratory at Public Health England, receives a CBE, while Grace Jackson, Sierra Leone programme manager at DfID, receives an OBE.
Receiving Queens Fire Service Medals in 2016 are David Brown, director of operations at the London Fire Brigade; Thomas Capeling, chief fire officer at the Tyne and Wear service; Mark James, chief fire officer at States of Jersey; Simon Routh-Jones, chief fire officer at Wiltshire; and David Walton, assistant chief fire officer at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Police officers are also recognised: 18 officers of all ranks receive the Queen’s Police Medal for distinguished service, including Simon Bailey, chief constable of Norfolk, Simon Byrne, chief constable of Cheshire, Martin Jelley, chief constable of Warwickshire, and Claire Johnston, chief superintendent at the Met.
In the diplomatic service and overseas list, under the Order of St Michael and St George, Simon Fraser, former permanent under secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,receives a GCMG. Malcolm Evans, chair of the UN subcommittee for the prevention of torture, Judith MacGregor, high commissioner of Pretoria, South Africa, and Mark Rogers, permanent representative to the European Union, receive D/KCMGs.
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