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Chair Of Food Policy Council Announced

   

NEWS RELEASE

Ref: 353/08
Date: 6 November 2008

Dame Suzi Leather has been asked by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn, to chair the Council of Food Policy Advisers.

Hilary Benn said:

“I’m delighted to be able to appoint Suzi Leather as the Chair of the Council of Food Policy Advisers.

“Suzi Leather has a long interest in food policy and brings with her a wealth of experience of leading high profile public bodies such as the Food Standards Agency and the School Food Trust.

“I am setting up the Council for two years, with a review after 18 months to see if a more permanent body is needed. I want it to focus on the practical policies needed to maintain UK and global food security and the long term sustainability of the food chain, following on from the recommendations on food made by the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit Report.”

Accepting the appointment, Dame Suzi said:

“I am pleased to accept this role on the new Food Policy Council. Advising Government on the core task - making our food system fit for the planet and for our own health - is profoundly important."

Dame Suzi Leather’s position as Chair of the Council of Food Policy Advisers will be unpaid, and her role as Chair of the Charity Commission remains unaffected.

Hilary Benn also published the appointment process and selection criteria for members of the Council on the Defra website today. Members will be selected on merit based on the criteria set out and the balance of expertise across the Council.

Hilary Benn added:

“We are looking for people who have a real interest in food and public policy, and who can offer knowledge, expertise or experience of farming and the food chain, the role of science, or of the impacts of food consumption and production on health, the environment or the economy.”

Notes to editors

1.         Dame Suzi Leather has been Chair of the Charity Commission, regulator of the 190,000 charities in England and Wales since August 2006. Prior to this the majority of her career has been spent in the consumer movement, working at regional, national and European levels. She was Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and the School Food Trust. She was the first Deputy Chair of the Food Standards Agency and is currently a Board Member of Consumer Focus and the UK Accreditation Service and a Council Member of Exeter University.  Her academic background is in politics, social work and probation. Her particular interests include food policy, nutrition and poverty, the needs of low-income consumers and the impact of European policies on UK consumers.

2.         As the Council is a short term advisory body that is anticipated to exist for fewer than 24 months, there are no formal requirements for the appointments process.  If, when the Council is reviewed after 18 months, it is decided that a more permanent body is required, a formal appointments process will be followed. Defra today announced an open process inviting expressions of interests from people who would like to be considered for membership.

3.         The Council of Food Policy Advisers has been set up to:

                • Provide advice on how to achieve sustainable production, distribution and consumption of food, ensuring that it is available and affordable for all sectors of society;
                • Consider the effects of global trends on the above;
                • Advise the Secretary of State on how to achieve the four objectives for food policy set out in the Strategy Unit’s report Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century; and
                • Make practical policy recommendations.

4. For more details on the appointment process and selection criteria go to www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/policy/council/

End

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Page published: 6 November 2008