Sandra Dinneen, Paul Farmer, Patrick Newberry, Susie Thornberry, and Richard Upton have been appointed as Commissioners of Historic England from 1 January 2018 until 31 December 2021.

The Commission is the governing body of Historic England and has overall responsibility for the National Heritage Collection, which is managed by the English Heritage Trust on its behalf.

Sandra Dinneen

Sandra has a background in Economic Development and has been Chief Executive of South Norfolk Council since 2008, where she has driven a commercial focus throughout the organisation. She is currently Managing Director of Big Sky, a Property Development and Management Company, and Build Insight Consultancy Services, a Building Regulations Consultancy. Sandra also has a keen interest in Education and inclusion and is a Trustee of a Multi Academy Trust and Governor of a FE College. She has a keen interest in Historic Buildings, in particular their role in, and relationship with, economic growth, education and inclusion.

Paul Farmer

Paul is Chief Executive of Mind, the leading mental health charity. He is Chair of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), and a trustee at Lloyds Bank Foundation which invests in charities supporting people to break out of disadvantage at critical points in their lives. Paul was Chair of the NHS England Mental Health Taskforce which created the current mental health Five Year Forward View for the NHS in England, and he co-authored ‘Thriving at Work’ for the government, setting out how to transform mental health in work places. Paul has an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of East London, is an Honorary Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford, and The Royal College of Psychiatrists, and was awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours 2016.

Patrick Newberry

Patrick holds a number of non executive directorships in the financial and professional services sectors, sitting on or chairing a number of audit and risk committees. He was a partner in PwC for 25 years, working in the financial sector in the UK, USA and Continental Europe also serving as a member of PwC’s Supervisory Board, Chair of the Strategy, Governance & International Sub-Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. He was also a Board member and former President (2010-2011) of the Management Consultancies Association. In the not for profit sector, Patrick is a Governor of The Cornwall College Group and Vice Chairman of the Cornish Buildings Group and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Susie Thornberry

Susie is Assistant Director at Imperial War Museums where she leads public engagement for adults, young people, schools, and families across the five museums. Her extensive experience in arts, museums, and heritage includes roles with Historic Royal Palaces, Artichoke, and Battersea Arts Centre. In 2016, she was producer of London’s Burning, a festival to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, including London 1666 a 120-metre-long sculpture created by hundreds of young Londoners which was spectacularly set alight on the River Thames.

Richard Upton

Richard was the founder of the specialist regeneration property developer, Cathedral Group and was previously a co-founding Director of Mount Anvil. He has extensive experience in the field of complex regeneration projects through the UK. He was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive of U+I Plc in July 2015. Richard has served as a member of Historic England’s London Advisory Committee since 2012 and has campaigned extensively for sustainable restoration of heritage buildings, including the campaign to save Smithfield Market which he successfully fought and funded; the historic market buildings will now house the new Museum of London.

Commissioners of Historic England are remunerated £4113.00 per annum.

These appointments have been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Under the Code, any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years must be declared. This is defined as including holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation, or candidature for election.

Sandra Dinneen, Paul Farmer, Patrick Newberry, Susie Thornberry and Richard Upton have declared no such political activity.

UK Government Minister Guto Bebb, Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns and Lord Bourne will host MPs from across North Wales today to discuss progress on the North Wales Growth Deal.

The Growth Deal sets out a vision for the region with the aims of creating 5,300 jobs and attracting private sector investment to the value of £1bn in the region over the next 15 years.

Plans have been supported by the region’s six council leaders and chief executives, and today’s meeting at Gwydyr House in London is an opportunity for the project team to present their proposals to the North Wales MPs.

Minister for Northern Powerhouse, Jake Berry, will also be in attendance as the plans align to the Northern Powerhouse agenda, drawing upon the region’s economic links to the North West of England.

The deal aims to:

• build on the strengths of the region in the low carbon, advanced manufacturing and digital sectors
• promote business growth in the form of Regional Business and Smart Technology and Innovation hubs
• create 5,000 new jobs

Speaking ahead of the roundtable, Guto Bebb said:

A North Wales growth deal will revolutionise the way our towns and villages in North-Wales govern themselves – shifting powers down from London and Cardiff to local leaders who are better placed to take decisions that affect their communities.

The Northern Powerhouse, coupled with a growth deal represents our best chance to bring transformational change to North Wales. The region is perfectly positioned to benefit from the Northern Powerhouse. Its export base and reputation for big energy projects makes it a perfect partner for closer collaboration to expand the economy of North.

With the launch of the Industrial Strategy last month there has never been a better time for businesses and local authorities to seize the opportunity to come together. UK Government is here to support and work with companies and groups on the ground as they develop a bespoke deal that works for the whole of North-Wales.

The Regulator of Social Housing reports that Suffolk Housing Society Limited’s grading is currently under review.

The regulator notifies that a provider’s grading is under review when its compliant grade (G1 and G2 for governance, V1 or V2 for viability) is being investigated in relation to an issue which may result in a downgrade to a non-compliant grade (G3 or G4 for governance, V3 or V4 for viability). The outcome of the investigation will be confirmed in an updated regulatory judgement once completed.

Suffolk Housing Society Limited’s current grade is G1/V1 and the regulator is currently investigating a matter which may impact on Suffolk’s compliance with the governance element of the Governance and Viability Standard.

The GUR list is available on the website.

The regulatory framework can also be found on the website.

The Homes and Communities Agency is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England, and is the regulator of social housing providers. As regulator, its purpose is to promote a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver homes that meet a range of needs. It will do this by undertaking robust economic regulation, as enshrined in legislation, focusing on governance, financial viability and value for money that maintains lender confidence and protects the taxpayer.

For more information visit the HCA website or follow us on Twitter.

Our media enquiries page has contact details for journalists.

For general queries to the HCA, please email mail@homesandcommunities.co.uk or call 0300 1234 500.

Military Aviation Authority in collaboration with Civilian Aviation Authority and British Air Display Association delivered post-season air display symposium.

The government has announced today [11 December 2017] that 90% of councils are now part of a programme that will create 44,000 new jobs and release land for 25,000 new homes.

As part of today’s funding announcement, 56 council-led partnerships will receive £8.7 million funding to improve public services, stimulate economic growth and free up land for thousands of new homes.

The new funding has been allocated from the One Public Estate (OPE) programme, a partnership between the Cabinet Office and the Local Government Association.

This initiative gives partnerships the support and funding to help them to use publicly-owned land and buildings more efficiently, benefiting communities across the country.

One Public Estate is giving local authorities – and their public sector partners – access to £8.7 million of funding as well as practical support and expertise, to help them develop and deliver ambitious property programmes to benefit their communities. Launched in 2013, the programme has grown from 12 areas to support over 90% of councils with the new projects announced today.

By 2020, partnerships on the programme are expected to deliver £615 million in capital receipts, £158 million running costs savings, create 44,000 new jobs and release land for 25,000 new homes.

Caroline Nokes, the Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency, said:

When I launched this application round in August I hoped that new funding and the obvious benefits of the programme would grab the attention of councils and boost the numbers getting involved. I’m delighted to see that we now have over 90% of councils on board, up from around three quarters previously. People in many more communities will feel the benefits of new housing, better public services and efficiencies as a result.

Cllr Nick Forbes, Senior Vice Chair of the LGA, said:

Councils play a crucial role in their communities. With the right funding and support they can help transform them and ensure that they are enjoyable and prosperous places to live. One Public Estate is a good example of providing coordinated backing for councils and I am glad that so many of them are taking part in this important initiative. I look forward to this programme’s results.