Tag Archives: HM Government

2014 – present Muscat, Her Majesty’s Ambassador 2014 UK Special Envoy for Syria 2012 – 2013 UK Special Envoy to the Syrian opposition 2012 Shrivenham, Higher Command and Staff Course 2010 – 2011 Sana’a, Her Majesty’s Ambassador 2009 – 2010 Baghdad, Deputy Head of Mission 2007 – 2009 Dubai, British Government Arabic Spokesman 2005 – 2007 FCO, Deputy Head, Security Policy Group 2004 – 2005 FCO, Deputy Head (Political), Iraq Group 2003 Baghdad, Deputy Head, British Office 2002 – 2003 Cabinet Office (secondment), Iraq Analyst, Assessments Staff 1999 – 2002 Special Unpaid Leave (Academic Sabbatical) 1996 – 1999 Riyadh, First Secretary (Economic) 1993 – 1996 Khartoum, Second Secretary (Political, Press and Public Affairs) 1991 – 1993 London and Cairo, Full-time Arabic Language training 1990 – 1991 FCO, Assistant Desk Officer Iran, Middle East Department 1989 Joined FCO read more

The Surveillance Camera Commissioner is delighted to announce that a series of half day workshops on compliance with the surveillance camera code of practice will be held this autumn in a number of locations across England and Wales. These free worksh… read more

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark, has appointed Andrea Coscelli as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Dr Coscelli has held the position of Acting CEO since July 2016, taking on the role from the previous incumbent, Alex Chisholm.

The CMA is the UK’s independent competition authority. It has responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law, with the aim of making markets work well for consumers, businesses and the economy.

Dr Coscelli has been an Executive Director at the CMA since 2013. Prior to joining the CMA, Dr Coscelli was the Director of Economic Analysis at Ofcom, the regulatory and competition authority of the telecommunications, postal and broadcasting industries. He was previously a Vice President at Charles River Associates where he represented many different businesses on competition and regulation matters in various European countries.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark said:

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Andrea Coscelli as CEO of the Competition and Markets Authority. Dr Coscelli is a recognised expert in competition and regulation, and commands respect in the business, and regulatory and academic community. I have no doubt he will make good use of his experience to further the CMA’s position as a world-respected regulatory and enforcement body.

I want to congratulate Dr Coscelli on his success in the role of Acting CEO, and I look forward to working closely with him in the coming years.

Andrea Coscelli, Chief Executive Officer of the Competition and Markets Authority, said:

I am honoured to have been chosen to lead the organisation through the next phase of its development. The CMA has a central role to play in helping ensure people get a good deal from businesses. The role of markets is under public scrutiny and we will be actively engaging in that debate. As a core part of our role we will aim to connect right across the UK’s nations and regions to fully understand the challenges different groups of consumers and businesses face, and how we can help them.

We must also help ensure the continuing waves of exciting innovation in products and services fully benefit consumers and growth in the economy. As part of this, we need to ensure we intervene in markets in a timely and effective way, and only when necessary.

The coming years bring significant opportunities and challenges, in particular shaping and resourcing our regime for when the UK exits the EU. We enter this new phase from a strong base, with a skilled staff and well established ways of working.

David Currie, Competition and Markets Authority Chairman, said:

I and the CMA Board are delighted at Andrea’s appointment as Chief Executive. He has been outstanding in his role as Acting CEO over the past year, as the CMA has greatly increased competition and consumer enforcement, and was a key member of the senior team during the organisation’s successful formation. We have every confidence in his leadership as the CMA steps up to the major opportunities and challenges that the next few years will bring.

The CMA has responsibility for:

• investigating mergers which could restrict competition
• conducting market studies and investigations in markets where there may be competition and consumer problems
• investigating where there may be breaches of UK or EU prohibitions against anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions
• bringing criminal proceedings against individuals who commit the cartel offence
• enforcing consumer protection legislation to tackle practices and market conditions that make it difficult for consumers to exercise choice
• co-operating with sector regulators and encouraging them to use their competition powers
• considering regulatory references and appeals.

Its responsibilities are supported by a range of powers which are based on the Enterprise and Regulatory Act 2013.

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At the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) our work covers a huge range of technical areas from biology and chemistry to engineering and analysis.

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Communities Secretary Sajid Javid today (26 July 2017) announced details of the independent Grenfell Recovery Taskforce that will support the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to develop and implement a long term recovery plan following the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Taskforce will provide assurance to the Secretary of State that RBKC has the capacity and capability to deliver an effective long term recovery plan for its residents taking into account their views. The Taskforce members will be:

• Aftab Chughtai, Chair of the West Midlands Police Independent Advisory Group
• Javed Khan, Chief Executive of Barnardo’s
• Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire council
• Chris Wood, partner at Altair housing consultancy, and former director of housing for 3 London boroughs

The Taskforce members have a wealth of experience in local government, housing and the voluntary sector as well as a track record of effectively engaging local communities in key projects. They will support RBKC in helping them rise to the challenge of delivering their recovery plans, working and re-establishing trust with the local community.

Initially the Taskforce has been asked to:

• look at whether RBKC has the proper arrangements in place to engage with the local community on their long-term recovery plans
• ensure that all the immediate housing needs resulting from the fires are fully and promptly addressed by RBKC
• support the council to significantly improve housing management including addressing weaknesses in the tenant management organisation
• make sure the council develops, in partnership with the local community, a plan for the Grenfell Tower site; and ensure that the right leadership and governance arrangements are in place across the council

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said:

I am determined that everything possible is done to support the local community following the disaster. This includes ensuring an effective recovery plan is developed that takes into account the views of the local community. The new Taskforce has extensive experience in this area and will provide the council with the expertise needed to deliver this important work.

Over the next few months there needs to be a managed transition from the Grenfell Response Team, also known as Gold Command, who are dealing with the immediate response, to a council we are confident can deliver the longer term recovery for the community.

The government also believes the remit and composition of the Taskforce might need to develop in response to their assurance reports, and the Secretary of State will take advice from the Taskforce on this.

The Taskforce will be based alongside RBKC in the offices in Kensington and supported by a secretariat in DCLG. Over the next few weeks the Taskforce will meet and agree their priorities. The Secretary of State has asked for an initial report by end of October 2017.

The Taskforce will, over the summer scrutinise RBKC plans to make sure that they are robust and that they have the right resources in place to deal with the challenge of recovery.

The Taskforce will be in place for as long as the Secretary of State considers necessary.

Aftab Chughtai

Aftab Chughtai is chair of the West Midlands Police Independent Advisory Group. Aftab also runs a department store in East Birmingham. He received an MBE honours in this year’s New Year honours list, awarded in recognition of his services to business and community relations in Birmingham.

Javed Khan

Javed Khan is Chief Executive of Barnardo’s which runs 1000 services in local communities and is the fifth largest charity in the UK. As a British Pakistani, he is the first non-white CEO in Barnardo’s 150 year history.

Previously he was CEO at Victim Support and before that Executive Director to the London Serious Youth Violence Board in the Government Office for London. In 2007 he was London Borough of Harrow’s Director of Community and Cultural Services and Director of Education before that. Previously Javed was Assistant Director of Education in Birmingham. He started his career as a Teacher in the West Midlands, is a member of the Advisory Board for the Children’s Commissioner for England and a lay member on a London Clinical Commissioning Group.

Jane Scott OBE

Jane Scott has been Conservative Leader of Wiltshire council since its formation as a unitary council in 2009. As the seventh largest unitary council in the country, Jane has led a major programme of transformation that has focused on building strong communities, protecting those who are most vulnerable and growing the local economy. The council is recognised nationally for its approach to working with communities across Wiltshire; empowering local decision making and service delivery.

Jane is chair of the Wiltshire Health and Wellbeing Board, the Military and Community Integration Programme, the Wiltshire Public Services Board and is a member of the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Economic Partnership. Jane was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to local government. In August 2015, it was announced that Jane was to be created a life peer, giving her a seat in the House of Lords.

Chris Wood

Chris Wood is a partner at Altair housing consultancy. Chris has worked with numerous local authorities and a broad range of public and private sector housing organisations on strategic regeneration planning, asset management and capital programme delivery. Chris has been Director of Housing in 3 London boroughs and CEO of the London Borough of Newham, leading the borough’s contribution to the 2012 Olympic Games and the development of Stratford City. He was the architect of London’s largest estate-based regeneration scheme at Canning Town.

Government support for survivors

The government is committed to doing everything possible to support survivors and the local community following the disaster. This includes providing an emergency £5 million Discretionary Fund for households that lost their homes and working with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to find permanent homes for all these families.

See full details of the government and wider support available.

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