Ciara Eastell OBE is Chief Executive of Libraries Unlimited, a nationally renowned charity and social enterprise trialling new and innovative models for delivering modern library services. A Chartered Librarian for over 20 years, Ciara led the establishment of Libraries Unlimited and has continued to drive the organisation forward over the past two years, gaining National Portfolio Organisation status from Arts Council England, expanding the organisation’s geographical reach, developing new digital-making services through its growing network of FabLabs and securing more than £1 million in additional funding to improve and enhance library services.

Her extensive experience in public libraries has seen roles in a number of library services across England over the past 20 years, including Nottinghamshire, Gateshead, Cambridgeshire, Somerset and Devon, where she was Head of Libraries, Culture and Heritage for Devon County Council and lead the library service for almost eight years.

Ciara was President of the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) from 2014 – 2016; was an inaugural member of the national Libraries Taskforce and is a member of the British Library’s Advisory Council. Ciara was amongst the first cohort of Fellows to take part in the Clore Leadership Programme in 2005. She was awarded an OBE in the New Year’s Honours in 2017 for services to libraries.

The role is not remunerated. This appointment has 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. Ciara has declared no such political activity.

Cynthia Polemis

Cynthia Polemis has had a longstanding career in broadcasting as a presenter for the BBC World Service coupled with development and fundraising work in the independent theatre sector. Over the past ten years she has also been involved with the setting up of five of London’s leading independent cafe/wine bars [Fernandez and Wells] as well as completing a Masters degree in History of Art at Birkbeck College, London University, in which she focussed on French 18th century portrayals of home and food. She is an official art guide at Tate Modern and Tate Britain and also undertakes independent bespoke art tours in galleries and museums throughout London. She is on the board of the independent touring theatre company, Paines Plough which promotes new writing and acting talent.

Alexandra Robson

Alexandra Morris Robson is founder and CEO of Augustine Jewels. She was previously a Partner at Accenture where she specialised in Sales and Marketing Strategy. She was Global Head of CRM for Consumer Goods Clients and has a BA from Cambridge University and an MA from Stanford University.

Edwina Sassoon

Edwina Sassoon has had a career in the visual arts, working with museums and galleries. In 1990 she established her own consultancy advising both sides of the arts and business partnership. She is currently Director and Member of the Garden Project Board at The Hepworth Wakefield and Trustee of the Royal Society of Sculptors. In 2010 Edwina was awarded the Victoria & Albert Museum “Knowledge and Inspiration” Medal.

The roles are not remunerated. These reappointments 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. Cynthia and Edwina have declared no such political activity. Alexandra has highlighted that she is a member of the Conservative Party and has made donations and canvassed in the last 5 years.

Andrew Burnett

Andrew retired after 11 years as Deputy Director of the British Museum in 2013, having previously been Head of its Coins and Medals Department from 1992-2002. He has a particular interest in the coinage and history of the Roman Republic and Empire. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, and an Honorary Professor at University College London, as well as a past President of the Roman Society and the current President of the Royal Numismatic Society. He is Chair of the Trustees of the Royal Mint Museum. That is an unremunerated role, but not a ministerial appointment.

Anne Curry

Professor of Medieval History at the University of Southampton. She was President of the Historical Association (2008-11) and has also been a Vice President of the Royal Historical Society (2006-9). Chair of the Agincourt 600 Trustees and heavily involved in the commemorations of 2015, Anne is also Deputy Chair of the Battlefields Trust and a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fletchers. She has published extensively on medieval armies and battles, and co-runs a medieval soldier database, as well as an online project on English-held Aquitaine www.gasconrolls.org.

Chris Mayer

From 2004-08 Chris was NW Regional Director for HM Courts Service, and then Chief Executive for HMCS until 2010. In 2011/12 she also worked for the Slynn Foundation as an adviser to the Serbian Government and Senior Judiciary, and in 2012/13 she worked for G4s as a consultant. Since 2012 she has additionally been involved in leadership development with Fiona MacNeill Associates. She is the Non Executive Director of Pennine Acute Hospital Trust and in 2017 was appointed Non- Executive Director of Salford Royal Foundation Trust.

These roles are not remunerated. These reappointments 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. Anne and Andrew have declared no such political activity. Chris has declared that she is a member of the labour Party. She has not donated (other than membership fees) or carried out political canvassing.

Today, the first digital mortgage deed was entered into the Land Register. Part of the ‘Sign your mortgage deed’ service, HM Land Registry is building for a future without the need for a witness to watch as the homeowner applies an ink signature to a paper mortgage deed, saving time and providing a more secure service to homeowners, lenders and conveyancers.

The registration forms part of HM Land Registry’s plans to transform the conveyancing market through quicker and simpler digital services and improved use of technology, making transactions instantaneous where possible and simplifying the home buying process. The registration of the deed follows months of collaboration and testing with Coventry Building Society and Enact Conveyancing and uses GOV.UK Verify to enable borrowers to securely verify their identity before digitally signing their mortgage deed online.

HM Land Registry Chief Executive and Chief Land Registrar Graham Farrant said:

By working with partners in the industry, we have secured a simpler and faster service for the benefit of home owners. We are looking forward to rolling this out nationally and will be working with more conveyancers and lenders to do so.

Peter Frost, Chief Operating Officer at Coventry Building Society said:

We’re delighted to have worked with HM Land Registry and Enact Conveyancing on this industry leading initiative to speed up property transactions. Initial feedback has been very positive, with customers finding the process simple, quick and secure. Although this initiative has started with re-mortgages we’re excited about the potential for it to be extended to purchases in the future.

Ben Carroll, Enact Conveyancing’s Managing Director said:

We emphasise innovation that benefits our customers and improves their experience, so we are extremely pleased to join HM Land Registry and Coventry Building Society on this pioneering effort to transform the conveyancing process. This fully-digitised journey will mean that a customer can sign their mortgage deed online at a time and place of their choosing, securely underpinned by the GOV.UK Verify platform.

Notes to editors

1. Using the ‘Sign your mortgage deed’ service will mean the borrower will no longer need to apply pen to paper and will instead digitally sign their deed online.
2. Borrowers will save time as they won’t have to get their signatures witnessed or risk their documents being lost in the post. They will be able to log in and sign their deed at any time, meaning their application is more likely to move along more quickly.
3. Borrowers using the service will confirm their identity using GOV.UK Verify.
4. HM Land Registry safeguards land and property ownership worth in excess of £4 trillion, including around £1 trillion of mortgages. The Land Register contains more than 25 million titles showing evidence of ownership for more than 85% of the land mass of England and Wales.
5. HM Land Registry’s mission is to guarantee and protect property rights in England and Wales. HM Land Registry is a government department created in 1862. It operates as an executive agency and a trading fund and its running costs are covered by the fees paid by the users of its services. Its ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
6. For further information about HM Land Registry visit gov.uk/land-registry.
7. Follow us on: Twitter @HMLandRegistry, our blog, LinkedIn and Facebook.
8. Enact Conveyancing is the UK’s largest direct conveyancing firm providing remortgage and home mover services to the mortgage industry and individual consumers.
9. Coventry Building Society is the UK’s second largest building society and a top ten provider of savings and mortgages with over 1.8 million members.

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The Second Severn Crossing will be renamed The Prince of Wales Bridge at a special ceremony later this year, Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns announced today (5 April).

The renaming of the Second Severn Crossing, opened by Prince Charles in 1996, will mark The Prince of Wales’ 70th birthday year, and will also mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen ‘creating’ him The Prince of Wales at the closing ceremony of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958. The Prince was nine-years-old.

Now known as the Commonwealth Games, this year’s competition was officially opened by The Prince of Wales on behalf of The Queen on the Gold Coast, Australia earlier today.

The announcement was confirmed by the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns who also confirmed that the renaming would be marked in a special ceremony attended by The Prince in Wales later this year.

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said:

I’m delighted to announce that – with the agreement of the Prime Minister and Her Majesty The Queen – the Second Severn Crossing will be renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge.

The announcement is a fitting tribute to His Royal Highness in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation.

Renaming one of the most iconic landmarks in Wales is a fitting way to formally recognise his commitment and dedication to Wales and the UK as the Prince of Wales.

We look forward to marking the occasion at a special event later this year when the new Prince of Wales Bridge and its sister bridge will be seen as positive symbols of a newly invigorated economic and social partnership between south Wales and south west England, and the strength of the United Kingdom.

The announcement comes in the year that the tolls to use the Severn Crossings will be abolished by the UK Government.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Lower charges on the Severn bridges have already saved drivers more than £3 million – helping boost the economy in Wales and the South West. This is a great way to usher in a new era for this iconic crossing.

When the tolls are removed by the end of this year, more people will be able to take advantage of even more new job and business opportunities on both sides of the Prince of Wales bridge.

Tens of millions of motorists a year are set to benefit, saving them money and cutting journey times. Car drivers who use the crossing every day will save a minimum of £115 a month and businesses across the area will see a further benefit by seeing an end to the £16 charge for lorries. The south Wales economy alone is set to receive a boost of around £100 million a year.

Doing so will also drive the biggest economic stimulus Wales has seen in decades and create the most natural economic growth corridor spanning Cardiff through Newport to Bristol highlighted in the recently published Industrial Strategy.