Written Statement: Appointment of Independent Chairs for Continuing NHS Healthcare Review Panels

I am delighted to announce the appointment of 5 Independent Chairs for Continuing NHS Healthcare (CHC) review Panels. This follows an open public appointment process in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

These Chairs have a vital role in ensuring eligibility decisions for CHC remain robust and fair, both to reassure claimants of a fair and open review and to monitor the effective use of public funds.

I am delighted to announce that the new Chairs will be James Crowe, Richard Edwards, Colin Jones, Arun Midha and Deep Sagar. All bring with them a wealth of experience and knowledge. Their appointments will run from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2023. They will be paid £337 per day based on a time commitment of 30 days per year.

I am extremely grateful for the work of the previous Chairs, David Simpson, Philip Hodgson, David Lewis, Susan Parsons, Enid Rowlands and Judith Hill, who were appointed in 2011 and completed their terms on 30 April this year. Between them they successfully scrutinised a considerable number of hearings. Their contribution and commitment to their roles have been outstanding and required exemplary leadership, in what can be sensitive, challenging and highly complex matters. I am sure the new Chairs will build on the foundations they helped create to make a real contribution to ensuring that CHC continues to improve and deliver a good quality of life for people.

I would also like to thank the outgoing CHC National Retrospective Project team, headed by Kathleen Gallagher. In addition to their invaluable efforts in managing the considerable workload around retrospective claims over the last 9 years, they have supported my officials in this appointments exercise and will oversee the training of those new chairs in their duties.

Finally I would like to thank all candidates who applied for these posts. The pool of applicants was very strong with a diverse range of interests and strengths.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for the political activity of appointees (if any declared) to be published. No political activity has been declared by any of the appointed members.

Details for the new Chairs are as follows:

James Crowe

James is the current President of the European Association of Service Providers, which aims to influence policy and practice across Europe. It has over 130 direct members and represents over 15,000 organisations across 33 European countries. He had previously served eight years as a member of its Board and as Vice President.

He is a former Director of Learning Disability Wales, the umbrella alliance of 80 member organisations which support children and adults with a learning disability. In addition he was a Project Leader for the United Nations Development Programme in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

• James is Chair of Fitness to Practice Committees within Social Care Wales (remunerated at £250 a day).

Richard Edwards

Richard is a director of Excel Educational and Child Psychology Services, specialising in consultancy and assessment for over 6 years. Before this he was Principal Educational and Child Psychologist in Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil Educational and Child Psychology Service. Richard has worked as an educational psychologist since 2003.

He was a lecturer, professional tutor and researcher at Swansea University. He specialised in teacher training and Early Childhood Studies. Richard also studied Medicine at Swansea University. A Health and Care Professions Council registered Practitioner Psychologist, a Chartered Educational Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Richard is also a member of the Welsh Government’s Dyslexia Benchmarking Research Group.

• Richard holds no other Ministerial Appointments

Professor Colin Jones OBE

Colin has previously been an Independent Chair. His working life has been devoted to public service in Wales and in England. He has a wealth of experience in the public sector (primarily in Health and Local Government).

Colin was a civil servant at the Department of Health from 1961 until his move to the Welsh Office where he served at senior civil servant level from 1976 to 2001. He then served as the founding Chief Executive of the Welsh Local Government Association from 1996 to 2001.

Following his retirement in 2001 he has served as Chairman of Bridgend Local Health Board between 2002 to 2008; as a Member and then Chairman of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf’s Wales Advisory Group from 2001 to 2010; as a Trustee of the National Museum of Wales (and Chairman if its Pension Fund) from 2001 to 2009 and as a non executive director of the Planning Inspectorate from 2008 until it was disbanded in 2012.

• Colin holds no other Ministerial Appointments

Dr. Arun Midha

Arun has previously been an Independent Chair. He holds a similar Independent Chair of Retrospective Continuing Healthcare reviews in NHS England. He has built a portfolio of non-executive and lay member roles in the fields of regulation, standards, governance, health and education.

Previous roles have included lay member of the General Medical Council where he was Chair of Resources and member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. Arun has served as a Justice of the Peace and was also High Sheriff of South Glamorgan in 2012.

He is a Governor of Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and an Assessor of the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Further and Higher Education.

Arun presently holds the following ministerial public appointments and remunerations:

• Lay Member, Committee on Standards, House of Commons: (£10,000 pa).
• Lay Member, General Pharmaceutical Council): (£12,500 pa).
• Member, Qualifications Wales: (£8,000 pa).

Deep Sagar

Deep Sagar worked in private sector business until 2007. He was general manager or marketing director in companies like Coca-Cola internationally. Since then he has held non-executive roles in the public sector. He has been chair of Flood Risk Management Wales and of the Wales Audit Office shadow board.

Presently his roles include being chair of audit and risk at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and chair of South Eastern Heath and Social Care Trust.

Deep presently holds the following ministerial public appointments and renumerations:

• Board Member, CAFCASS (£287/day)
• Board Member, Warrenpoint Harbour Authority (£7,411pa)
• Chair, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (£30,618pa).