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Honours Committee
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| Ceremonial Honours and Appointments Secretariat | |
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| Committee overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 2005 (reorganisation) |
| Headquarters | 70 Whitehall, London SW1A 2AS |
| Committee executive |
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| Parent department | Cabinet Office |
The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.[1]
History
[edit]The honours system is an ancient one, particularly in Britain; Æthelstan, King of the English in the 10th century, was knighted by his grandfather, Alfred the Great. Knighthoods were originally conferred as a military honour, often on the battlefield. Later it became customary for only the reigning monarch to bestow the honour.[2] Other honours beyond knighthood were later established, including the Order of the Bath in 1725.[3]
During the 20th century, the "Ceremonial Branch" of the government was created in 1937 with the sole purpose of overseeing the honours system. In 2001, the committee became officially known as the Ceremonial Honours and Appointments Secretariat.[4]
Since 1993, members of the public have been eligible to nominate individuals;[5] government agencies may also formally put forward candidates. All citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations can be nominated. Non-citizens are eligible for honorary awards.[6]
Following his retirement as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office, Sir Hayden Phillips prepared a report in July 2004 to the Cabinet Secretary suggesting a reform of the current honours nomination system. The next year, following recommendations made in Phillips' report, a new system of eight committees was organised, with each committee focussing on a special area. (In 2012, an additional committee was added.)[1] The committees are composed of senior civil servants and independent experts in specific fields.[6] The majority of the honours committees are non-civil servants.[1]
Each subcommittee oversees nominations for its specialised area: Arts and Media; Community, Voluntary and Local Services; Economy; Education; Health; Parliamentary and Political Service; Science and Technology; Sport; and State.[7] The individual committees assess the nominations and pass the nominations to the Main Honours Committee, whose members select the final list of nominations that are passed to the King by the Prime Minister.[6]
Following the Cash for Honours scandal, the Main Honours Committee is required to determine that an individual's nomination for an honour has not been influenced by campaign and political contributions. According to the Cabinet Office's 2011 report, "The Main Honours Committee must satisfy itself that a party political donation has not influenced the decision to award an honour in any way; the committee must be confident that the candidate would have been a meritorious recipient of an honour if he or she had not made a political donation."[8]
The Cabinet's Honours Committee nominates civilians only; military honours, such as the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, are sent to the King by the Honours and Decorations Committee of the Ministry of Defence.[9] The honours committee also does not make nominations for peerages, which are created directly by the monarch.
Committees
[edit](As at 28 October 2025)
Main committee
[edit]- Dame Sarah Healey DCB CVO
- The Cabinet Secretary - delegated attendance to Dame Antonia Romeo DCB
- Chair of Arts and Media Committee: John Booth CVO
- Chair of Community and Voluntary Services Committee: The Rt Hon Nick Hurd
- Chair of Economy Committee: Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia DBE CVO FRSE
- Chair of Education Committee: Sir Hamid Patel CBE
- Chair of Health and Social Care Committee: Dame Jane Dacre DBE
- Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: The Rt Hon. Baroness Winterton of Doncaster DBE PC
- Chair of Public Service Committee: Harris Bokhari OBE
- Chair of Science, Technology and Research Committee: Stephen Kelly
- Chair of Sport Committee: Sir Ron Kalifa OBE
- Chair of State Committee: The Rt Hon. Dame Anne Rafferty DBE KC
- The Permanent Under Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Sir Olly Robbins KCMG CB
- The Chief of the Defence Staff: Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton KCB ADC
Arts and Media
[edit]- Chair: John Booth CVO - Chair, National Gallery & Prince’s Trust (Independent Chair)
Independent members
[edit]- YolanDa Brown OBE DL - Saxophonist, Broadcaster & Chair of BPI
- Ben Evans CBE - Director of the London Design Festival & Executive Director of London Design Biennale
- Sir Richard Mantle OBE DL - Cultural administrator, Chair of The Grange Festival, Chair of In Peace or War & former General Director of Opera North
- George Saumarez Smith - Director of ADAM Architecture
- Dr Samir Shah CBE - Chair, BBC
- Dr Jo Twist OBE - CEO, BPI
- Lisa Opie - Managing Director, Ubisoft Reflections; Chair, ScreenSkills; Chair, Together TV
- Kate Mosse CBE FRSL - Author, Arts Campaigner & Founder, Women’s Prize for Fiction & Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction
Official members
[edit]- Susannah Storey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media & Sport
- Joe Griffin - Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government
Community and Voluntary Services
[edit]- Chair: The Rt Hon Nick Hurd (Independent Chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Rabbi Dr Harvey Belovski- Emeritus Rabbi, Golders Green Synagogue; Chief Strategist and Rabbinic Head, University Jewish Chaplaincy
- Carly Jones MBE - Autism Advocate
- Adeeba Malik CBE DL - Deputy Chief Executive, QED UK
- Daryl Brown MBE DL - Chief Executive, Magpas Air Ambulance
- Melanie Bryan OBE DL - Founder, WhyNotChange
- Dr Wakkas Khan MBE DL - Founder, Young Interfaith; Member, Lancashire Cricket Foundation Inclusion Advisory Board; Former Chair, Prince’s Trust Mosaic North West; Former Trustee, Oxfam GB
- Eddie Lynch MBE - Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group Chair, Abri; Board Member, London Travelwatch; Misconduct Hearings Independent Panel Member, Thames Valley Police
- Ruth Shaw OBE - Independent Consultant, Affleck & Co
- Michelle Mitchell OBE - Chief Executive, Cancer Research UK
- Jane MacLeod LL - Solicitor; Chair, Developing Young Workforce Argyll; Secretary and Treasurer, Mid Argyll Chamber of Commerce
- Dr Stefan Fafinski DL - Trustee, Public Appointee and Deputy Lieutenant for the Royal County of Berkshire
Official members
[edit]- Susannah Storey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Will Garton - Director General, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Dr Andrew Goodall CBE - Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government
Economy
[edit]Independent members
[edit]- Dame Vivian Hunt DBE - Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
- Dr Gerard Lyons - Chief Economic Strategist, Netwealth
- Peter Harrison, Chair Morgan Sindall plc, NED at Lazard Inc and Chair Business in the Community
- Dame Julia Hoggett DBE - CEO, London Stock Exchange
- Steven Cooper CBE - CEO, Aldermore Group; Chair, Experian UK
Official members
[edit]- Gareth Davies CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Business and Trade
- Jeremy Pocklington CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
- Joe Griffin - Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government
- James Bowler CB - Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury
Education
[edit]- Chair: Sir Hamid Patel CBE - Chief Executive, Star Academies (Independent chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Dame Sally Coates DBE - Director of Secondary Education, United Learning
- Dame Sally Dicketts DBE - President, Association of Colleges
- Sir Martyn Oliver, HM Chief Inspector of Education
- Dame Nicola Dandridge DBE
- Dame Janet Beer DBE
- Clive Lawrence OBE - Chief Education Officer at Esteem Multi-Academy Trust
Official members
[edit]- Jayne Brady MBE - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service
- Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
Health and Social Care
[edit]- Chair: Professor Dame Jane Dacre DBE - Professor of Medical Education, University College London and President, Medical Protection Society (Independent chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Dr Henrietta Hughes OBE - lately National Guardian for the NHS
- Dame Til Wykes DBE - Professor of Clinical Psychology and Rehabilitation, King’s College London
- Dame Ruth Beverley DBE - Lately Chief Nursing Officer for England
- Dame Laura Lee DBE - Chief Executive, Maggie’s
- Sir David Pearson CBE - Lately President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
- Wol Kolade CBE - Managing Partner of Livingbridge, lately Deputy Chair of NHS England and lately Chair of the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Foundation
Official members
[edit]- Professor Sir Chris Whitty KCB FRS - Chief Medical Officer (England)
- Samantha Jones OBE – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care
- Judith Paget CBE DL - Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government
Parliamentary and Political Service
[edit]Independent members
[edit]- Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
- Lord Oates
- Professor Stephanie Rickard - Professor of Political Science, London School of Economics
- Craig Stephenson OBE - Trustee, Public Appointee and formerly Director at Welsh Parliament.
Official members
[edit]- The Rt Hon Jonathan Reynolds MP - Government Chief Whip
- Dame Rebecca Harris DBE MP - Opposition Chief Whip
- Wendy Chamberlain CBE - Liberal Democrat Chief Whip
Public Service
[edit]- Chair: Harris Bokhari OBE - Trustee, Natural History Museum, Chair, National Citizen Service Trust (Independent Chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Tariq Shah OBE - CEO, Vigo Group
- Sir David Thompson QPM DL - Former Chief Constable, West Midlands Police
- The Rt. Hon. Lord Young of Old Windsor GCB GCVO PC - Independent senior corporate adviser; House of Lords Finance Select Committee; former Principal Private Secretary to the Sovereign
- Caroline Underwood OBE - Founder & CEO, Philanthropy Company
Official members
[edit]- Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
- Simon Ridley, Second Permanent Secretary, Home Office
- Dr Andrew Goodall CBE – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government
- Will Garton - Director General, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE - Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
Science, Technology and Research
[edit]- Chair: Stephen Kelly - Chair, Tech Nation (Independent chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Professor Sir Keith Burnett, CBE FRS – Chair, Nuffield Foundation & Chair of the Academic Council, Schmidt Science Fellowship, University of Oxford.
- Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE FRS – CEO, UK Research & Innovation
- Professor Dame Muffy Calder DBE FRSE FREng - University of Glasgow
- Stian Westlake - Executive Chair, Economic and Social Research Council
- Professor Sarah Hainsworth OBE FREng - Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Bath
- Professor Dame Julia Black DBE FBA - Warden, Nuffield College & Professor of Law and Regulation, University of Oxford
- Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas - Professor of Innovation Management and Policy & Pro Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast
Official members
[edit]- Professor Dame Angela McLean DBE FRS - Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government & Head, Government Office for Science
- Kamran Nazeer CB OBE - Permanent Secretary, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology
- Professor Jas Pal Badyal FRS - Chief Scientific Advisor for Wales
Sport
[edit]- Chair: Sir Ron Kalifa OBE (Independent Chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Susan Barker CBE - Former television presenter and professional tennis player
- Anthony Hamilton - British racing car manager
- Elena Narozanski - Board member, Football Foundation and Sport England
- Jennie Price CBE - Former CEO of Sport England, Chair, International Tennis Integrity Agency
- Robert Sullivan - CEO, Football Foundation
Official members
[edit]- Susannah Storey CB - Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
- Jayne Brady MBE - Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service
State
[edit]Independent members
[edit]- Pavita Cooper - Portfolio Non-Executive Director and Chair, 30% Club UK
- Martyn Roper OBE - Former Diplomat, lately Governor of the Cayman Islands
- Tony Poulter - Non-Executive Board member, Department for Transport Board; Civil Service Commissioner; Other NED roles
- Margaret Edwards OBE - Former Chair of the Civil Service Pension Board and Civil Service Commissioner.
Official members
[edit]- Dame Sarah Healey DCB CVO - Permanent Secretary, Department, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
- Dame Antonia Romeo DCB - Permanent Secretary, Home Office
Diversity and Outreach Committee
[edit]The Committee will assist the committee process in delivering an honours system which is representative of UK society through a programme of policy improvements and interventions; targeted regional and sectoral outreach and publicity of the honours system; and advice to both the independent committees and Government departments.
- Chair: Moni Mannings OBE - Senior Independent Director & Committee Member (Remuneration and Nomination), The Co-operative Group Limited and Land Securities PLC (Independent Chair)
Independent members
[edit]- Lisa Opie – Managing Director, Ubisoft Reflections; Chair, ScreenSkills; Chair, Together TV (Arts and Media Committee)
- Eddie Lynch MBE – Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Group Chair, Abri; Board Member, London Travelwatch; Misconduct Hearings Independent Panel Member, Thames Valley Police (Community & Voluntary Service Committee)
- Dame Julia Hoggett DBE – CEO, London Stock Exchange (Economy Committee)
- Clive Lawrence OBE – Chief Education Officer at Esteem Multi-Academy Trust (Education Committee)
- Wol Kolade CBE – Managing Partner of Livingbridge, lately Deputy Chair of NHS England and lately Chair of the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation (Health and Social Care Committee)
- Craig Stephenson OBE – Trustee, Public Appointee & formerly Director at Welsh Parliament (Parliamentary and Political Service Committee)
- Caroline Underwood OBE – Founder & CEO, Philanthropy Company (Public Service Committee)
- Professor Nola Hewitt-Dundas – Professor of Innovation Management & Policy and Pro Vice-Chancellor, Queen’s University Belfast (Science, Technology and Research Committee)
- Jennie Price CBE – Former CEO of Sport England, Chair, International Tennis Integrity Agency (Sport Committee)
- Pavita Cooper – Portfolio Non-Executive Director & Chair, 30% Club UK (State Committee)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Honours Committee Post: Background" (PDF). Cabinet Office. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Knighthoods". Official Website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "The Honours System: Second Report of Session 2012–13" (PDF). House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Recognising exceptional achievement or service". Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 14 February 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "The honours nomination process explained". Government of Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Guide to the Honours". BBC. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Honours Committees". Cabinet Office. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Second Report on Operation of the Reformed Honours System (November 2011)" (PDF). Cabinet Office. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
- ^ "Military Honours and Awards". Official Website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
