-
Sponsor department
-
Home Office
-
Body
-
His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
28 April 2023
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced the appointments of Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM as new inspectors of police and fire and rescue services. They will both take up the dual roles of His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary in England and Wales and Inspector of Fire and Rescue in England.
Since May 2017, Mr Freeman has been Chief Constable of Humberside Police. In January 2019, he was asked to support Cleveland Police as interim Chief Constable during a period of crisis. He also served as a police officer at Lincolnshire Police between February 2010 and April 2015, reaching the rank of Assistant Chief Constable. Mr Freeman was awarded the King’s Police Medal in 2023.
Since March 2018, Mrs Skeer has been Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, having joined the force in 1990. She performed a variety of operational roles before moving to the criminal investigation department where she held roles at every rank and led on both public protection and serious crime operations. Mrs Skeer was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2017.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:
I’m pleased to welcome Lee Freeman and Michelle Skeer to these important roles, where they will play a vital part in ensuring that our police forces and fire and rescue services provide the excellent service that the public rightly expects.
On being appointed, Mr Freeman said:
I am delighted to be appointed as an HMI and in joining His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue.
I look forward to working with colleagues across both policing and fire and rescue services in order to ensure the services provided to the public continue to improve.
On being appointed, Mrs Skeer said:
I am delighted to be selected for the role as His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and His Majesty’s Inspector of Fire and Rescue.
I have enjoyed working in policing for 33 years, and I am looking forward to this new challenge with HMICFRS.
Lee Freeman KPM and Michelle Skeer QPM were selected following a stringent recruitment process, conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspectors are then appointed by His Majesty The King on the advice of the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister.
Mr Freeman and Mrs Skeer will take up their duties in August.
-
Sponsor department
-
Home Office
-
Body
-
Disclosure and Barring Service
28 April 2023
Julian Blazeby joined the Disclosure and Barring Service in April 2023 as a board member.
A police officer for 30 years serving in three different forces, Julian was an Assistant Chief Constable in Staffordshire until June 2014. His background includes leading change programmes and chairing multi-agency groups, for example Mental Health Improvement Boards in Staffordshire and Jersey.
Since 2014 Julian has held senior civil service roles with the Ministry of Defence, the Independent Police Complaints Commission and the Government of Jersey. His roles have included advising the Armed Forces on policing matters, overseeing the Hillsborough Investigation and leading the department of Justice and Home Affairs in Jersey. He was also the Government of Jersey’s senior operational lead for emergency planning and during the COVID pandemic the senior responsible and accountable officer overseeing the implementation of the test, track and trace and the vaccination programme.
Julian chairs the People Committee and is a member of the Quality, Finance and Performance Committee.DBS Board Member
Board members are senior figures from outside DBS who bring a mix of expertise and skills from across the public and private sector. They all:
oversee performance
set the strategic direction for the DBS
support and challenge management on implementing the DBS strategic direction
make sure that statutory duties are carried out
DBS board members are appointed following open and fair competition and in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments are for an initial period of 3 years, with the possibility of re-appointment.
28 April 2023
Emir is a Chartered Accountant and a specialist in transformational change. The majority of his career was spent at the Sunday Times as Associate Managing Editor. He now holds a portfolio of Non-Executive directorships.
He is Commissioner for the Judicial Appointments Commission, which selects candidates for judicial office. He is a Magistrate, and a Judge of the Family Court. He is also an Independent Audit Committee member for the Department for Education.
His present portfolio consists of being on the Boards of the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, the Bar Standards Board, British Transport Police Authority, the Honours Committee and as a trustee of The Henry Smith Charity, one of the oldest and largest grant makers in the UK. He is involved in a number of initiatives in the diversity and inclusion arena.
He has held non-executive board member positions with The Serious Fraud Office, Lambeth Clinical Commissioning group, and London Metropolitan University, amongst others.
Emir chairs the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC) and is a member of the Remuneration Committee (Remco).
DBS Board Member
Board members are senior figures from outside DBS who bring a mix of expertise and skills from across the public and private sector. They all:
oversee performance
set the strategic direction for the DBS
support and challenge management on implementing the DBS strategic direction
make sure that statutory duties are carried out
DBS board members are appointed following open and fair competition and in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The appointments are for an initial period of 3 years, with the possibility of re-appointment.