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15 December 2025
4pm on 12 January 2026
23 January 2026
6 February 2026
Dear Candidate,
Thank you for your interest in the vacancy for Independent Arts and Media Honours Committee Chair.
The honours system recognises those exceptional individuals who have committed themselves to serving and helping the UK and ensures that those who have made an outstanding contribution in their sector, are rewarded.
The following pages provide detailed information about the Committee’s purpose, the nature of its work, this position, and the application process.
Should you have any questions after reviewing the material, you can reach the Cabinet Office Partnerships & Appointments Team at copa.partnerships@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you believe you possess the experience and qualities we are seeking, we look forward to receiving your application.
Yours sincerely,
Sir Chris Wormald KCB
Cabinet Secretary
The Honours committees meet twice a year, in advance of each honours list being published. Your commitment as a committee chair is to attend the meetings, two between January and March for a Birthday honours round, two between September and October for a New Year honours round and two pipe-lining meetings. There is extensive pre-reading for each committee meeting.
As an honours committee Chair, you are asked to:
attend each honours committee meeting whenever possible;
read and develop views on the honours committee papers in advance of the meeting;
play a role in supporting Government departments to build pipelines of possible future nominees in your area of expertise;
act as an ambassador for the honours system in outreach activities, particularly by promoting the honours system through your professional networks.
As chair, we ask you to also:
attend the Main Honours Committee of all the independent chairs to agree recommendations for the whole honours list;
participate in recruitment of new independent committee members as needed;
convene and participate in at least one formal pipelining meeting a year with nominating departments.
Committee Chairs act independently, recommending honours candidates to the Prime Minister and His Majesty The King.
Nominations are assessed case-by-case on their specific merits. This is a high profile area of work, which attracts considerable public and media interest.
Committees are supported by the Honours and Memorialisation Secretariats, which currently consists of approximately 25 team members who are based in the Cabinet Office.
Current committee membership can be found at www.gov.uk/honours.
The Arts and Media Committee is one of ten specialist honours committees which assess honours nominations put forward by members of the public, government departments and professional bodies.
The Committee has to select those it wishes to recommend to the Prime Minister and The King for inclusion in the New Year and Birthday Honours Lists.
The Committee considers candidates for honours in the following areas of service:
Broadcasters, Presenters, Light entertainers, Sports broadcasters, Actors, Directors, Producers and Entertainers.
Authors, Journalists, Writers of all genres, Critics, Playwrights, Poets, Freelance writers, Trade and specialist magazine journalists, editors, Librarians, and Press photographers.
Music composers, Conductors, Musicians, Singers, Instrumentalists, Choir leaders, Dancers, choreographers, Teachers of dance and Administrators in dance.
Architecture, Artists, sculptors, Calligraphers, Fashion designers, Stained glass artists, Potters, Photographers, Designers, Art historians, Craftsmen and women, Curators and Art gallery staff.
Independent Chair:
Independent members:
Official members:
All candidates must demonstrate, in their CV and supporting letter, how they meet the following criteria, through their knowledge, attributes and skills.
Essential Criteria
Significant experience and knowledge of the arts and media sector across all areas, and an understanding of the importance of arts and media to society across the UK;
The credibility and expertise to add to the breadth of experience on the committee, including strengthening diversity of thought and representation from across the United Kingdom;
Excellent judgement, and knowledge of those in the sector they are representing;
Ability to consider all the information presented, identify key issues and make objective and balanced decisions;
A strong intellect and ability to act impartially and with sound judgement.
Experience of committee, board or trustee work
Evidence of collective decision-making and resolving conflict
As Chair, the postholder will be responsible for setting the Committee’s strategy on pipeline development, and would be expected to undertake some promotional and outreach activity.
Desirable Criteria
Ability to command the confidence of other experts across the diverse range of professions and roles across the sector and especially in new or emerging areas in the sector
Be a person of distinction in their own field who is well qualified to judge the relative merits of different candidates for honours
An understanding of the workings of the Honours System
Some public appointments are made by the Prime Minister, or the Crown on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Others are made by Secretaries of State or other ministers and are of interest to the Prime Minister.
Public appointments made by or of interest to the Prime Minister
In order to apply you will need to create an account or sign in.
Once you are logged into your account, click on 'apply for this role' and follow the on-screen instructions To apply, all candidates are required to provide:
We will ask you to check and confirm your personal details to ensure your application is accurate.
You will also have the opportunity to make a reasonable adjustment request or apply under the disability confident scheme before you submit your application.
The Advisory Assessment Panel reserves the right to only consider applications that contain all of the elements listed above, and that arrive before the published deadline for applications.
Honours Committee roles are not public appointments and therefore not regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. However, we remain committed to ensuring that these appointments are made on merit following a fair and open competition process. The honours committee appointment process can be lengthy. However, we aim to conclude the appointment process within three months of the deadline for applications.
The assessment process for an honours committee appointment
Honours committee appointments are made by His Majesty the King on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet Secretary.
An Advisory Assessment Panel (“Panel”) is appointed by the Cabinet Secretary to assist them in their decision making. The role of the Panel is to decide, objectively, which candidates meet the eligibility criteria for the role.
At the shortlisting meeting the Panel will assess applications against the eligibility criteria and decide which candidates should be recommended for interview. The Cabinet Secretary will then be consulted on the Panel’s recommended shortlist.
Once the shortlist has been agreed by the Cabinet Secretary, you will be advised (by e-mail) whether you have been shortlisted. Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview in London or virtually.
The Panel will meet again to interview candidates and determine who is appointable to the role. The names of all appointable candidates are provided to the Cabinet Secretary. It is then for the Cabinet Secretary to determine merit and decide who should be appointed. In some circumstances, he may choose not to appoint any candidates and re-run the competition.
The Panel’s recommendations will be provided to the Cabinet Secretary in a report which details the assessment method used and the outcome of each interview. They will then be asked to agree on the candidate(s) who should be appointed.
The Cabinet Secretary’s recommendations will be shared with the Prime Minister who, following the appointments process, makes the final recommendation to His Majesty the King.
Once the decision on the appointment has been made, interviewed candidates will be advised of the outcome of their application. Successful candidates will be issued with their Terms & Conditions and a letter of appointment should they agree to take up the position.
If your application is unsuccessful and you would like feedback, please let the Cabinet Office Partnerships and Appointments Team know. We regret that we are only able to offer feedback to candidates who have been unsuccessful at the interview stage.
Candidates should be aware that due diligence will be carried out in candidates shortlisted for interview. This will include searches of previous public statements and social media, blogs or any other publicly available information.
Further information about appointments, including tips on applying, can be found on our guidance pages on gov.uk.
The Advisory Assessment Panel will consist of:
Chair: Dame Sarah Healey DCB CVO (Chair Main Honours Committee)
Departmental Representative: Susannah Storey CB (Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Independent Panel Member: TBC
In general, you should have the right to work in the UK to be eligible to apply for a public appointment.
There are a small number of specialist roles that are not open to non-British citizens. Any nationality requirements will be specified in the vacancy details.
The Government expects all holders of public office to work to the highest personal and professional standards.
You cannot be considered for an honours committee appointment if:
you are a current civil servant;
you become bankrupt or make an arrangement with creditors;
your estate has been sequestrated in Scotland or you enter into a debt arrangement programme under Part 1 of the Debt Arrangement and Attachment (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 17) as the debtor or have, under Scots law, granted a trust deed for creditors;
you are disqualified from acting as a company director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986;
you have been convicted of a criminal offence, the conviction not being spent for the purposes of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (c. 53);
you become subject to a debt relief order or a bankruptcy restrictions order;
you fail to declare any conflict of interest.
When you apply, you should declare if:
you are, or have been, bankrupt or you have made an arrangement with a creditor at any point, including the dates of this.
you are subject to a current police investigation.
You must inform the sponsor department if, during the application process, your circumstances change in respect of any of the above points.
When you apply you should also declare any relevant interests, highlighting any that you think may call into question your ability to properly discharge the responsibilities of the role you are applying for. You should also declare any other matters which may mean you may not be able to meet the requirements of the Code of Conduct of Board Members (see Outside interests and reputational issues section below)