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Governance

Find out how the honours system operates, from the independent committees to the role that the Prime Minister plays.

On this page:

Independent Committees
Main Committee
Arts and Media
Community and Voluntary Services Committee
The Economy
Education
Health
Parliamentary and Political Service
Public Service
Science and Technology
Sport
State
Role of the Prime Minister
Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee)
Advisory Military Sub-Committee

Independent Committees

Honours are recommended by panels of independent experts. There are ten honours committees, and they are made up of independent people who are foremost in their respective fields.

Each honours committee has an independent chairperson and has a majority of members who are also independent. These independent committee members are appointed following an open and fair appointments process and although it is very similar to the public appointments process, they are not public appointees.

Senior civil servants also attend honours committees and are referred to as official members. A representative from 10 Downing Street is invited to attend all committee meetings.

Twice a year, the honours committees meet to review nominations for people involved in specific activities and then send their recommendations to the Main Honours Committee. This Committee is made up of the chairpeople of all ten honours committees as well as an official chairperson who is appointed by the Cabinet Secretary.

The Main Honours Committee agrees on a final list of recommendations which goes to the Prime Minister and then to The King, who awards the honour.

As well as the ten independent committees, there is also a Diversity Committee chaired by Dame Louise Casey and is made up of a representative from each of the honours committees.

Main Committee

Members

  • Sir Chris Wormald KCB
  • The Cabinet Secretary
  • Chair of Arts and Media Committee: John Booth
  • 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 Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE
  • Chair of Public Services 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
  • The Permanent Under Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
  • The Chief of the Defence Staff

Arts and Media

John Booth – Chair, National Gallery and Prince’s Trust (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

  • Sir Peter Bazalgette – Chair, ITV
  • YolanDa Brown OBE DL – Saxophonist, Broadcaster and Chair of BPI
  • Ben Evans CBE – Director of the London Design Festival and Executive Director of London Design Biennale
  • Sir Richard Mantle OBE DL – Cultural administrator, Chair of The Grange Festival, Chair of In Peace or War and former General Director of Opera North
  • George Saumarez Smith – Director of ADAM Architecture
  • Samir Shah CBE – CEO, Juniper
  • 3 x Vacancies

Official members:

  • Susannah Storey – Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • John-Paul Marks CB – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government

Community and Voluntary Services Committee

The Rt Hon Nick Hurd (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

  • Rabbi Dr Harvey Belovski – Emeritus Rabbi, Golders Green Synagogue; Chief Strategist and Rabbinic Head, University Jewish Chaplaincy
  • Harris Bokhari OBE – Trustee, Natural History Museum
  • Carly Jones MBE – Autism Advocate
  • Adeeba Malik CBE – Deputy Chief Executive, QED UK
  • 2 x Vacancies

Official members:

  • Susannah Storey – Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • Sarah Healey CB CVO – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
  • Dr Andrew Goodall CBE – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

The Economy

Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia DBE CVO FRSE – Chair, Snoop (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

  • Sir Douglas Flint CBE – Chairman, Standard Life Aberdeen
  • Dame Vivian Hunt DBE – Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company
  • Dr Gerard Lyons – Chief Economic Strategist, Netwealth
  • Peter Harrison, Group Chief Executive of Schroders plc
  • 2 x Vacancies

Official members:

  • Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
  • Sarah Healey CB CVO – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
  • John-Paul Marks CB – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government
  • 1 x Vacancy

Education

Sir Hamid Patel CBE – Chief Executive, Star Academies (independent chair)

Independent members:

  • Dame Sally Coates DBE – Director of Secondary Education, United Learning
  • Sally Dicketts CBE – President, Association of Colleges
  • Sir Martyn Oliver – Chief Executive Officer, Outwood Grange Academies Trust
  • 2 x Vacancies

Official member:

  • Jayne Brady MBE – Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service
  • Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education

Health and Social Care

Professor Dame Jane Dacre DBE – Professor of Medical Education, University College London and President, Medical Protection Society (independent chair)

Independent members:

  • Sir David Behan CBE – Chair, Health Education England
  • Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz – Chair, Cancer Research UK and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus, University of Cambridge
  • Dr Henrietta Hughes OBE – lately National Guardian for the NHS
  • The Baroness Harding of Winscombe – Chair of NHS Improvement
  • Professor Karen Middleton CBE – Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
  • Professor Iqbal Singh CBE – Chair, Centre of Excellence and Safety for Older People
  • 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

  • Professor Sir Chris Whitty KCB – Chief Medical Officer (England)
  • Shona Dunn – Second Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care
  • Judith Paget CBE – Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government

Parliamentary and Political Service

The Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury CBE – Member, House of Lords (Independent chair)

Independent members:

  • Dr Sue Griffiths – Managing Director, Social Development Direct
  • The Rt Hon The Lord Haselhurst
  • Dame Denise Platt – Member, General Medical Council and Member, Solicitors Regulation Authority
  • Lord McNicol of West Kilbride
  • The  Lord Oates
  • 2 x Vacancy

Official members:

  • The Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP – Government Chief Whip
  • The Rt Hon Stuart Andrew – Opposition Chief Whip

Public Service

Harris Bokhari OBE (Independent Chair)

Independent members:

  • Emir Feisal JP, Trustee, the Henry Smith Charity
  • Alistair Finlay OBE, Faculty Director of Operations, Queen’s University Belfast
  • Maggy Pigott CBE – Lately Joint CEO, Judicial Studies Board
  • 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 – Independent senior corporate adviser; House of Lords Finance Select Committee; former Principal Private Secretary to the Sovereign
  • Caroline Underwood OBE – Founder and CEO, Philanthropy Company

Official members:

  • Susan Acland-Hood – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
  • Matthew Rycroft CBE – Permanent Secretary, Home Office
  • Jeremy Pocklington CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
  • Antonia Romeo – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
  • Dr Andrew Goodall CBE – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

Science, Technology and Research

Stephen Kelly – Chair, Tech Nation (independent chair)

Independent members:

  • Professor Sir Keith Burnett, CBE, FRS – Chair, Nuffield Foundation and Chair of the Academic Council, Schmidt Science Fellowship, University of Oxford.
  • Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser DBE – CEO, UK Research and Innovation
  • Professor Andrew Scott – Professor of Economics, London Business School
  • Professor Lionel Tarassenko CBE FREng – President, Reuben College, University of Oxford
  • 3 x Vacancies

Official members:

  • Dame Angela Mclean – Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
  • Professor Paul Monks, Chief Scientific Adviser, BEIS
  • Dr Alistair Carson, Chief Scientific Adviser, Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

Sport

Sir Ron Kalifa OBE (independent chair)

Independent members:

  • 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:

  • Susannah Storey – Permanent Secretary, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
  • Jayne Brady MBE – Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service

State

The Rt Hon Dame Anne Rafferty DBE (independent chair)

Independent members:

  • Isabel Doverty MA, M.Sc, MCIPD – Civil Service Commissioner
  • Sir David Hempleman-Adams – Chair, Global Resins limited, Founder and Director of Hempleman Investment Company
  • Jenny Rowe CB – Former CEO, Supreme Court
  • Sir John Scarlett KCMG OBE – Chief, Secret Intelligence Service 2004-09
  • 1 x Vacancy

Official members:

  • Tamara Finkelstein CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Sir Chris Wormald KCB

Role of the Prime Minister

Prime Ministers set the strategic direction for each honours list. This means that they can provide a steer to people putting forward nominations and to the independent committee members about the type of recognition they would prefer to see on the honours list. Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has set his strategic priorities for the honours system in 2024.

The Prime Minister would like to see the honours system be properly diverse and reflective of UK society. There should be representation from the length and breadth of the country and all sections of society, reflecting the incredible contributions made across every part of the United Kingdom. The honours system should also seek to reward individuals in all stages of life, young and old.

The Prime Minister would like to see more recipients from underrepresented communities and would like to see further variety in the types of work rewarded. Honours should not be automatic or assumed due to a job or position an individual holds, unless it can be demonstrated that there has been service above and beyond the call of duty.

Honours should be awarded based on merit, regardless of background, for those who give service above and beyond to better the lives of others.

The Prime Minister would like to see the honours system especially recognise:

  • Those working to kickstart economic growth, delivering economic stability, increasing productivity in every part of the country to make everyone better off.
  • Those working to deliver clean and renewable energy, helping fight climate change, and helping the UK accelerate to Net Zero.
  • Those working to prevent and address crime and anti-social behaviour, improving their local communities.
  • Those working to break down barriers to opportunity including: Educators working to increase standards in schools and giving children the best start in life; social enterprises, entrepreneurs and businesses that work to dismantle access barriers; and those working to increase access to arts, music and sport.
  • Health professionals working to improve the NHS, ensuring fewer lives lost to the biggest killers; and those working in mental health services.
  • Those providing an exceptional service to citizens, and setting the highest standards in public life, across the United Kingdom and overseas.

Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (HD Committee)

The Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals (known as the HD Committee) is the policy-making body for the honours system. 

The HD Committee gives advice directly to The Sovereign about possible changes to the honours system and military medals policy, including considering new awards. Its members are senior officials in the Civil Service and the Royal Household.

Membership of the HD Committee:

  • Sir Chris Wormald KCB
  • Principal Private Secretary to HM King
  • Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
  • Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
  • Permanent Secretary of the Home Office
  • Permanent Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
  • Secretary of the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood

The HD Committee aims to meet two to three times per year.

Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC)

The Advisory Military Sub-Committee (AMSC) considers claims for medallic recognition of past military service. It is a sub-committee of the HD Committee.