Honours System

Honours Committees

Membership

Main Committee

The Main Honours Committee reviews the work of the eight specialist sub-committees and agrees the final list for submission through the Prime Minister to The Queen. The Committee was established following the reviews of the honours system in 2004 by the Public Administration Select Committee and, separately, Sir Hayden Phillips and the government's subsequent Command Paper 'Reform of the Honours System' (Cm 6479), published the following year.

The Main Committee comprises the chairs of the eight specialist sub-committees; the Chief of Defence Staff; the Permanent Secretary, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and another Permanent Secretary. The Committee chair is the Cabinet Secretary who is responsible for the work of the committee and for the submission of the final list to The Queen through the Prime Minister.

The recommendations of the eight specialist committees are reviewed by the Main Committee to ensure balance and consistency.

The individual specialist committees comprise a non-civil service chair and a majority of non-civil service members, all selected after open advertisement. There are also Permanent Secretaries and other officials on the specialist committees, depending on the subject matter.

Specialist Sub-Committees

Arts and Media

• Independent Chair: Lord Rothschild OM GBE, Chairman J Rothschild Group
• Non-civil service members: Jenny Abramsky CBE, Director of Radio and Music for the BBC; John Gross, author and former theatre critic of The Sunday Telegraph; Ben Okri OBE, novelist and poet; Andreas Whittam Smith CBE, journalist and former Editor of the Independent
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Culture, Media and Sport): Jonathan Stephens
• Permanent Secretary (Scottish Executive): Sir John Elvidge KCB

Sport

• Independent Chair: Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth, Chairman of Vodafone Group plc 
• Non-civil service members: Dame Tanni Grey Thompson DBE, multi-Gold Medal winning paralympic athlete; Tony Lewis CBE DL, Former England Cricket Captain and Chair of MCC World Cricket Committee; Ian McGeechan OBE, Director of Rugby at London Wasps; Sir Matthew Pinsent, multi-Gold Medal winning Olympic oarsman; Tessa Sanderson CBE, Olympic Gold Medalist athlete; Sir Bobby Robson CBE, former England and Newcastle United Manager
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Culture, Media and Sport): Jonathan Stephens

Health

• Independent Chair: Dame Carol Black DBE, President Royal College of Physicians 
• Non-civil service members: Professor Sir Netar Mallick, Medical Director of the Advisory Committee on Clinical Excellence Awards and Professor Emeritus in Renal Medicine, University of Manchester Dame Karlene Davis DBE, General Secretary of the Royal College of Midwives; Professor Mansel Aylward CB, Chair Wales Centre for Health; Niall Dickson, Chief Executive of The Kings Fund; Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor CBE, Deputy Chief Executive and Consultant Physician, Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust; Professor Irene Scott, Director of Nursing, Surrey and Sussex NHS Trust; Neil McKay CB, Chief Executive The Leeds Teaching Hospitals
• Permanent Secretary (Department of Health): Hugh Taylor
• Chief Medical Officer (England): Sir Liam Donaldson
• Chief Medical Officer (N.Ireland): Ann Lloyd, Head of Health and Social Services Department - Chief Executive NHS Wales.

Education

• Independent Chair: Dame Alexandra Burslem DBE, Former Vice-Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University
• Non-civil service members: Professor Sir George Bain, President and Vice Chancellor (retired), Queen's University Belfast; John Anderson MBE, Professional Officer, General Teaching Council for Scotland; James Gillard, President of Eastern Region National Association of Head Teachers; Professor; Sir Michael Tomlinson CBE, formerly HM Chief Inspector of Schools; Mary Oliver MBE, Special Educational Needs Officer Conwy and Chair of Mencap National Assembly; Professor Haleh Afshar, Professor of Politics and Centre for Women's Studies, University of York; Ms Sheila Gupta, Director of Human Resources, University of Edinburgh; Professor Graham Shipley, Professor of Ancient History, University of Leicester. 
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Children, Schools and Families): David Bell
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills): Ian Watmore

Science and Technology

• Independent Chair: Lord May of Oxford OM, AC, University of Oxford and Former President of The Royal Society 
• Non- civil service members: Professor Sir Richard Brook OBE, Director of The Leverhulme Trust; Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, Frank Ramsay Professor of Economics, Cambridge University; Professor Dame Julia Higgins DBE, Foreign Secretary and Vice-President of The Royal Society; Sir Rob Margetts CBE, Chairman of Legal and General Group plc; Professor Noreen Murray Geneticist, University of Edinburgh
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform): Sir Brian Bender KCB
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills): Ian Watmore
• Chief Scientific Adviser: Professor John Beddington CMG

The Economy

• Independent Chair: Sir John Collins, Chairman of DSG plc 
• Non-civil service members: Dame Steve Shirley DBE, Life President of Xansa plc; Sir Rob Margetts CBE, Chairman of Legal and General Plc; Rosemarie Harris, farmer, South Wales; Christopher Hyman, Chief Executive, SERCO plc; Peter Chappelow, Portfolio Chairman; David Thomas CBE, former Chief Execiutive of Whitbread plc
• Permanent Secretary (HM Treasury): Nicholas Macpherson
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform): Sir Brian Bender KCB
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Culture, Media and Sport): Jonathan Stephens
• Permanent Secretary (Scottish Executive): Sir John Elvidge KCB 

Community, Voluntary and Local Services

• Independent Chair: Lord Newton of Braintree OBE 
• Non-civil service members: Mohammed Aziz, Director Faithwise Ltd; Sir Jeremy Beecham, former Leader of Newcastle City Council and currently Vice Chairman of The Local Government Association; Stephen Bubb, Chief Executive of ACEVO; Christine Harris DL, Consultant of Community Foundations; Professor Ted Milburn CBE, former Professor of Community Education and Director of the Centre for Youth Work Studies, University of Strathclyde; Elspeth Mitcheson, former Director of Leisure and Heritage, Isle of Anglesey; Richard Temple Cox CBE, former Chairman of The Castle Vale Housing Action Trust; Mary Thomas, Non-Executive Director, Calderstones NHS Trust
• Permanent Secretary (Home Office): Sir David Normington KCB
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Community and Local Government): Peter Housden
• Permanent Secretary (Department for Children, Schools and Families): David Bell
• Permanent Secretary (Ministry of Justice): Sir Suma Chakrabarti KCB
• Permanent Secretary (Northern Ireland Office): Jonathan Phillips

State

• Independent Chair: Sir David Cooksey, Chair of Advent Venture Partners 
• Non-civil service members: Mohammed Aziz, Director Faithwise Ltd; Dame Jessica Rawson DBE, Warden, Merton College Oxford; Sir Michael Tomlinson CBE, formerly Chief Inspector of Schools
• Cabinet Secretary: Sir Gus O'Donnell KCB
• Permanent Secretary (Cabinet Office) : Alex Allan

Coverage

The following gives some indication of the subjects covered by the committees, though it is not an exhaustive list:

Arts and Media

• Architecture
• Creative arts, crafts and design
• Museums and galleries
• Performing arts
• Literature
• Music
• Media

Sport

• Sportsmen and women at national, regional and local level
• Coaches, referees and umpires
• Sports administrators
• Sports volunteers

Health

• Consultants, surgeons, doctors
• Forensic scientists
• Professions allied to medicine
• Medical faculties
• Medical research
• NHS
• Ambulance teams
• Medical voluntary bodies

Education

• Academia
• Learned Societies
• Education committees, authorities and staff
• Education bodies and education and teaching unions
• Higher and Further Education including adult learning
• Head teachers, teachers and school staff
• Early years provision
• Special education
• Careers service
• Business education

Science and Technology

• Research councils
• Royal Society
• Scientific explorers
• Academic and research scientists
• Environmental scientists and astronomers
• Economists
• Engineers
• Mathematicians
• Psychologists and social scientists
• Technologists

Economy

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing and allied professions
• Banking, insurance and finance industries
• Tourism and allied industries
• Manufacturing, engineering and industrial
• Management and retail
• Power industries
• Transport industries and allied bodies and professions
• Communications, publishing and related industries
• Defence and related industries
• Housing, property and related industries
• Representative bodies for industry, commerce, retail
• Regulatory bodies for utilities
• Trades Unions

Community, Voluntary and Local Services

• Law and order
• Local government
• Benefactions
• Community service
• International voluntary bodies and overseas charities
• Voluntary bodies in support of community, national and local services

State

• Home Civil Service
• Devolved Administrations
• Houses of Parliament staff