PRESS RELEASE : Doug Chalmers appointed as chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Cabinet Office on 13 December 2023.

Doug Chalmers has been appointed as chair of the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life.

Lieutenant General (Retired) Doug Chalmers CB DSO OBE has been appointed as Chair of the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) following pre-appointment scrutiny by the House of Commons’ Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

He takes over from Lord (Jonathan) Evans who completed a five-year term.

Doug began his career in the British Army in 1984 as a Private Soldier. He served in the Army for 37 years.  Over that time, he was stationed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus and the United States, deploying frequently on operations. His final appointment was as the Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (Military Strategy and Operations), an office he held from 2018 to 2021. He is currently the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge and sits on the management board for the University’s Centre for Geopolitics. He is also the Colonel Commandant of the British Army’s Queen’s Division.

Doug Chalmers said:

“I am honoured to be appointed as the new Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public life. Over its nearly 29 years the Committee has an established a strong reputation for providing considered and well researched advice to the Prime Minister on how the standards landscape across public life might evolve. That advice has helped establish many of the standards bodies we see today.

“My time in uniformed service taught me the importance of standards in ensuring sound judgement, behaviour and the building of both trust and confidence. Those years also demonstrated to me that maintaining standards requires active leadership. They also highlighted to me that and that what we mean by standards needs to be constantly discussed and the mechanisms that support them regularly reviewed.

“My current role at Emmanuel College has given me a wider understanding of excellent academic research available in this area. It has provided me with a feel for the perceptions of the next generation about what standards in public life mean to them.

“I will do my best to sustain the quality of the Committee’s work promoting the Nolan Principles across all sectors of public life and look forward to working with the members as we consider the next area for review.”

Doug Chalmers was appointed by the Prime Minister following an open competition under the Cabinet Office Governance Code for Public Appointments. His appointment is for a five-year, non-renewable term and he will take up the role from 12 December.

Notes to Editors

1. Interview requests and media enquiries about the work of the Committee should go to Maggie O’Boyle on 07880 740627.
2. The independent Committee on Standards in Public Life was established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It advises the Prime Minister on arrangements for upholding ethical standards of conduct across public life in England and promotes the Seven Principles of Public Life, also known as the Nolan principles. The Committee does not investigate individual allegations of misconduct.
3. The current members of the Committee are: Lieutenant General (Retired) Doug Chalmers CB DSO OBE (Chair) Rt Hon Lady Mary Arden DBE, Rt Hon Dame Margaret Beckett DBE MP (Labour), Rt Hon Ian Blackford MP (SNP) Ewen Fergusson, Baroness Simone Finn (Conservative) and Professor Gillian Peele. The Cabinet Office is completing an open competition to fill the vacancy for an independent member on the Committee.