12 January 2007 - Appointment of new Non-Executive Chair for Remploy Ltd

Ian Russell CBE has been appointed as the Non-Executive Chair of Remploy, the UK's leading provider of employment opportunities for disabled people. Mr Russell will take up his post immediately.

Announcing the appointment John Hutton, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:

“I am delighted that Ian Russell has agreed to the appointment at this crucial time in Remploy’s history. Ian will bring a wealth of experience to the Company, in terms of his successful career in business and a personal commitment to help disabled people find work. He will play an important role in agreeing proposals for a five-year strategy for the Company with Ministers and leading the Company through its implementation”.

Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, said:

“I am very pleased that we have been able to attract someone of Ian’s calibre to lead the Company and would also like to offer my thanks to Alan Pedder, Remploy’s retiring Chairman for his service to Remploy over the past seven years”.

Notes for Editors

1. Remploy Ltd is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. It receives a grant-in-aid each year in exchange for delivering a range of employment opportunities for around 9,000 disabled people under the Government’s WORKSTEP programme. Remploy delivers this by operating as a commercial organisation, which currently has around 80 business sites and by supporting disabled people into work with other employers, through its Employment Services business.
2. The Company operates in ten business sectors including service, logistics and re-cycling sectors as well as extended supply chain and higher added-value manufacturing. In addition they operate managed services on customer sites including CCTV or call centre operations.
3. Mr Russell was Chief Executive of Scottish Power PLC from 2001 until 2006, having previously been the Group Finance Director from 1994 until 2001. A Chartered Accountant by profession, Mr Russell has had a career in finance working for companies such as HSBC, Mars Limited, and KPMG. Mr Russell has a number of other non-executive and advisory roles including currently serving as a Board member with non-executive responsibility for the “Seeing is Believing” programme for Business in the Community. Mr Russell was also Chair of the Russell Commission, which was established in May 2004, by the then Home Secretary David Blunkett and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, to develop a new national framework for youth action. The Government welcomed the Commission’s recommendations and Gordon Brown subsequently announced a £100m investment to recruit 1 million new young volunteers.
4. In March 2006, Anne McGuire, Minister for Disabled People, announced a strategic review of Remploy, which was conducted by independent consultants PricewaterhouseCooper and disability expert Dr Stephen Duckworth. The review team subsequently produced a comprehensive report that outlined a range of possible future options for the company.
5. In announcing the outcome of the review, in a statement to Parliament on 19 July, Anne McGuire advised that while there was a clear need for change the Government recognised that any change will have an impact on those disabled people currently supported by Remploy. They therefore wanted to give the company time and space to modernise and the Government will provide some additional funding to enable this to happen. The report was passed to the Remploy Board for them consider and produce a five-year plan with proposals for modernising the company to support substantially larger numbers of disabled people into work. Mr Russell as the new Remploy Chair, will play an important part in agreeing the Company’s proposals with Ministers and leading the implementation of the Company’s future strategy.
6. In her statement to Parliament Anne McGuire made it clear that any proposals must protect Remploy’s disabled employees from compulsory redundancy, that the complete closure of Remploy’s factory network was not an acceptable option and that the Government is committed to maintaining Remploy’s current level of baseline funding.
7. The appointment of the Remploy Non-Executive Chair is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in consultation with the Prime Minister. The recruitment and selection process was in accordance with the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice. Mr Russell does not hold any other ministerial public appointments.
8. The appointment as Non-Executive Chair is for an initial 3-year period and attracts remuneration of £58,000 per annum. In agreeing to accept the post, Mr Russell stated that he did not wish to receive remuneration for the post.
9. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity to be made public. Mr Russell has declared he does not undertake any political activity.
10. Ian Russell has recently been awarded a CBE in the 2007 New Year Honours List, in recognition of his services to Youth Volunteering.
11. Alan Pedder CBE was a Non Executive Chair for 7 years and retired as Remploy Chair on 3 January 2007.

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