To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make an announcement about the establishment and membership of the service authorities provided for under sections 1 and 47 of the Police Act 1997 to maintain the National Criminal Intelligence Service and National Crime Squad. [12157]

I have decided to appoint Sir John Wheeler to chair the service authorities. I am delighted that Sir John has accepted this appointment. I have no doubt that his skills and experience will prove invaluable to the service authorities in their task of maintaining the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the National Crime Squad, both of which will substantially strengthen our ability to tackle organised and serious crime at national and international level. During his 18 years in Parliament, Sir John chaired a number of committees and groups, including the all-party penal affairs group and the Home Affairs Select Committee.In 1990, he was awarded a knighthood for service to the Select Committee. He has been a justice of the peace in London since 1978 and is an active member of the Order of Saint John.The other independent members I propose to appoint are Paul Lever and Peter Holland. Paul Lever is chairman of BSM Group plc and of Ashworth hospital authority. He has held senior management positions in major public companies and has considerable experience in the fields of strategic and financial management. Peter Holland is an independent business consultant and is also chairman of Hertfordshire police authority. He has held senior management positions in the Reuters Group, with responsibility for human resource and financial management.I am also appointing Maria Callaghan to represent me in my capacity as the police authority for the Metropolitan police district. Miss Callaghan is a member of the Metropolitan police committee, chairs the Calotels Hotel Group and has extensive experience of business management. She holds a bachelor of law degree and has practised as a commercial lawyer.These are four of the appointments for core members, of which there are 10 in all, who serve on both service authorities. The six other core members are:

Member	Position	Appointed by
Councillor Stephen Murphy	Greater Manchester Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (East and West)
Councillor Bob James	West Midlands Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (East and West)
Councillor Peter Fallows	West Mercia Police Authority (CON)	Police authorities (East and West)
David Veness QPM	Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police	ACPO
David Phillips QPM	Chief Constable, Kent Constabulary	ACPO
John Warne	Director, Organised and International Crime Directorate, Home Office	Home Secretary

The NCIS Service Authority has a total of 19 members. The additional members are:

Member	Position	Appointed by
Cllr. Ron Fisher JP	South Yorkshire Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Owen May	Devon and Cornwall Police Authority (Lib Dem)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Julia Sturrock	Taysie Joint Police Board	Police authorities (Scotland)
Pat Armstrong CBE	Police Authority for Northern Ireland	PANI
Ian Oliver QPM	Chief Constable, Grampian Police	ACPOS
Ronnie Flanagan OBE	Chief Constable, Royal Ulster Constabulary	Royal Ulster Constabulary

Member	Position	Appointed by
Dick Kellaway	Chief Investigation Officer, Her Majesty Customs and Excise	Commissioners for Customs and Excise
Duncan Macnivan	Head of Police, Fire and Emergencies Group, Scottish Office	Secretary of State, Scotland
John Steele CBE OBE TD DL	Senior Director, Northern Ireland	Secretary of State, Northern Ireland

The National Crime Squad Service Authority has a total of 17 members. The additional members are:

Member	Position	Appointed by
Cllr. Ken Walker	Cleveland Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Barry Murray	South Wales Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Neil Taggart	West Yorkshire Police Authority (LAB)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Sir. John Grugeon DL	Kent Police Authority (CON)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Elfyn Williams	North Wales Police Authority (Lib Dem)	Police authorities (E and W)
Cllr. Mrs. Angela Harris DL	North Yorkshire Police Authority (Lib Dem)	Police authorities (E and W)
David Wilmot QPM	Chief Constable, Greater Manchester Police	ACPO

The independent members were selected in line with Nolan principles following the procedures set out by Sir Len Peach in his guidance on public appointments. The police authority members for England and Wales were selected from among the local authority members of police authorities so as to ensure that, as far as practicable, the membership of the service authorities reflects the balance of parties across all local authority members of police authorities.