Transparency data

DWP register of board members’ interests Apr 2024 to Mar 2025

Published 10 July 2025

All of our employees are bound by the Civil Service Code – the framework on which the Department’s standards of behaviour are built. The consequences of failing to comply are serious and attract penalties up to and including dismissal. The Department’s Standards of Behaviour Policy and Procedures apply to employees at all grades.

It is mandated in the Department’s internally published Standards of Behaviour Procedures that employees’ interests and activities outside of work must not create conflict of interest or potential for perceived conflict of interest with their official role and they must not bring the Department into disrepute. Our employees are specifically instructed in the Standards of Behaviour Procedures never to request special treatment from any client of the Department that would benefit their outside interests. Our employees are also specifically required to consult their line manager and seek permission if they are proposing to take up a second occupation or any position with a non-political organisation (political activity is controlled under separate rules) if it could create a conflict of interests, or appear to create a conflict of interests.   Further, our employees must seek their manager’s written permission to take up any non-executive directorship during their employment with the Department.

In addition to the Department’s standing requirement for all staff to discuss potential conflicts with their manager before taking up an external appointment, our Senior Civil Servants and non-executive members are required to declare any interests which they hold to the Permanent Secretary on an annual basis. The information has been gathered during the year and has been reviewed by the Permanent Secretary. The returns were also scrutinised by our Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

At the beginning of every Departmental Board meeting, all members are asked to declare any new potential conflicts of interest. These are noted in the minutes along with the appropriate action taken to manage them. Where a board member declares a potential conflict at a meeting, it is recorded in the minutes and the board member takes no part in any discussions relating to that matter. There were no conflicts of interests registered during board meetings in 2024 to 2025.

None of our ministers held directorships that conflicted with their management responsibilities in 2024 to 2025.

We have put in place legal agreements with Richard Corbridge and Charlie Steel that define the protocols and principles to be followed to identify, prevent, mitigate and remedy any conflict of interest or unfair advantage (whether actual, potential or perceived) that could arise as a result of Richard’s position on the Executive Team and Charlie’s position on the Department’s non-executive board.

In addition, in line with the current Declaration of Interest policy for special advisers, all special advisers have declared any relevant interest or confirmed they do not consider they have any relevant interests. The Permanent Secretary has considered these returns and relevant interests are set out in public.

A comprehensive list of directors and non-executive board members’ interests as of 31 March 2025 is shown below.

Ministers

Name	Name of company or organisation	Position Held	Type of Interest for example, pay, fees, shareholding)	Other relevant information
Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP	-	-	-	(Partner) Santander Asset Management UK(Global Head of Multi-Asset Solutions)
Alison McGovern MP	Liverpool Football Club Foundation	Advisory Board	Unpaid	Resigned March 2025
Alison McGovern MP	-	-	-	The minister’s spouse/partner is a university professor involved with public policy and social policy research and is a member of the DWP Expert Advisory Group on Poverty Projections
Torsten Bell MP	Resolution Foundation	Chief Executive	Paid	Resigned July 2024
Torsten Bell MP	Guardian News & Media Limited	Columnist	Paid	Ended December 2024
Torsten Bell MP	-	-	-	Ministers spouse is a civil servant. There are plans in place to manage any conflicts of interest which may arise
Emma Reynolds MP	Ditchley Foundation	Director	-	Resigned September 2024
Baroness Maeve Sherlock	The Bible Society	Vice-President	Unpaid	-
Baroness Maeve Sherlock	The Christian Enquiry Agency	Patron	Unpaid	-
Baroness Maeve Sherlock	Church of England	Priest	Unpaid	-
Andrew Western MP	Trafford Council	Leader	Allowance	Resigned January 2023
Andrew Western MP	L&Q Group (formerly Trafford Housing Trust Ltd)	Non-executive director	Paid	Resigned March 2023
Andrew Western MP	Local Government Association	Chair	Allowance	Rolutions Board. Resigned December 2022
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Traidcraft Foundation	Chair	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	East 13 Christian Trust	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Parliamentary Christinan Trust	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Scouting in Newham	Vice-President	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Tutu Foundation	Ambassador	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	All Saints Chorus, Newham	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Archbishop Janani Luwum Trust UK	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Bibi Foundation	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Dads ‘n’ Lads	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Drop In Bereavemnt Centre	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	East London Children’s University	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Friends of the Diocese of Mbere, Kenya	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Greenhill Aphasia Group	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Imps Motorcycle Display Team	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Islamic Circle Supplementary School	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Learning Revolution Trust	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Positive East	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Premier Christian Radio	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	7th Newham Salaam Scouts	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Newham All Star Sports Association	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Newham Stroke Club	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Richard House Children’s Hospice	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Sree Narayana Guru Mission	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	The Vine Trust	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Trinity Community Centre	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Sir Stephen Timms MP	Your Place	Patron	Unpaid	-
Rt Hon Mel Stride MP	-	-	-	Nil Return
Mims Davies MP	-	-	-	Nil Return
Paul Maynard MP	-	-	-	Nil Return
Jo Churchill MP	-	-	-	Nil Return
Lord James Younger	-	-	-	Nil Return

Non Executive Members

Name	Name of company or organisation	Position Held	Type of Interest for example, pay, fees, shareholding)	Other relevant information
Ashley Machin	Lloyds Banking Group	-	Shareholding	-
Ashley Machin	Masthaven Bank	Chair	Paid	Contract ended December 2023
Ashley Machin	Atlanta Insurance Intermediaries Limited (formerly Swinton Group Ltd)	Non-executive Director	Paid	Resigned December 2018
Ashley Machin	Age UK Digital	-	-	Former Advisor
Ashley Machin	Wealth Wizards Ltd (employed by Royal London)	Director	Paid	-
Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth	BBC	Chief HR Officer	Paid	Resigned November 2019
Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth	CIPD	Chair	Unpaid
Valerie Hughes-D’Aeth	VHD Consulting Ltd	Mentor & Consultant	Fees	Small amount of paid mentoring work. Potentially 40 days paid consultancy work over a 6 month period
David Bennett	Ashmore Group plc	Chair	Fees	Resigned April 2022
David Bennett	Blemain Finance Ltd	Director	Fees	Resigned January 2019
David Bennett	Clydesdale Bank PLC	Director	Fees
David Bennett	David Bennett Avisory Ltd	Director	Paid	Resigned April 2020
David Bennett	-	-	-	Spouse/Partner is a Non-Executive Director for HMT – there are plans in place to handle any conflicts of interest
David Bennett	M:QUBE	Advisor	Fees	-
David Bennett	Paypal (Europe) S.a.r.L et cie	Director	Fees	Resigned Deccember 2024
David Bennett	PayPal Australia	Advisor	Paid	-
David Bennett	PayPal Digital Currency	Advisor	Paid	-
David Bennett	Rugby School	Governor	Unpaid	Resigned June 2020
David Bennett	Spot Finance Ltd	Director	Fees	Resigned January 2019
David Bennett	Together123 Ltd	Director	Fees	Resigned January 2019
David Bennett	Together Personal Finance Ltd	Director	Fees	Resigned January 2019
David Bennett	Virgin Money Limited (Formerly Virgin Money PLC)	Director	Fees	Resigned May 2021
David Bennett	Virgin Money UK PLC	Chair	Paid	-
David Bennett	Nationwide Building Society	Non-executive director	Fees	-
David Bennett	Allfund Group	Chair	Paid	-
Ian Wilson	BPDTS Ltd	Non-executive Director	Paid	Resigned June 2021
Ian Wilson	Church of England Pensions Board	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Ian Wilson	DXC UK Trustee Ltd	Director	Paid	-
Ian Wilson	Friends of Milton Keynes Hospital Charity	Trustee	Unpaid	Resigned June 2021
Ian Wilson	Government Actuary’s Department	Non-executive Director	Paid	-
Ian Wilson	LFMKH Ltd	Director	Paid	Resigned June 2021
Ian Wilson	Royal College of General Practitioners	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Ian Wilson	Milton Keynes University Hospital Foundation Trust	Associate Non-executive Director	Paid	Role ended 31 March 2020
Ian Wilson	Ministry of Defence: Defence Business Services	Non-executive Director	Paid	Term of office completed in June 2021
Ian Wilson	Purple Leaf Solutions Ltd	Director	Paid	-
Ian Wilson	RCGP Superannuation fund Trust company LTD	Director	Unpaid	Dormant company
Ian Wilson	Royal Holloway, University of London	Council member	Unpaid	-
Ian Wilson	UKRI	Non-executive Director	Paid	Resigned March 2023
Sally Cheshire	CAFCASS	Chair	Paid	Executive NDPB sponsored by Ministry of Justice
Sally Cheshire	NHS Resolution	Chair	Paid	Special health authority sponsored by Department of Health and Social Care
Sally Cheshire	Care Quality Commission	Non-executive Director and Chair of Audit & Corporate Governance Committee	Paid	Executive NDPB sponsored by Department of Health and Social Care Chair of Audit Committee. Role ended 31 December 2022
Sally Cheshire	Health Education England - LETB North	Chair	Paid	Executive NDPB sponsored by Department of Health and Social Care Role ended 31 March 2020
Sally Cheshire	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority	Chair	Paid	Executive NDPB sponsored by Department of Health and Social Care. Term of office completed on 31 March 2021
Sally Cheshire	Public Chairs Forum	Management committee	Unpaid	-
Simon Seer	BJSS Ltd	Director	Paid	Resigned March 2020
Simon Seer	Project 44 Ltd	Director/CEO	Paid	March 2020 until present
Simon Seer	Ascent	Chief Digital Officer	Paid	-
Charlie Steel	IWG PLC	Chief Financial Officer	Paid	There are plans in place to handle any conflicts of interest
Charlie Steel	IWG PLC	-	Shareholder	-
Charlie Steel	Babylon Holdings Ltd	Chief Financial Officer	Paid	Resigned October 2022
Charlie Steel	Babylon Holdings Ltd	-	Shareholder	sold shareholding upon resignation
Charlie Steel	Ecstase Ltd	-	Shareholder	-
Charlie Steel	Electricite de Strasbourg	-	Shareholder	Sold 100% of holding prior to 31 March 2023. However, repurchased during April 2023
Charlie Steel	Friends of Varsity Trip Ltd	Director	Unpaid	-
Charlie Steel	National Grid	-	Shareholder of the freehold	-
Charlie Steel	VGM Advisors Ltd (formerly North Pole Laundry Services Ltd)	Director	Shareholder	-
Charlie Steel	AICPA-CIMA	Non executive director	Paid	-
Charlie Steel	Rollright Aviation Ltd	Director / shareholder	Unpaid	-
Arabel Bailey	Accenture	-	Shares	-
Arabel Bailey	Reckitt Benckiser	-	Shares	Disposed of May 2023
Arabel Bailey	Indivior	-	Shares	Disposed of June 2023
Arabel Bailey	Accenture	Head of Innovation	Paid	Resigned September 2020
Arabel Bailey	University Hospitals Bristol and Weston	Non executive director	Paid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	Health and Safety Executive	Non executive director	Paid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	Church of England	Reverend	Paid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	Plymouth Marjon University	Member of Audit and Goverance Committee	Unpaid	Term of office completed in December 2022
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	Public Health England’s COVID non-Pharmaceutical Interventions Ethics Group 2020-2023	Chair	Unpaid	Disbanded early 2023
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	National Police Chiefs’ Councils Independent	Member	Unpaid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	COVID Ethics Committee 2020-2022	Member	Unpaid	committee disbanded June 2023
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	Devon Community Foundation	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	South Brent Feofees	Chair	Unpaid	-
Rev. Preb Gina Radford	St Luke’s Foundation	Chair	Unpaid	-
Martin Duggan	Augmented Intelligence Inc	Board Member / Shareholder	Paid	There are plans in place to handle any potential conflicts of interest
Martin Duggan	Stewards of Change	Board member	Paid	-
Martin Duggan	Goodrich court ‘Right to Manage’ company	Board member	Unpaid	-
Martin Duggan	Martin Duggan Ventures Limited	Director / Shareholder	Paid	-
Martin Duggan	HSBC	Shareholding	-	There are plans in place to handle any potential conflicts of interest
Martin Duggan	Natwest PLC	Shareholding	-	There are plans in place to handle any potential conflicts of interest
Taalib Shaah	GEMCO ltd	Board Member	Unpaid	-
Taalib Shaah	Barclays	-	Shareholder	-
Taalib Shaah	Barclays	Group Risk Officer	Paid	-
Professor Malcolm Morley OBE	Infrastructure & Projects Authority	Associate	Paid	There are plans in place to handle any conflicts of interest
Professor Malcolm Morley OBE	Anglia Ruskin University	Visiting Professor	Paid	-
Professor Malcolm Morley OBE	University of Bedfordshire	Visiting Professor	Paid	Resigned January 2022
Professor Malcolm Morley OBE	Radioactive Waste Management	Chair	Paid	Resigned 31 December 2021
Richard Newsome	Daemon Solutions	Chairman	Paid	-
Oliver Rowlands	RELX PLC	-	Shareholdier	-
Oliver Rowlands	Elsevier Limited (Relx Group PLC)	Director	Paid	-
Oliver Rowlands	Lapwing Education	Trustee	Unpaid	Resigned January 2024
Gayle Sparks	Citi	-	Shareholder	-
Gayle Sparks	Citi	Global Head of Conduct Risk	Paid	Resigned April 2024
Gayle Sparks	Natwest PLC	Head of Conduct & Compliance Risk	Paid	-
Gayle Sparks	State Street	Managing Director	Paid	Resigned Feburary 2020
Gayle Sparks	Protect Whistle Blowing Charity	Trustee	Unpaid	-

Executive Team

Name	Name of company or organisation	Position Held	Type of Interest for example, pay, fees, shareholding)	Other relevant information
Sir Peter Schofield KCB	The Civil Service Benevolent Fund	Chair	Unpaid	-
Neil Couling CB CBE	-	-	-	Nil Return
Amanda Reynolds	AOB Consultancy Ltd	Managing Director	Shareholding	This company has not traded since January 2021
Katie Farrington	Refuge	Trustee	Unpaid	There were plans in place handle any conflicts of interest (e.g. on housing benefit policy). Resigned March 2022
Katie Farrington	Volunteering Matters	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Barbara Bennett	National Youth Agency	Chair	Unpaid	Resigned November 2022
Barbara Bennett	Whitehall & Industry Group (WIG)	Trustee	Unpaid	-
Catherine Vaughan CB	IWG PLC	-	Shareholder	There were plans in place handle any conflicts of interest. Sold share January 2024
Catherine Vaughan CB	International Distribution Services PLC (formerly Royal Mail Group PLC)	-	Shareholder	There are plans in place handle any conflicts of interest
Sophie Dean	-	-	-	Nil Return
Katherine Green	-	-	-	Nil Return
Helen Pickles	-	-	-	Nil Return
Julie Blomley	The Brain Charity	Trustee	Unpaid	Resigned March 2024
Julie Blomley	The JD Foundation	Trustee	Unpaid	Resigned December 2019
Helen Wylie	-	-	-	Nil Return
Richard Corbridge	-	-	-	Partner is a Director at Credera Limited. There are plans in place to handle any conflicts of interest

Special Advisors

Name	Name of company or organisation	Position Held	Type of Interest for example, pay, fees, shareholding)	Other relevant information
Joe Salam	-	-	-	Nil Return
James Heywood	-	-	-	Nil Return
Rebecca Macintyre	-	-	-	Nil Return
Bex Bailey	-	-	-	Nil Return
Graeme Cooke	-	-	-	Nil Return
Alex Zatman	-	-	-	Wife is an MP and Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office. Mother-in-law, is a member of the House of Lords.

Other

Name	Name of company or organisation	Position Held	Type of Interest for example, pay, fees, shareholding)	Other relevant information
John McGlynn	APM Association for project Management	Trustee	Unpaid	Nov 2014 to Sept 2020
John McGlynn	APM Association for project Management	Chair of Board of trustees	Unpaid	Nov 2016 to Sept 2020
John McGlynn	AtkinsRealis (formerly known as SNC Lavalin)	Director	Paid	-