The National Consumer Council's strategy and work priorities are overseen by our chairman and part-time Board members, who are appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and industry. Our members bring a wide range of experience and expertise to the formulation and development of consumer policies.

Lord Whitty

Chair. Lord Whitty has strong experience in the trade union movement and the Labour Party, and he served as General Secretary of the party from 1985 to 1994. During that period he was heavily involved in policy development on social and environmental issues, including access for low-income groups to public and private services.

As Minister for Transport in the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, from 1998 to 2001, he was responsible for users of public transport services and for motorists. As Minister for food, farming and sustainable energy in Defra, from 2001 until 2005, he had responsibility for: policy and regulation of production; distribution and quality of food - including the role of the supermarkets in the food chain; and more sustainable uses of energy, including the delivery of improvements to those in fuel poverty.

He takes a strong personal interest in issues of sustainability, access to services for low-income groups (particularly for housing, education and transport, and financial services), and corporate accountability for social and environmental impacts on consumers and the wider community.

Dr Robert Chilton OBE

Previous director of Local Government Studies for the Audit Commission after a career in local government. Secondments from the Audit Commission included: Transport for London as interim Commissioner for Transport; interim Chief Executive to the Greater London Authority; and Local Government Commission.

Dr Robert Chilton was Acting Chair of the NCC for 9 months in 2005/06.

Stephen Costello MBE

Stephen was appointed Chairman of the General Consumer Council in January 2003. Currently, Stephen is Chairman of the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, he is a member of the Government's Consumer Strategy Group in the Republic of Ireland and a Board member of Business in the Community Ireland. He is also Chairman of the Board of Stranmillis University College. Stephen Chaired the Education Minister's Advisory Group on the post primary review. He was a former chair of the Northern Ireland Business Education Partnership, he was an executive and council member of Dublin Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen's career began in 1972 with Marks & Spencer where he held a number of assistant management appointments throughout England. He progressed through the company to become Chief Executive for Ireland and he finally retired in 2001.

Stephen received an MBE in 1997 for services to education and training in Northern Ireland. He received the Paul Harris Rotary Worldwide Fellowship Medal in the same year. Stephen is married with 2 grown up children.

Andrew Dilnot CBE

Andrew Dilnot, economist and broadcaster, is Principal of St Hugh's College, and Pro Vice Chancellor in the University of Oxford. He is the presenter of BBC Radio 4's series on numbers, 'More or Less' and of television documentaries for Channel 4. He was Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies from 1991 to 2002. His research interests include poverty and inequality, savings and pensions, and general government fiscal policy. He was awarded a CBE in 2000 for services to economics and economic policy.

Dianne Hayter

Member of the Financial Reporting Council's Board of Actuarial Standards, of the Determinations Panel of the Pensions Regulator, of the Board of the Surveying Ombudsman Service, and of the Insolvency Practices Council. Chair of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party. Formerly: Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Authority Consumer Panel; Chief Executive of two health charities - the Pelican Cancer Centre and Alcohol Concern; Director of Corporate Affairs at the Wellcome Trust; Chief Executive of the European Parliamentary Labour Party; Board member of the National Patient Safety Agency. PhD from University of London.

Sir Christopher Kelly

Chairman of the NSPCC, chair of the Financial Ombudsman Service and Chairman of the committee of Standards in Public Life. Former posts include: Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health; Head of Policy at the then-Department of Social Security; Director of the Budget and PSBR; and Director of Monetary and Fiscal Policy at HM Treasury.

Stephen Locke

Consultant specialising in consumer policy and regulation; also a member of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, the Retail Financial Services Group (a forum of industry and consumer leaders), the Professional Standards Board of the Chartered Insurance Institute, the independent Advertising Advisory Committee (which advises on the public interest in TV and radio advertising rules), the Board of ICSTIS (the regulator of premium rate communications services) and the Independent Mobile Content Body. Previously a member of the Advisory Group to the Review of Regulation of Legal Services conducted by Sir David Clementi, which reported to Ministers in December 2004. Past full-time posts include: Director of Project Planning for the setting up of Ofcom; Director of Advertising and Sponsorship at ITC; director of strategic research at Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting); director of policy and research at Which?; and Principal, HM Treasury (including an assignment as Private Secretary to Nigel Lawson MP when Financial Secretary). Former Kennedy Scholar, Harvard University.

Douglas Sinclair CBE

Douglas Sinclair is a graduate of Edinburgh University. He started his Local Government career as an Administrative Assistant with Midlothian, East Lothian and Peebles Social Work Department. He then spent 3 years as the Administrative Officer for Scotland with Barnardos before moving to the Western Isles Islands Council taking up his appointment on the first day of the new Council 16th May, 1975 as Depute Director of Administration. He was promoted to Director of administration in 1978 and in 1985 was appointed Chief Executive of Ross and Cromarty District Council. In 1990 he was appointed Chief Executive of Central Regional Council and in 1995 Chief Executive of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). He was appointed as Chief Executive of Fife Council in 1999 and retires from that post on 9th June, 2006. He was the Chair of SOLACE Scotland from 2003 to 2005 and was awarded the CBE in 1999. He is married with two daughters.

Vivienne Sugar

Chair of the WCC.

Vivienne Sugar has had a successful career in local government from 1972 until her early retirement in 2002 from her post of Chief Executive of the City and County of Swansea, a post that she had held since 1995. Since 1996 she has been Chief Executive adviser to the Welsh Local Government Association. In recent months, she has worked as a local government and management consultant and serving as a member of the Richards Commission reviewing the powers and electoral arrangements of the Welsh assembly. She is currently working for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on improving local authority services. Other Government appointments include: Town and Community Councils Review Working Group, Independent Adviser for Public Appointments.

Advisory Group members

The NCC's Advisory Group meets twice a year to provide the Board with new insights and wide-ranging perspectives to inform the development of future strategy and policy priorities. The Advisory Group's membership has been drawn from senior figures in worlds as diverse as financial services and environmental protection, the health service and organisations working to combat social exclusion. It includes policy-makers, public and private service providers, campaigners, consumers and commentators.

In 2006, the Advisory Group meets on 11 April and 17 October.

Members:

John Alty
Lord Amir Bhatia OBE
David Brindle
Mark Britnell
Andrew Brown
Margaret Burns
Ann Davison
Leslie Dighton
Iain Ferguson CBE
Mary Francis
Sally Greengross
Stephen Haddrill
David Harker
Alan Hutton
Sir Donald Irvine CBE
Stephen Joseph
Tony Juniper
Geoff Mulgan
Kate Nash
Kate Parminter
Baroness Jill Pitkeathley
Jonathan Rees
Jackie Sadek
Philip Sellwood
Maggie Semple OBE
Sue Slipman OBE
Sue Stapely
Wilf Stevenson
Sukhvinder Stubbs
Pamela Taylor
Richard Thomas
John Tiner
John Tizard
David Varney
Daniel Walker Palmour
Dame Sheila Wallis
Professor Robert Worcester