Public appointment: Member reappointed to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Board

The Minister for Community Safety Ash Regan today announced the reappointment of Dr Lesley Bloomer, Malcolm Payton, Tim Wright, Nicholas Barr (MBE), Mhairi Whylie and Brian Baverstock as Members of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Board.

Members

Dr Lesley Bloomer was responsible for housing, property, roads, community safety and other functions with a local authority. By working with people, she led change programmes resulting in improvements in performance and in value for money, and, importantly, more constructive working environments. She has particular expertise in best value and performance management resulting from her time as a Director at Audit Scotland and subsequent work advising Scottish Councils. Lesley is also interested in climate change and equalities work. Lesley has previously been on the Board of SEPA and of The Care Commission. She currently holds non-executive appointments with the Wheatley Group, Scotland’s leading housing, care and property management group.

Malcolm Payton began his career as a teacher of mathematics, moving to ICT as improvements in technology provided opportunities to develop innovative approaches to classroom practice.  He then spent more than ten years in senior roles in education that included Local Authority Head of Education, head of a group of schools in England and Professional Advisor to the Scottish Government.  Since 2007, Malcolm has worked independently, supporting systems development and quality improvement in the UK, Middle East and Asia.  His main interest is in how the symbiotic relationship between strategy and operational practice can best be leveraged to deliver sustainable change.  Malcolm is a Trustee of Capability Scotland and of the Scottish Development Education Centre.  He is based in East Lothian, where he is involved in community development, mental wellbeing and youth work.

Tim Wright is an experienced management consultant having worked with a number of high profile professional service firms and having held senior roles in a number of private sector companies. He is currently a director of a consultancy which he co founded. An acknowledged thinker and practitioner in the emerging field of the crowd economy Tim is a published author, an experienced speaker and a Non Executive Member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Registers of Scotland.

Nicholas Barr (MBE)  is a former British Red Cross UK Director for ambulance and first aid services. He has over 30 years experience in operational and emergency service experience delivery and leadership in the public and 3rd sectors including the Royal Air Force and the Scottish Ambulance Service as a divisional manager. He has recent leadership experience in large-scale change management and clinical governance. Nicholas has been a board member of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service since July 2018 and has been chairing the Service Delivery Committee for 3 years. He accepted an MBE in 2002.

Brian Baverstock is a qualified accountant and independent consultant specialising in public sector governance and risk management.  Before consultancy, Brian had a long career in the public sector in Scotland, during which he has led a number of transformational change programmes, including being the founding Chief Executive of APUC Ltd, the procurement Centre of Expertise for Scotland’s universities and colleges. Brian has held a number of non-executive director roles in the public and voluntary sectors.  He is currently on the Board of the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

Reappointment

The reappointment of Nicholas Barr (MBE) will be for two years and run from 20 July 2022 to 29 July 2024. The Reappointment of Tim Wright and Brian Baverstock will be for 4 years and run from 30 July 2022 to 29 July 2026. The reappointment of Dr Lesley Bloomer will be for 3 years and will run from 24 October 2022 to 23 October 2025. The reappointment of Malcolm Payton and Mhairi Whylie will be for 4 years and will run from 24 October 2022 to 23 October 2026.  

The reappointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

Remuneration

The reappointments are part-time and attracts a remuneration of £299.87 per day for a time commitment of up to 5 days per month.

Other ministerial appointments

Brian Baverstock is a member of the Scottish Legal Aid Board which attracts a renumeration of £238.92 per day for time commitment of 3.5 days per month.

Dr Lesley Bloomer, Malcolm Payton, Tim Wright and Nicholas Barr (MBE), Mhairi Whylie do not hold any other public appointments.

Political activity

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.   

Dr Lesley Bloomer, Malcolm Payton, Tim Wright and Nicholas Barr (MBE), Mhairi Whylie and Brian Baverstock have had no political activity within the last five years.

Background 

The SFRS is the largest fire and rescue service in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Since we were created in 2013, the Board has played a major role ensuring that the SFRS successfully leads and manages the wide range of challenges that it deals with on a daily basis all across Scotland.

The purpose of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is to work in partnership with communities and with others in the public, private and third sectors, on prevention, protection and response, to improve the safety and well-being of people throughout Scotland.

The SFRS works with its partners to identify and focus on mitigating risks facing communities, in order to keep Scottish communities and citizens safe and to promote their well-being.