The Honours Committee is a committee within the Cabinet Office of the Government of the United Kingdom formed to review nominations for national honours for merit, exceptional achievement or service. Twice yearly the Honours Committee submits formal recommendations for the British monarch's New Years and Birthday Honours. Members of the Honours Committee—which comprises a main committee and nine subcommittees in speciality areas—research and vet nominations for national awards, including knighthoods and the Order of the British Empire.
The honours system is an ancient one, particularly in Britain; Æthelstan, King of the English in the 10th century, was knighted by his grandfather, Alfred the Great. Knighthoods were originally conferred as a military honour, often on the battlefield. Later it became customary for only the reigning monarch to bestow the honour. Other honours beyond knighthood were later established, including the Order of the Bath in 1725. In the 20th century, the "Ceremonial Branch" of the government was created in 1937 with the sole purpose of overseeing the honours system. In 2001, the committee became officially known as the Ceremonial Honours and Appointments Secretariat.
Since 1993, members of the public have been eligible to nominate individuals; government agencies may also formally put forward candidates. All citizens of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations can be nominated.
Following his retirement as Permanent Secretary to the Lord Chancellor's Office, Sir Hayden Phillips prepared a report in July 2004 to the Cabinet Secretary suggesting a reform of the current honours nomination system. The next year, following recommendations made in Phillips' report, a new system of eight committees was organised, with each committee focussing on a special area. (In 2012, an additional committee was added.) The committees are composed of senior civil servants and independent experts in specific fields. The majority of the honours committees are non-civil servants.
Each subcommittee oversees nominations for its specialised area: Arts and Media; Community, Voluntary and Local Services; Economy; Education; Health; Parliamentary and Political Service; Science and Technology; Sport; and State. The individual committees assess the nominations and pass the nominations to the Main Honours Committee, whose members select the final list of nominations that are passed to the Queen by the Prime Minister.
Following the Cash for Honours scandal, the Main Honours Committee is required to determine that an individual's nomination for an honour has not been influenced by campaign and political contributions. According to the Cabinet Office's 2011 report, "The Main Honours Committee must satisfy itself that a party political donation has not influenced the decision to award an honour in any way; the committee must be confident that the candidate would have been a meritorious recipient of an honour if he or she had not made a political donation."
The Cabinet's Honours Committee nominates civilians only; military honours, such as the Victoria Cross and the George Cross, are sent to the Queen by the Honours and Decorations Committee of the Ministry of Defence. The honours committee also does not make nominations for peerages, which are created directly by the monarch.
Main committee
Sir Jonathan Stephens KCB (chair)
Chair of Arts and Media Committee: Rupert Gavin
Chair of Community, Voluntary and Local Services Committee: Dame Clare Tickell
Chair of the Economy Committee: Sir Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher plc
Chair of Education Committee: Sir Daniel Moynihan
Chair of Health Committee: Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar
Chair of Parliamentary and Political Service Committee: Michael Spicer, Baron Spicer
Chair of Science and Technology Committee: Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford
Chair of Sport Committee: Lord Coe
Chair of State Committee: Dame Mary Marsh
The Cabinet Secretary: Sir Jeremy Heywood
Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Sir Simon Fraser
The Chief of Defence Staff: General Sir Nick Houghton
Another Permanent Secretary: (vacant)
Rupert Gavin – Chair, Historic Royal Palaces (independent chair)
Julian Fellowes, the Lord Fellowes of West Stafford
Dame Liz Forgan DBE – journalist
Dame Julia Peyton Jones DBE – Director, the Serpentine Gallery
Luke Rittner – Chief Executive, Royal Academy of Dance
Sir Peter Stothard – Editor, The Times Literary Supplement
Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government
Community, voluntary and local services
Dame Clare Tickell DBE – Chief Executive, Hanover Housing Association (independent chair)
Evelyn Asante-Mensah OBE DL – Interim Chief Executive, BHA for Equality
Melanie Bryan OBE – social entrepreneur, Why Not Change?
Dilwar Hussain – Co-founder, New Horizons in British Islam
Dr. Angus Kennedy OBE – Chief Executive, Community Regeneration Partnership
John Knight CBE JP – formerly Director of Policy at Leonard Cheshire Disability and Board Member, Charity Commission
Dame Barbara Monroe DBE – Chief Executive, St. Christopher’s Hospice
Brian O'Doherty – Head of Housing, Newcastle City Council
Noreen Oliver MBE – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BAC O’Connor Centre
Sir Nicholas Young – former Chief Executive, British Red Cross
Melanie Dawes CB– Permanent Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government
Richard Heaton CB – Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice
Sir Derek Jones KCB – Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government
Mark Sedwill CMG – Permanent Secretary, Home Office
Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
Sir Ian Cheshire (independent chair) – Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher plc
Dame Helen Alexander DBE – Chair, UBM plc and Chancellor, University of Southampton
Dame Colette Bowe DBE – former Chair, Office of Communications (Ofcom)
Anya Hindmarch MBE – fashion designer and businesswoman
Brent Hoberman CBE – entrepreneur
Helen Mahy – Chair, Renewables Infrastructure Group
Dr Yvonne Thompson CBE – entrepreneur
Martin Donnelly CMG – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
John Kingham
Leslie Evans – Permanent Secretary, Scottish Government
Sir Daniel Moynihan – Chief Executive, Harris Federation (independent chair)
Dame Rachel de Souza DBE – Chief Executive Officer, Inspiration Trust
Marion Matchett CBE – Civil Service Commissioner for Northern Ireland
Peter Williams CBE – former Chief Executive, Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Dr John Guy OBE – former Principal, Farnborough Sixth Form College and Independent Chair, Surrey Health Clinical Commissioning Group
Dame Asha Khemka DBE – Principal and Chief Executive, West Nottinghamshire College
Martin Donnelly CMG – Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Chris Wormald – Permanent Secretary, Department for Education
Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service
Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar – Director, Thrombosis Research Institute (independent chair)
Dame Christine Beasley DBE – Chief Nursing Officer for England
Dame Ruth Carnall DBE – Chief Executive, NHS London
Sir Ian Gilmore – Chair, Liverpool Health Partners, University of Liverpool
Karen Middleton CBE – Chief Executive, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Dame Janet Husband DBE – former Chair, Royal College of Radiologists Council
Sir Nicholas Partridge OBE – former Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust
Sir Simon Wessely John Maddox prize winner – Director, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London
Dame Sally Davies DBE – Chief Medical Officer (England)
Dame Una O'Brien DCB – Permanent Secretary, Department of Health
Andrew Goodall – Director General, Department for Health, Social Services and Children, Welsh Government
Parliamentary and political service
Michael Spicer, Baron Spicer – Member, House of Lords (independent chair)
Dianne Bevan – Chief Operating Officer, National Assembly for Wales
Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell KG GCB CVO – Member, House of Lords
Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman GBE – former Speaker of the House of Lords
Peter Riddell CBE – Director, Institute for Government
Sir Robert Rogers, Baron Lisvane KCB - former Clerk of the House of Commons
Mark Harper MP – Government Chief Whip
Dame Rosie Winterton DBE MP – Labour Chief Whip
Science and technology
Sir John Bell FRS – Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford (independent chair)
Sir Tony Atkinson FBA – Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College
Dame Glynis Breakwell DBE DL – Vice Chancellor, University of Bath
Julia King, Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE – Vice-Chancellor, Aston University
Martyn Rose – Director, Martyn Rose Ltd.
Dame Nancy Rothwell DBE FRS DL – President and Vice Chancellor, University of Manchester
Sir Mark Walport FRS – Chief Scientific Adviser to HM Government
Gareth Davies – Director-General, Knowledge and Innovation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Julie Williams CBE – Chief Scientific Adviser, Welsh Government
Lord Coe CH KBE – Chairman, CSM (independent chair)
Giles Clarke CBE – Chair, England and Wales Cricket Board and Director, International Cricket Council
Baroness Grey-Thompson DBE – former Paralympic athlete
Hon. Tim Lamb – former Chief Executive, Sport and Reaction Alliance
Timothy Phillips – former Chairman, All England Lawn Tennis Club
Graham Taylor OBE – former England Football manager
Sue Owen CB – Permanent Secretary, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Dr. Malcolm McKibbin – Head, Northern Ireland Civil Service
Dame Mary Marsh DBE – Director, Clore Social Leadership Programme (independent chair)
Baroness Bottomley of Nettlestone JP DL – Member, House of Lords and Chair, Board Practice, Odgers Berndtson
Dame Suzi Leather DBE DL – former Chair, Charity Commission
Elizabeth McKeikan – Non-Executive Director, JD Wetherspoon plc. and former Civil Service Commissioner
Dr. Diana Walford CBE – former Principal, Mansfield College, Oxford
Dr. Suzy Walton – Deputy Chairman RSA, University of Westminster and Internet Watch Foundation
Sir Jonathan Stephens KCB – Permanent Secretary, Northern Ireland Office
