New independent oversight for non-Ministerial departments

Tuesday 29 March 2022

An independent Audit Committee has been set up to provide oversight of the Bailiff's Chambers, Judicial Greffe, Law Officers’ Department, Probation and After-Care Services, States Greffe and Viscount’s Department.

Marta Philips OBE (pictured top) has been appointed as chair of the Committee, alongside Committee members Dr Helen Pernelet and Sarah Raynor following a recruitment drive that started in October 2021.

The Committee was set up in response to a recommendation by the Comptroller and Auditor General in a 2019 report.

The group will meet at least twice a year, discussing each non-Ministerial Department's governance arrangements and use of resources.

They will be expected to provide independent counsel, support and constructive challenge to the Accountable Officers of each department and to assurance of the highest standards of corporate governance.

“We were delighted to have received such a high calibre of applicants for these important roles which has resulted in the appointment of the Audit Committee," Attorney General Mark Temple QC said.

"We look forward to working with the Committee to ensure that the highest standards of corporate governance continue to be met across each of the Departments.”

The Audit Committee:

Marta Rose Phillips OBE CA (Chair)

A Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Marta Phillips has more than 30 years of finance experience and significant experience of the public sector, having been a civil servant since 1993, and a senior civil servant from 2000 until 2013.

She was previously Chief Executive of the Pensions Advisory Service (2010 - 2013), having held other roles in the organisation, and prior to this was Head of Finance, European Social Fund at the Department for Education and Skills from 1993 to 1999.

Dr Helen Pernelet 

Dr Pernelet worked in the City of London for nearly 20 years, firstly as a lawyer, then as an investment banker, and finally at the Bank of England's think-tank, the Financial Law Panel.

She has served on a range of boards in the public sector, served as an NED and chaired audit committees within UK central government, including on three Ministry of Defence boards from 2009 to 2018. Most recently, from 2019 to 2021, she was a member of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office audit committee, having previously served as Vice Chair of NHS Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group and Chair of its Integrated Governance and Audit Committee from 2013 to 2016.

Sarah Rayner MCIPS MA BA

A Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and current civil servant in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Sarah Rayner has more than two decades' of commercial experience spanning pre-procurement to contract management.

Sarah has led three commercial functions, two in Local Government (2010-2015) and most recently the commercial function of the UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce (2020-2021). In between her local and central government roles, she spent five years in the consulting sector (2015-2020).