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Antony Townsend appointed as the Authority's Acting Chair

28 Aug 2020

The Authority is pleased to announce that Antony Townsend has been appointed as its Acting Chair, following the recent departure of Dame Glenys Stacey. Antony will take up this position on 1 September 2020.  

Antony is a highly experienced member of the Authority’s board, having joined the Professional Standards Authority in 2015, and is the Chair of its Scrutiny Committee. Antony is also the Complaints Commissioner for the Financial Services Regulators (until October 2020); a member of the Determinations Panel of the Pensions Regulator; an Independent Chair for NHS Continuing Healthcare Reviews; and Chair of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service. He is a Trustee of Citizens Advice South Warwickshire.

Previous non-executive roles include Chair of the Regulatory Board of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and Chair of the UK and Ireland Regulatory Board of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Before working in non-executive roles, Antony was the inaugural Chief Executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority from 2006 to 2014. He was previously the Chief Executive of the General Dental Council; a Director at the General Medical Council; and a civil servant in the Home Office working principally on criminal justice issues.

Antony Townsend, Acting Chair said: 'With the support of the Authority’s excellent Board and staff, I look forward to contributing to the next stage of healthcare regulatory reform.'

Alan Clamp, Chief Executive of the Authority, said: 'We are very fortunate to have someone of Antony’s considerable ability and extensive regulatory experience as our Acting Chair.'

The Authority will commence recruitment for a permanent Chair shortly. 

ENDS

For more information, please email media@professionalstandards.org.uk

Notes to the Editor

  1. The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care oversees 10 statutory bodies that regulate health and social care professionals in the UK.
  2. We assess their performance and report to Parliament. We also conduct audits and investigations and can appeal fitness to practise cases to the courts if we consider that sanctions are insufficient to protect the public and it is in the public interest.
  3. We also set standards for organisations holding voluntary registers for health and social care occupations and accredit those that meet them.
  4. We share good practice and knowledge, conduct research and introduce new ideas to our sector. We monitor policy developments in the UK and internationally and provide advice on issues relating to professional standards in health and social care.
  5. We do this to promote the health, safety and wellbeing of users of health and social care services and the public. We are an independent body, accountable to the UK Parliament.
  6. Our values are – integrity, transparency, respect, fairness and teamwork – and we strive to ensure that they are at the core of our work.
  7. More information about our work and the approach we take is available at www.professionalstandards.org.uk