This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
New Head of Environment and Rural Affairs Department
09/11/2004
Richard Wakeford has been appointed Head of
the Executive's Environment & Rural Affairs Department
(ERAD) following an open competition and an appointment
board chaired by the First Civil Service Commissioner.
He will take up post in early January.
Mr Wakeford, 51, has almost 30 years experience with
central government bodies, specialising in environment and
rural issues as well as land use and development to create
sustainable communities.
He has been Chief Executive of the Countryside Agency in
England since 1999 and was previously Chief Executive of
the Countryside Commission (1996-1999).
He has been a Non-Executive Director on the Management
Board of DEFRA since 2001. He is also currently a member
of the UK Sustainable Development Commission, an
appointment he will give up on his return to the civil
service.
As Head of Department, Mr Wakeford will be a member of
the Executive's Management Group where he will contribute
to the formation of corporate policies and provide visible
leadership in communicating and driving delivery of those
policies.
He will also play a substantial role in engaging at a
senior level with stakeholders across the range of Scottish
society, to develop the exchange of knowledge and expertise
in furtherance of Scotland's interests.
He will also lead the departmental team supporting the
Minister for Environment and Rural Development across
several broad areas including:
- The Executive's sustainable development and rural
policies
- Specific responsibility for the agriculture and
fishing industries
- Protection of the natural environment and oversight
of the water industry
Permanent Secretary John Elvidge said:
"Scotland will benefit from Mr Wakeford's experience
across many of the main challenges facing the Department
and it's work."
Mr Wakeford has a BSc (Hons) degree from the University
of London, Kings College and was awarded an Honororary
Doctorate of Philosophy by Gloucestershire University in
2002.
He is an Honorary Member of the Royal Town Planning
Institute, a Member of the American Planning Association
and a Fellow of the RSA.
In his senior civil service career, Mr Wakeford worked
mainly in the predecessors of the present DEFRA and ODPM,
in a range of roles culminating in appointment to the
Cabinet Secretariat in Whitehall.
The open competition, which was advertised in national
newspapers in July 2004, attracted a field of applicants
from both public and private sectors.
The appointment board's recommendation has been agreed
by the First Minister and approved by the Prime
Minister.
Mr Wakeford's salary will be in the current Senior Civil
Service pay band 3 which has a minimum of £90,867 and a
maximum of £192,424.
Reporting to the Permanent Secretary, who is the most
senior civil servant in Scotland, Mr Wakeford will have
line management responsibility for around 1,000 staff
within the Environment and Rural Affairs Department.
He will have substantial responsibilities in relation to
the external expenditure for which the Department is
responsible - £1.3 billion in the current financial year -
as well as for the sponsorship of the Scottish
Environmental Protection Agency and Scottish Natural
Heritage.